The road took a toll on college basketball’s last three unbeaten teams Saturday.
No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Florida and No. 9 Pittsburgh all lost for the first time this season, going down to unranked opponents inspired by their home crowds.
Duke (17-1), top-ranked since the preseason, lost 87-84 to Georgetown.
The Blue Devils were trying to improve to 18-0 for the first time in school history, but the paint-defending, layup-producing Hoyas made sure it wouldn’t happen – even with All-American J.J. Redick tying a career high with 41 points.
Florida (17-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) took the floor Saturday night as the last unbeaten team in the country.
But Tennessee put an end to the surprising Gators’ best start in school history with an 80-76 victory, behind Chris Lofton’s 29 points.
The Gators would have been in prime position to take over the No. 1 spot from Duke. They’ve been No. 1 twice before, but this year’s climb has been the most impressive.
The Panthers were first to fall Saturday.
Lamont Hamilton matched his career high with 24 points for St. John’s in a 55-50 victory at Madison Square Garden.
The victory came on the day St. John’s honored 10 of its former players and coaches, including Chris Mullin and Lou Carnesecca in a halftime ceremony. The Red Storm’s performance against the Panthers (15-1, 4-1) was certainly reminiscent of some of their great wins from the past at the Garden.
Hamilton made two free throws with 12 seconds left to give the Red Storm (10-6, 3-2) a 53-50 lead. Pitt’s Carl Krauser missed a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left and Phil Missere rebounded the miss and made two free throws with 4.3 seconds left for the final margin.
Indiana in 1975-76 is the last team to put together an undefeated season. Bobby Knight’s Hoosiers went 32-0 on their way to a national championship.
Illinois made a run at a perfect regular season last year, winning 29 straight before losing 65-64 in their Big Ten finale to Ohio State on March 6.
AP-ES-01-21-06 2246EST
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