Boston College Knocks Off Connecticut

Boston College Coach Al Skinner, who scheduled nine soft games to start the season to help boost his team’s confidence going into the big matchup against Connecticut, won’t have to worry about the Eagles’ egos now.

Troy Bell scored 27 points and Xavier Singletary had 23 on Wednesday night as the Eagles defeated the 10th-ranked Huskies, 85-68, at Boston to end a 23-game losing streak against their Big East rivals.

“It’s a big confidence booster, even though our confidence is sky-high right now,” Singletary said. “I felt we would win this game, but to other people it shows we’re a pretty good team.”

Connecticut’s dominance over Boston College matched the longest winning streak for one Big East team against another in conference history. Syracuse won 23 consecutive games against Seton Hall from 1982-92.

“At least that part you can put to rest,” said Skinner, who is only responsible for the last five losses in a streak that dates to Boston College’s last victory on Feb. 23, 1988. “But we still have a long way to go to catch up. We’re not even close to the talent that they have.”

Boston College (10-0) is off to its best start since winning 10 in a row to open its Sweet 16 season of 1984-85. Students stormed the court after the game to celebrate the Eagles’ first victory over a ranked opponent in two years.

“That hurt, when teams rush the floor against you,” Connecticut guard Tony Robertson said. “We really understand now [what the streak means]. We’ve got a target on us.”

Freshman Caron Butler had a career-high 29 points and 13 rebounds for Connecticut (11-2), which had won 10 in a row since losing to Dayton in the opening round of the Maui Invitational. The Huskies had 22 turnovers and made only 37% of their shots in the second half.

“Their purpose was to beat Connecticut tonight and our purpose was to play. That just isn’t how the game works,” Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun said. “I have a great admiration for how they played.

“I’m a BC fan tonight.”

No. 1 Michigan State 98, Penn State 73--Charlie Bell scored 26 points and Andre Hutson had 20 to lead the Spartans (12-0) over the Nittany Lions (9-2) in a Big Ten opener at East Lansing, Mich.

Michigan State used a 25-4 run midway through the second half to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 23 games and the best run at home to 37 games.

Penn State led by 11 points at halftime but collapsed in the second half.

No. 9 Illinois 80, Minnesota 64--Marcus Griffin scored 27 points to lead the Illini (11-3) over the Gophers (12-2) in a Big Ten opener at Champaign, Ill.

No. 11 Seton Hall 87, Providence 80--Ty Shine had a season-high 25 points and Darius Lane scored 24 to lead the Pirates (10-2) over the Friars (9-4) in a Big East opener at East Rutherford, N.J.

No. 19 Georgetown 90, West Virginia 66--Anthony Perry scored 15 points as the Hoyas (12-0), off to their best start since they were 14-0 in the 1989-90 season, routed the Mountaineers (8-3) in a Big East opener at Morgantown, W.Va.

WOMEN

No. 3 Notre Dame 75, Virginia Tech 64--Ruth Riley scored a career-high 27 points to lead the Irish (13-0, 2-0) to a Big East victory over the Hokies (9-2, 0-2) at Blacksburg, Va.

No. 7 Iowa State 84, Kansas State 58--Angie Welle had 18 points and 15 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season as the Cyclones (10-1) routed the Wildcats (10-2) in a Big 12 Conference opener at Manhattan, Kan.

No. 8 Louisiana Tech 66, Denver 46--Ayana Walker scored 22 points to lead the Lady Techsters (11-3, 2-0) to a Sun Belt Conference victory over the Pioneers (8-5, 0-2) at Ruston, La.

No. 12 Texas 62, Texas A&M; 49--Tai Dillard scored 15 to lead the Longhorns (13-2) over the Aggies (10-2) in a Big 12 opener at Austin, Texas.

No. 13 Texas Tech 82, Missouri 64--Amber Tarr scored 16 points to lead the Lady Raiders (10-2) over the Tigers (9-3) in a Big 12 opener at Lubbock, Texas.

No. 19 Oklahoma 89, Colorado 69--Caton Hill had career highs of 25 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Sooners (9-3) over the Buffaloes (9-3) in a Big 12 opener at Boulder, Colo.