North Carolina ran the play only one time, good enough for another win over a top-ranked team.
Rashad McCants made a three-point basket with 6.2 seconds left to give the ninth-ranked Tar Heels an 86-83 victory over No. 1 Connecticut Saturday at Chapel Hill, N.C.
"That was the only time we ran that the whole game," North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said of the play that got McCants a wide-open look from the left side. "When we called the timeout, that's what we set up."
It was North Carolina's 10th victory over a top-ranked team, tying the Tar Heels with UCLA for the most in college basketball history.
McCants tied the score at 83-83 with a three-point basket with 1:15 left, then made the game-winner off the set play.
"It's about stepping up. Big players make big shots and I just wanted to do that," said McCants, who scored 27 points.
"Coach pulled my card and he wanted me to take the shot. He had confidence in me and that's all you can ask for in a coach."
In an ironic twist, the win will probably move archrival Duke into the No. 1 spot in the top 25 poll. The second-ranked Blue Devils beat No. 4 Wake Forest earlier Saturday.
The Tar Heels (11-3) led by 16 points early in the second half, but the Huskies (14-2) took an 83-80 lead with 1:30 to play.
Connecticut, which had a winning streak end at 11 games and lost on the road as a No. 1 team for the first time in 12 games, missed two shots after McCants tied it.
Star center Emeka Okafor had 29 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots for the Huskies. Gordon had 10 points on three-for-14 shooting, seven rebounds and 10 assists.
No. 2 Duke 84, No. 4 Wake Forest 72 -- Shelden Williams controlled the boards, blocked shots and provided a strong low-post presence for the Blue Devils (14-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) at Durham, N.C.
It was the perfect complement to a balanced offense, as Duke extended its winning streak to 11 games.
J.J. Redick scored 23 points, and the 6-foot-9, 245-pound Williams had 16 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocked shots to lift Duke past the Demon Deacons (11-2, 2-1).
Georgia 65, No. 5 Kentucky 57 -- The Bulldogs (9-5, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) beat a top-five opponent for the second time this month. They downed then-No. 3 Georgia Tech, 83-80, on Jan. 3. The loss at Lexington, Ky., ended a 19-game regular-season conference winning streak for the Wildcats (11-2, 2-1).
No. 6 Saint Joseph's 81, Xavier 73 -- Delonte West made every shot he took -- 12 from the field, six from the free-throw line -- for 33 points at Cincinnati, helping the Hawks (15-0, 5-0 Atlantic 10) extend the best start in school history.
Jameer Nelson had 28 points in a two-guard attack that rallied the Hawks. The Musketeers (9-6, 1-2) led, 41-35 -- the Hawks' biggest halftime deficit of the season.
No. 8 Louisville 79, Tulane 58 -- The Cardinals (13-1, 4-0 Conference USA) shot a season-low 35.4%, but they managed to extend their winning streak to 13 games.
Luke Whitehead scored five points during a 9-0 run that gave them a 57-38 lead with 12:01 left. The Green Wave (6-7, 0-3) never got closer than 13 the rest of the way.
No. 10 Cincinnati 85, Texas Christian 57 -- For the seventh consecutive game, the Bearcats (13-0, 4-0 Conference USA) had four players in double figures, and that balance was too much for the Horned Frogs (6-9, 2-2) at Cincinnati.
Missouri 79, No. 11 Oklahoma 75 -- Rickey Paulding scored nine of his 23 points in overtime to help the Tigers (7-6, 2-1 Big 12) extend the Sooners' losing streak to three games.
The Tigers avoided slipping under .500 for the first time since finishing 16-17 in 1996-97. It was their first win in Norman since 1994, and only the second loss in 47 home games for Oklahoma (10-3, 0-2).
No. 12 Georgia Tech 81, Maryland 71 -- Will Bynum scored 25 points to lead the Yellow Jackets (14-2, 2-1 ACC), who won their second game in three days after a two-game losing streak. The Terrapins (10-4, 1-2) couldn't follow up an upset of North Carolina, ending a winning streak at three games.
No. 13 Pittsburgh 59, Rutgers 49 -- The Panthers (18-0, 4-0 Big East) closed the game with a 16-2 run after the Scarlet Knights (9-5, 1-3) opened second-half leads of as many as six points.
Pittsburgh (18-0, 4-0) extended its nation-best home court winning streak to 37 games, 31 at the Petersen Events Center.
No. 14 Kansas 71, Texas A&M 65 -- The Jayhawks (11-2, 3-0 Big 12) held off a late rally at College Station, Texas, to extend their conference winning streak to seven games. They also improved to 9-0 against the Aggies (7-6, 0-2).
No. 23 Vanderbilt 86, No. 15 Florida 72 -- The Gators (11-3, 2-1 SEC) had a six-game winning streak ended by the Commodores (13-2, 2-2), who led by as many as 19 points, 81-62, with 2:25 left at Nashville.
