UIC can't finish in loss to No. 8 Butler

There was a game within the game Wednesday night at the UIC Pavilion: Who would blink first?

UIC wouldn't get out of its defensive zone and Butler wouldn't stop shooting 3-pointers, regardless of how many they missed. (And they missed a lot.)

It came down to Butler's star senior guard A.J. Graves. He hit a late, back-breaking 3 to send the No. 8 Bulldogs to a 51-46 victory in front of a loud, near-capacity crowd on senior night.

Close, but …

"No cigar," said a downcast UIC coach Jimmy Collins. "You don't get moral victories at 14-13."

The Flames smothered Butler with their 2-3 zone all game, shutting down its leading scorer Mike Green (3 points, 6 turnovers) and forcing an array of rushed shots.

The Bulldogs (25-2, 14-2 Horizon League) were content to work the ball around the perimeter, taking a season-high 37 3-pointers and making a respectable 13. They took just 10 shots inside the arc, essentially neutralizing UIC center Scott VandeerMeer's shot-blocking ability.

"It was a great risk by them," said Butler coach Brad Stevens, whose team is 1 win from clinching the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. "They didn't get out of (the zone) even when we hit a couple shots. They did a great job keeping the ball out of our guards' hands."

The up-and-down Flames had their chances to repeat last season's upset win over a ranked Butler squad. Instead, they lost their second straight close game to a conference power and now play three straight road games before the league tournament. The Flames (8-8) still are in fifth place in the Horizon, a game ahead of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

"The last two games we've shown that we can be in every game," said guard Josh Mayo, who led UIC with 15 points. "We just need to learn how to finish."

Butler's Drew Streicher scored inside to make it 46-43 with 1:49 left, but senior forward Jermaine Dailey, having the game of his career, tied it with a 3-point play 35 seconds later. Dailey finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds, tying his career highs.

The Flames' defense stayed true on the ensuing possession. But with the shot clock winding down and a hand in his face, Graves nailed his 3 in front of his bench.

"Experience beats luck, wishing and hoping," Collins said. "That was a hard lesson to learn, but we're getting experience learning."

Memphis 97, Tulane 71: Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 29 points to lead No. 1 Memphis (26-0, 12-0 Conference USA) to a victory over host Tulane, giving coach John Calipari his 400th victory.

The win, coupled with second-ranked Tennessee's 89-70 victory against Auburn, sets up a showdown Saturday between the two top-ranked teams in the country. It will be the first 1-2 meeting since No. 2 Ohio State beat No. 1 Wisconsin 49-48 on Feb. 25, 2007.

David Gomez led the Green Wave (15-10, 5-6) with 23 points.

Tennessee 89, Auburn 70: Ramar Smith scored 19 points, and No. 2 Tennessee (24-2, 11-1 Southeastern Conference) extended its home winning streak to 30 games by beating Auburn.

Frank Tolbert led the Tigers (13-11, 3-8) with 24 points.

N. Carolina 84, N.C. State 70: Tyler Hansbrough had 32 points -- including 16 during a decisive 11-minute run -- to help No. 3 North Carolina (25-2, 10-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat host North Carolina State.

Gavin Grant scored 17 points to lead N.C. State (15-11, 4-8).

Michigan St. 86, Penn St. 49: Raymar Morgan scored 16 points, and No. 19 Michigan State (21-5, 9-4 Big Ten) remained unbeaten at home with a victory over Penn State.

Stanley Pringle had 12 points for the Nittany Lions (12-13, 4-9).

Loyola 68, Valparaiso 61: Darrin Williams and Justin Cerasoli each scored 19 points, and Loyola (10-16, 6-10 Horizon League) celebrated senior night at the Gentile Center by beating Valparaiso (15-12, 6-9) to snap a three-game losing streak. Urule Igbavboa led Valparaiso with 15 points.

SIU 67, Northern Iowa 47: Matt Shaw scored a game-high 23 points to lead host Southern Illinois (15-12, 10-6 Missouri Valley) past Northern Iowa. Kerwin Dunham led Northern Iowa (15-12, 7-9) with 13 points.

Illinois St. 49, Evansville 47: In the final minute, Dinma Odiakosa hit the go-ahead layup, and Anthony Slack hit 2 free throws as Illinois State beat host Evansville in the Missouri Valley Conference. Emmanuel Holloway and Boo Richardson scored 10 each to lead the Redbirds (19-8, 11-5). Darin Granger scored 15 to lead Evansville (8-13, 3-13).

Women

UConn 95, Marquette 63: Maya Moore tied a season high with 31 points and moved into second place on the school's freshman scoring list, helping lead top-ranked Connecticut (25-1, 12-1 Big East) past visiting Marquette.

Angel Robinson led Marquette (14-12, 6-7) with 22 points.

DePaul 82, Georgetown 78: Allie Quigley scored a season-high 36 points to lead DePaul (18-7, 7-5 Big East) past host Georgetown. Kieraah Marlow led Georgetown (13-12, 3-9) with 21 points.