Wolfpack Gets Past Terrapins in a Rout

With North Carolina State clinging to fleeting hopes of returning to the NCAA tournament, Ilian Evtimov and Tony Bethel each scored 17 points to lift the Wolfpack over No. 22-ranked Maryland, 82-63, Wednesday night at Raleigh, N.C.

The Wolfpack, 15-10 overall and 5-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, led by 20 points in the first half and held on for their first home win against Maryland in five years.

North Carolina State started the season 10-1, then lost nine of 12 games to jeopardize its pursuit of a fourth consecutive NCAA bid. The team knows it needs more efforts like the one against the Terrapins (15-8, 6-6) down the stretch.

“We’re very confident,” Evtimov said. “We also know that we don’t have any room for error right now. If we want to have a postseason -- anything -- we’ve got to play hard and we’ve got to try to win every game we can. We’ve lost any kind of margin for error we’ve ever had.”

North Carolina State played unselfishly, making crisp passes to get open shots.

The Wolfpack made 13 three-point baskets -- many coming on kick-outs from the post or off penetration -- and finished with 22 assists and 25 field goals.

No. 1 Illinois 83, Penn State 63 -- Roger Powell Jr. was 10 for 10 from the field and scored 21 points, and Dee Brown scored 19 to lift the Illini at State College, Pa.

The Illini (26-0, 12-0 Big Ten Conference) topped the school record of 25 consecutive victories, set over three seasons from February 1914 to February 1916.

Geary Claxton had 19 points for the Nittany Lions (7-17, 1-10), who dropped to 0-10 all-time against top-ranked teams.

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No. 4 North Carolina 85, Virginia 61 -- Rashad McCants had 23 points, and Sean May had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the host Tar Heels (21-3, 9-2), who moved to within half a game of first-place Wake Forest in the ACC.

Gary Forbes had 23 points for the Cavaliers (13-10, 4-8).

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No. 6 Boston College 74, Rutgers 64 -- At Boston, Sean Marshall scored 22 points for the Eagles (21-1, 10-1 Big East Conference), who handed the Scarlet Knights (8-14, 2-10) their seventh loss in eight games.

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No. 11 Michigan State 81, Minnesota 62 -- Shannon Brown had 18 points and Maurice Ager had 16 for the host Spartans (18-4, 9-2 Big Ten), who sent the Golden Gophers (16-9, 6-6) to their third consecutive loss.

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No. 16 Alabama 72, Arkansas 63 -- Chuck Davis scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half at Tuscaloosa, Ala., to lead the Crimson Tide (20-4, 9-2 Southeastern Conference) to its second consecutive 20-win season and help end a three-game winning streak by the Razorbacks (17-8, 5-7).

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No. 20 Wisconsin 76, Michigan 50 -- Mike Wilkinson had 22 points at Madison, Wis., and the Badgers (17-6, 8-4 Big Ten) handed the Wolverines (12-14, 3-9) a school-record-tying ninth consecutive loss.

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No. 21 Oklahoma 83, Nebraska 60 -- Terrell Everett scored 18 points at Norman, Okla., and the Sooners (18-6, 7-4 Big 12 Conference) ended a three-game losing streak by beating the Cornhuskers (11-11, 4-7) for the seventh time in a row.

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No. 23 Charlotte 66, DePaul 62 -- Curtis Withers scored 18 points for host Charlotte (18-4, 9-2 Conference USA), which overcame Drake Diener’s 25 points and a school-record-tying seven three-point baskets for the Blue Demons (16-6, 8-3).

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No. 24 Cincinnati 83, Southern Mississippi 51 -- Jason Maxiell scored 20 points at Cincinnati, and the Bearcats (19-6, 7-4 Conference USA) dominated up front with a 44-19 rebound advantage over the Golden Eagles (10-14, 1-11).