Heels set the pace:ACC wins Challenge for 10th-straight year

No. 1 North Carolina Dominant Against No. 13 Michigan St., Win 96-61

Top-ranked North Carolina was impressive in what it hopes will be the first of three games at Ford Field.

Tyler Hansbrough scored the first basket of both halves and finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds, leading the Tar Heels to a 98-63 rout of Michigan State (No. 12 ESPN/USA Today, No. 13 AP) on Wednesday night.

The Tar Heels (8-0) took control with an 11-3 run late in the first half, led by 14 at halftime, then built a 30-plus cushion at the home of the Detroit Lions and the 2009 Final Four.

Barring injuries or an upset, the first unanimous preseason No. 1 team in The Associated Press poll seems destined for a return trip to the Motor City.

No. 15 Demon Deacons Rout Hoosiers, 83-58

No. 15 Wake Forest (7-0) continued its unbeaten season with an 83-58 win over Indiana (4-3) in the Big Ten/ACC

Challenge matchup on Wednesday night at the Joel Coliseum. The win put the ACC up 5-4 in the 10th annual event.

The Demon Deacons are now 8-1 all-time in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, including a 5-0 mark at home.

Sophomore James Johnson led the Deacons with 21 points, and junior L.D. Williams netted 16.

Maryland Men’s Basketball Outlasts Michigan

Greivis Vasquez had 23 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and six assists to carry Maryland over Michigan 75-70 Wednesday night in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

Eric Hayes scored 13, and Landon Milbourne and Dave Neal each had 12 for the Terrapins (5-2), who improved to 7-3 overall and 5-0 at home in the annual matchup between teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten.

Vasquez, a 6-foot-6 guard, helped Maryland finish with a 43-26 rebounding advantage.

Manny Harris led Michigan (5-2) with 15 points, and Zack Novak and DeShawn Sims had 12 apiece.

Tech Edged by Penn State, 85-83

Stanley Pringle scored 22 points, Danny Morrissey came up big from 3-point range and Penn State survived woeful free-throw shooting down the stretch to hold off Georgia Tech 85-83 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday night.

Penn State (7-1) squandered an early 10-point lead but looked to be in good shape when Morrissey connected on his third 3-pointer of the second half for an 81-74 lead with just over two minutes left.

But Georgia Tech (4-1) had a chance after Penn State missed three straight times on its first attempt in the 1-and-1. Two Pringle free throws with 14.2 seconds left made it 85-81, but Gani Lawal’s dunk pulled the Yellow Jackets within range.

Jamelle Cornley missed two more free throws with 5.4 seconds remaining and Georgia Tech rebounded. Iman Shumpert got off a running 3-pointer, but the ball clanked off the rim as the horn sounded.

Seminoles Fall at Northwestern, 73-59

Craig Moore scored 20 points to lead Northwestern to a 73-59 win over Florida State on Wednesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Kevin Coble added 15 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists for Northwestern (5-1), who dealt Florida State (7-1) its first loss of the season. Ivan Peljusic added 10 points for the Wildcats.

Northwestern trailed 36-33 at halftime, but used a 20-2 run in the second half to take the lead. Peljusic scored eight straight points during the span.

Toney Douglas scored 21 points to lead the Seminoles and Uche Echefu added 14.

*****from theacc.com*****