Number-one Gators in action

Tar Heels lose...Gators and Badgers fare better <br/><br/>UNDATED (AP) North Carolina is college basketball's upset victim of the day. The 3rd-ranked Tar Heels dropped an 83-79 decision at North Carolina

Saturday, February 3rd 2007, 4:23 pm

By: News On 6

Tar Heels lose...Gators and Badgers fare better

UNDATED (AP) North Carolina is college basketball's upset victim of the day. The 3rd-ranked Tar Heels dropped an 83-79 decision at North Carolina State. Courtney Fells scored 21 points to lead the Wolfpack.

Tyler Hansbrough led the now 20-3 Tar Heels with 24 points.

In the rest of the Top-25 A-P action:

-- Al Horford was the sparkplug of top-ranked Florida's 94-78 victory over Tennessee. The junior forward/center had a career-high 22 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 key 2nd-half blocks to help the Gators extend the nation's longest winning streak to 14 games. They are 21-2 overall and 8-0 in the Southeastern Conference. The Vols fell to 1-4 without the SEC's leading scorer, Chris Lofton, who missed a fourth consecutive game with a sprained right ankle.

-- 2nd-ranked Wisconsin rebounded from its only Big Ten loss of the season with a 69-52 league victory over visiting Northwestern. Alando Tucker, the conference's second-leading scorer, paced the Badgers with 20 points. Wisconsin's 71-66 defeat at Indiana on Wednesday snapped a 17-game winning streak.

-- 4th-ranked Ohio State won on the road at Michigan State, 63-54. Seven-foot freshman Greg Oden dominated with 16 points, 11 boards and 4 blocks. The Buckeyes have won seven straight.

-- 5th-ranked UCLA overwhelmed Oregon State, 82-35. Arron Afflalo scored 16 as the Bruins posted their 17th straight home win.

-- Southern California upset 9th-ranked Oregon, 71-68. Taj Gibson scored 18. The Trojans completed their first season sweep of the Ducks in six years.

-- #11 Memphis crushed visiting SMU 88-52. An eleventh straight victory puts the Tigers at 19-3 overall and 9-0 in Conference USA play. Doneal Mack went 5-5 from behind the 3-point line and scored 17 points for the winners.

-- Colorado pulled an 89-77 upset of 12th-ranked Oklahoma State. Dominique Coleman and Kal Bay each scored 21.

-- 13th-ranked Butler won its eight consecutive outing and 20th in a row at home. A.J. Graves scored 20 points and Mike Green added 14 points and 9 rebounds to help the Bulldogs to a 66-47 thrashing of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

-- #14 Marquette won its seventh straight -- a 69-62 victory over visiting Providence. Jerel McNeal led the Golden Eagles with an 18-point, 12-rebound performance.

Marquette retired the Number-3 jersey of former All-American Dwyane Wade at halftime. He's the ninth player to be accorded the honor by the Milwaukee school. The Miami Heat's All-Star guard is in town because the Heat play the Bucks tonight.

-- Boston College continues to have Virginia Tech's number. The Eagles 80-59 victory was their sixth straight over the 16th-ranked Hokies. Jared Dudley led the way with 30 points and 11 boards. Tyrese Rice chipped in with 20 points and dished out 8 assists.

-- 17th-ranked Air Force annihilated a shorthanded Wisconsin team 88-43. Three of the Cowboys starters were serving suspensions for fighting in a game last week, and another was sidelined with an injured ankle. The 45-point margin was the largest in the history of the Mountain West Conference.

-- #19 Alabama survived a scare from visiting South Carolina. Mykal Riley scored 14 of his 15 points over the final 12 minutes as the Crimson Tide rallied for a 64-61 victory over the Gamecocks. Richard Hendrix added 14 points and 15 rebounds for winners.

-- 20th-ranked Arizona avoided the program's first three-game home losing streak since the 1983-84 season with a convincing 80-50 romp over Washington. Freshman Jordan Hill was high man for the Wildcats with a career-high 16 points.

-- Kansas State went into Austin and upset the 22nd-ranked Texas Longhorns, 73-72. Cartier Martin hit a go-ahead 3-point with 41 seconds left and scored K-State's final 5 points. He finished with 27.

-- Don't look for Clemson to be included in next week's AP Top 25. Javaris Crittenton's 26 points helped Georgia Tech upset the 25th-ranked Tigers 80-62, snapping the Yellow Jackets four-game losing streak. Clemson has dropped three straight and five of six after winning its first three ACC outings.