SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Dion Waiters scored 15 points, Kris Joseph had 11 points and eight rebounds and No. 3 Syracuse continued to win amid a federal investigation, this time outlasting Marshall 62-56 on Tuesday night.
It was the third game for the Orange (9-0) since former associate head coach Bernie Fine was fired after allegations by three men that he sexually molested them as minors. Two of the three men were former Syracuse ballboys. Fine has maintained his innocence and no charges have been filed.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim figured the Thundering Herd (5-2), which beat Cincinnati of the Big East in overtime on the road, would offer a tough challenge for the Orange.
He was right.
But Scoop Jardine helped down the stretch, finishing with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists as the Orange became the first Big East team to get to nine wins. Jardine also had three steals.
Dennis Tinnon had 17 points and 15 rebounds to lead Marshall.
NO. 4 NORTH CAROLINA 97, EVANSVILLE 48
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - Harrison Barnes scored 17 points to help North Carolina beat Evansville.
Reggie Bullock added 15 points off the bench for the Tar Heels (7-2), who had an easy time bouncing back from their loss at top-ranked Kentucky. North Carolina ran off 10 straight points midway through the first half to blow the game open, then pushed a 30-point halftime lead to as many as 51 points in the second half.
North Carolina shot 60 percent in the first half before finishing the game at 49 percent. The Tar Heels more than doubled the Purple Aces (3-4) on the boards and held them to 26 percent shooting, including a 6-for-27 performance from 3-point range.
Denver Holmes scored 14 points and was the only player to reach double figures for Evansville.
NO. 10 MISSOURI 81, VILLANOVA 71
NEW YORK (AP) - Marcus Denmon had his second straight strong game from 3-point range, this time making six and scoring 28 points in Missouri's victory over Villanova in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
The 6-foot-3 senior guard made seven 3s while scoring a career-high 31 points in the Tigers' last game against Northwestern State. He came into the game averaging 20.6 points and 3.3 3-pointers. On Tuesday, he was 6 of 10 from 3-point range, making all three attempts in the first 7:41 of the second half when Missouri (8-0) opened a 16-point lead.
Ricardo Ratliffe added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers, who last started a season with eight straight wins in 2006-07. Kim English had 15 points for Missouri, which cracked the top 10 this week in its first season under coach Frank Haith.
Maalik Wayns had 14 points for the Wildcats (5-3), who have lost three of four.
NO. 11 MARQUETTE 79, WASHINGTON 77
NEW YORK (AP) - Jae Crowder hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 6.3 seconds to play and Marquette beat Washington 79-77 in the Jimmy V Classic.
Darius Johnson-Odom had 23 points to lead the Golden Eagles (8-0) in an up-and-down game that included 15 lead changes and four ties over the final 12 minutes.
Crowder, who finished with 18 points, hit his only 3-pointer of the game in four attempts 9 seconds after Terrence Ross had given the Huskies (4-3) a 77-76 lead with a nice move in the lane when he was closely guarded by two Marquette players.
Washington had one last chance but Abdul Gaddy's long jumper at the buzzer was well off the mark.
Ross had 19 points to lead the Huskies, who have lost three of four and will remain in New York to face No. 7 Duke on Saturday, also in Madison Square Garden.
NO. 13 KANSAS 88, LONG BEACH STATE 80
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Thomas Robinson had a career-high 26 points to go with 11 rebounds, Jeff Withey came within one blocked shot of a triple-double and Kansas held off Long Beach State after blowing a big first-half lead.
Connor Teahan also had a career-high 14 points for the Jayhawks (6-2), who established a 19-point lead on the Big West favorites before allowing Long Beach State to climb back into the game.
The 49ers (4-4), who have already knocked off then-No. 6 Pittsburgh on the road, closed within 77-72 with 3:01 remaining on a 3-pointer and two free throws by James Ennis.
Tyshawn Taylor answered with a three-point play to give Kansas some breathing room, and Withey added another three-point play moments later to make it 83-72.
Withey had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Taylor, normally the Jayhawks' starting point guard, came off the bench and finished with 12 points.
T.J. Robinson had 19 points for the 49ers.
NO. 15 PITTSBURGH 97, VMI 70
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Ashton Gibbs scored 20 points and Pittsburgh rolled to its sixth straight win by beating VMI.
Nasir Robinson added 19 points, 14 rebounds and five assists for the Panthers (8-1), who shot 49 percent from the floor and made a season-high 13 3-pointers.
Jordan Weethee led VMI (3-5) with 18 points but the Keydets simply lacked the firepower to keep up.
NO. 21 MEMPHIS 71, MIAMI 54
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) - Sophomore Will Barton had career highs of 27 points and 14 rebounds to help Memphis overcome a poor night of outside shooting against Miami.
The Tigers, who sank 15 3-pointers in a rout three nights earlier, went 1 for 12 from beyond the arc. But they repeatedly worked the ball inside in the second half to pull away.
Memphis (5-2) won its third game in a row. The Hurricanes (5-3) lost in their first game against a ranked team, and the defeat snapped a streak of 27 consecutive non-conference home victories.
Barton shot 12 for 20, including three alley-oop dunks.
The Hurricanes shot 36 percent, and their point total was a season low.