College Basketball Roundup : Notre Dame Pulls Off Another Stunning Upset With Win Over DePaul

Donald Royal seemed to have all the answers.

Royal scored 22 points, including 10 of 11 free throws, as Notre Dame registered its third major upset of the season at home by surprising No. 4-ranked DePaul, 73-62, Wednesday night at South Bend, Ind.

Earlier this season, the unranked Irish (18-7) upset North Carolina, then ranked No. 1, and Duke, ranked 15th, at home.

“They seem to come here a little bit intimidated,” Royal said.

Responded DePaul Coach Joey Meyer: “I don’t know about North Carolina and Duke, but they (Notre Dame) beat us. I’m a little frustrated, but they wanted it more.”

Beforehand, Notre Dame Coach Digger Phelps said the Irish needed to stop DePaul’s transition game, take good shots and make their foul shots.

“We did all those things,” Phelps said.

Notre Dame hit 19 of 21 free throws, including 10 of 11 in the final minutes when DePaul (25-2) came within 61-58 on Rod Strickland’s basket with 2:48 left.

David Rivers added 14 points for the Irish, 6 in the final three minutes. Mark Stevenson and Scott Hicks had 15 apiece for the Irish.

In the closing minute, Hicks, Royal and Rivers each made two free throws.

Rod Strickland scored 17 points for DePaul, and Dallas Comegys added 16.

Houston 84, TCU 65--Greg Anderson scored 14 of his 27 points in the last 10 minutes, and the Cougars routed the Southwest Conference champion Horned Frogs, ranked No. 15, at Fort Worth, Tex.

The loss ended a streak of 24 consecutive victories in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum for TCU (22-5, 13-2).

Tim Hobby added 25 points for Houston (17-9, 9-6).

TCU star Carl Lott made his first appearance after missing 10 games with a broken finger and scored 16 points. Carven Holcombe, TCU’s leading scorer at 18 points a game, was limited to 10.

Colorado 66, Kansas 56--Matt Bullard scored 23 points, and the Buffaloes stunned the 16th-ranked Jayhawks in a Big Eight game at Boulder, Colo.

The loss by Kansas (21-8, 9-4) left idle Missouri alone in the Big Eight lead with a 10-3 record.

Colorado (8-18, 2-11) trailed, 28-23, at halftime but went on an 8-2 run and caught Kansas at 46-46. The Buffaloes took the lead for good, 48-47, on a layup by Bryan Robinson.

Dan Becker and Bullard scored all the points in a 9-4 Colorado spurt in the closing minutes that put the game out of reach.

Danny Manning scored 19 points for Kansas.

Alabama 93, Tennessee 71--Michael Ansley had 20 points and 11 rebounds as the 10th-ranked Crimson Tide clinched the Southeastern Conference championship by turning back the Volunteers at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Keith Askins scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half for Alabama (22-4, 15-2), which built a 49-28 halftime lead.

Tony White scored 18 points for Tennessee (12-14, 6-11).

Illinois 93, Ohio State 70--Ken Norman scored 26 points, and the No. 14-ranked Illini rolled past the Buckeyes in a Big Ten game at Champaign, Ill.

The Illini (20-7, 10-5) scored 12 of the last 14 points in the first half to open a 45-20 lead. Norman had 16 points and 11 rebounds by halftime.

Ohio State (18-10, 9-7) made less than 30% of its shots in the first half. Dennis Hopson was held to 8 first-half points but finished with 28.

Clemson 88, Georgia Tech 77--Horace Grant had 30 points and 11 rebounds to lead the 13th-ranked Tigers past the Yellow Jackets in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Clemson, S.C.

Grant scored 21 points in the second half as the Tigers (25-3, 10-3) widened a 39-31 halftime lead.

Tom Hammonds scored 25 points for Georgia Tech (16-10, 7-6).

Syracuse 88, St. John’s 80--Sherman Douglas scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half to help the 11th-ranked Orangemen hold off the Redmen in the second game of a Big East doubleheader at New York.

The Orangemen (23-5, 11-4) moved into a second-place tie with Georgetown, one game behind Pitt in the Big East standings.

Syracuse, which beat St. John’s, 64-63, earlier this season, led by 16 points in the first half, but St. John’s (19-7, 9-6) cut the lead to 66-65 on two free throws by Willie Glass with 4:50 left.

Douglas had six points in the last 30 seconds to clinch the victory.

Mark Jackson scored 19 points for St. John’s.

Providence 85, Seton Hall 72--The 20th-ranked Friars scored the last 14 points to upend the Pirates in a Big East game at New York.

Billy Donovan scored 19 points for Providence (19-6, 9-5), including six free throws in the final minute. Francy Volcy made two free throws to give Seton Hall (15-11, 4-11) a 72-71 lead with 2:30 left before the Friars’ surge.

New Orleans 91, Northern Illinois 76--Ledell Eackles scored 27 points and Gabe Corchiani added 20 as the No. 19-ranked Privateers overpowered the Huskies at New Orleans.

The Privateers (24-3) were trailing by eight points with 4:45 left in the first half when Corchiani scored 12 points over an 8 1/2-minute span to help New Orleans build an 11-point lead.

John Culbertson scored 18 points for Northern Illinois (9-18).

U. of San Diego 61, St. Mary’s 50--Nils Madden scored 16 points, and the Toreros beat the Gaels at Moraga for their 13th straight victory.

San Diego (23-4, 13-1) had already wrapped up the West Coast Athletic Conference’s regular-season championship. Trailing, 23-18, at halftime, the Toreros went on a 26-8 tear in the first 9 1/2 minutes of the second half.

Paul Robertson scored 15 points for the Gaels (16-12, 7-7).

USF 71, Santa Clara 66--Robbie Grigsby made six free throws and also stole a pass in the final 23 seconds to give the Dons a WCAC victory over the Broncos at San Francisco.

Santa Clara (15-13, 6-8) trailed by 10 points in the closing minutes but made three three-point baskets to pull within 67-66 on Chris Lane’s three-pointer with nine seconds left. Grigsby made four free throws in the last seven seconds.

Patrick Clardy scored 15 points for the Dons (16-11, 6-8).