NCAA News Wire
Top 25 roundup: Irish edge Tar Heels
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Notre Dame forward Zach Auguste scored a go-ahead basket off an offensive rebound for the game’s final points with slightly more than a minute to play, and the 13th-ranked Irish held off 18th-ranked North Carolina 71-70 in an Atlantic Coast Conference game Monday night at the Smith Center.
Auguste finished with 18 points, guard Pat Connaughton had 16 and guard Demetrius Jackson added 15 for Notre Dame, which ran its winning streak to 11 games.
Guard Marcus Paige scored 15 points for North Carolina (11-4, 1-1 ACC).
Notre Dame (15-1, 3-0) matched its victory total from all of last season. The Irish have a 3-0 record in conference play for the first time in either the Big East or ACC.
Oklahoma 70, Texas 49
AUSTIN, Texas — The 16th-ranked Sooners slammed the 10th-ranked Longhorns at the Frank Erwin Center. Monday’s win followed Oklahoma’s 10-point win over No. 22 Baylor on Saturday, giving the Sooners back-to-back victories over ranked foes to start conference play.
Sooners guard Isaiah Cousins hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the second half, sparking a 9-2 run to begin the period as Oklahoma (11-3, 2-0 Big 12) surged ahead by 26 points. That all but buried Texas, which struggled to find the mark all night. The Longhorns (12-3, 1-1) shot 30 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from 3-point range.
Guard Buddy Hield scored 13 points to lead Oklahoma, which had five players score in double digits. Texas got a team-high 13 points from guard Javan Felix.
West Virginia 78, Texas Tech 67
LUBBOCK, Texas — Behind strong second-half performances by guard Juwan Staten and forward Devin Williams, the 14th-ranked Mountaineers pulled away from the Red Raiders.
West Virginia (14-1, 2-0 Big 12), enjoying its best start since the 1981-82 season, shot 64 percent in the second half, including a torrid nine of 10 coming out of the break. Staten scored 16 points, and Williams added 14, combining for 24 of those during the second half.
Guard Devaugntah Williams led Texas Tech (10-5, 0-2) with 21 points.
