Big Ten/ACC Challenge Wednesday

HARRISON BARNES SCORED 20 FOR UNC
(Grant Halverston/Getty Images)

Big Ten wins third straight challenge after losing the first 10…

#5 NORTH CAROLINA 60, #9 Wisconsin (Badgers, 28,960 students, Madison, WI) 57 -- Harrison Barnes scored 10 of his 20 points during the decisive second-half surge to help North Carolina rally past an extremely deliberate Wisconsin. 

Tyler Zeller added 12 points for the Tar Heels (6-1) whose half-court offense still leaves much to be desired.  That said, when they turned up the defensive pressure, the Heels gained control of the game. Only some dumb UNC plays late and a half-court Badger buzzer beater made it look closer than it should have been. 

North Carolina trailed by five points midway through the second half before going on an 18-5 run that finally put the Tar Heels ahead for good.

North Carolina out-rebounded the  Badgers 42-29 and made 19 of 24 free throws.

Penn State (Nittany Lions, 32,295 students, State College, PA) 62, BOSTON COLLEGE 54 -- Junior Matt Humphrey led Boston College with 15 points as the Eagles lost to Penn State in front of 4,326 fans at Conte Forum as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Humphrey was 5-for-6 from the foul line and had four rebounds. Sophomore Gabe Moton scored 10 points for the second-straight game. It was the first loss for BC in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in six games.

HARRIS (Nati Harnik/AP Photos)

Indiana (Hoosiers, 42,464 students, Bloomington, IN) 86, N.C. STATE 75 -- Indiana scored the final 10 points in a fast-paced victory over NC State handing the Pack its second loss of the season. Sophomore Lorenzo Brown led the Pack with 19 points, followed by junior Scott Wood with 16. Both Painter and C.J. Leslie had 10 points.


WAKE FOREST 55, Nebraska (Cornhuskers, 19,345 students, Lincoln, NE) 53 -- C.J. Harris drove in for a layup with 3.4 seconds left to give Wake Forest a 55-53 victory over Nebraska. Wake Forest 7-footer Carson Desrosiers had career highs with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and he even made a couple 3-pointers. Chase Fischer added 13 points, Harris 12 and Travis McKie 11 for Wake Forest (5-2), which was 1-11 on the road last season.

Michigan State (Spartans, 36,058 students, East Lansing, MI) 65, FLORIDA STATE 49 -- Four days after falling to No. 4 UConn in overtime in the Bahamas, the Seminoles lost a hard-fought game to Michigan State, 65-49, Wednesday night in East Lansing.  The Noles (5-3) traded sand and held the Spartans (5-2) to their second-lowest points output this season.

GREEN (Jim Mone/AP Photo)

But FSU struggled on the offensive end of the basketball court.  Last night, the Seminoles turned the ball over 18 times and only had a season-low six opportunities from the free-throw line. Bernard James posted a double-double, scoring 13 points -- 11 of which came in the first half -- and grabbing 12 rebounds. He also blocked three shots.

Minnesota (Golden Gophers, 30,610 students, Minneapolis, MN) 58, VIRGINIA TECH 55 -- Tech fell behind early, but fought back and took a 28-25 lead into intermission. The Hokies and Golden Gophers battled back and forth throughout the second half, before Minnesota took a 56-55 lead with 18 seconds remaining on a pair of free throws by Julian Welch. Welch made two more free throws with 6.4 seconds remaining to give the Golden Gophers the lead, 58-56.


Erick Green, who had been knocked off the elevated court in William Arena in the final half minute of action, attempted to hit a game tying three-pointer at the buzzer, but the ball spun off the rim and Minnesota claimed the victory.

Green scored a career-high 25 points to lead all scorers. Robert Brown added 13 points and Victor Davila scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.