Everybody figured Wake Forest would ask star scorer Jeff Teague to take the shot that would knock off No. 1 Duke. That was why coach Dino Gaudio drew up a play instead for the player whose defensive lapse let the Blue Devils tie it.
James Johnson made up for a horrible final minute on defense by hitting the layup with 0.8 of a second left that helped the sixth-ranked Demon Deacons upend visiting Duke, 70-68, last night.
"We knew everybody was going to key on Jeff Teague - he's the one who scores for us, puts buckets up for us," Johnson said. "I finished the play."
And, more importantly, the game. Johnson had 13 points and 11 rebounds and freshman Al-Farouq Aminu had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Demon Deacons (17-1, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Wake Forest led nearly the entire way, before letting a late 13-point lead slip away.
Kyle Singler had 22 points and 12 rebounds for Duke (18-2, 5-1), which had won its previous 10 games.
"I didn't think we had the aggressiveness or toughness that we've shown. Then, all of a sudden, we had so much of it, it was unbelievable," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Our kids played so hard to put themselves in a position to win."
No. 2 Connecticut 71, DePaul 49: : Jerome Dyson scored 18 points and the visiting Huskies (19-1, 8-1 Big East) won their eighth straight.
The Blue Demons (8-13, 0-8) lost their eighth straight.
No. 21 Villanova 67, No. 3 Pittsburgh 57: : Reggie Redding had a career-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Wildcats (16-4, 4-3 Big East) to an upset of the Panthers (18-2, 6-2) in the last college basketball game played in Philadelphia's Wachovia Spectrum.
No. 5 North Carolina 80, Florida State 77: : Ty Lawson's three-pointer at the buzzer gave the visiting Tar Heels (18-2, 4-2 ACC) the victory.
North Carolina overcame 32 points from Florida State's Toney Douglas, who scored 24 in the second half to help the Seminoles (16-5, 3-3) wipe out a 52-39 deficit and give themselves a chance to win.
No. 7 Louisville 80, South Florida 54: : Edgar Sosa scored 16 points as the host Cardinals (16-3, 7-0 Big East) won their eighth straight.
Dominique Jones led the Bulls (7-14, 2-6) with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Providence 100, No. 15 Syracuse 94: : Sharaud Curry scored a season-high 22 points for Providence (14-6, 6-2 Big East), which won for the seventh time in nine games.
The visiting Orange (17-5, 5-4) lost its fourth in five games.
Cincinnati 65, No. 25 Georgetown 57: : Deonta Vaughn scored 20 points and the host Bearcats (14-7, 4-4 Big East) sent the Hoyas (12-7, 3-5) to their fourth straight loss.
State men
UMES 73, New Jersey Institute of Technology 67: : Gary Lee scored 17 points, and Neal Pitt added a game-high 11 rebounds as the visiting Hawks (6-12) beat the Highlanders (1-20), who broke a 51-game losing streak last week against Bryant.
McDaniel 56, Gettysburg 53: : Chad Arrington (Randallstown) had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead the Green Terror (13-5, 8-3 Centennial) past the visiting Bullets (13-4, 8-3).
McDaniel ended a two-game losing streak.
Mary Washington 79, Salisbury 73, OT: : The host Saints (10-7, 7-2 Capital Athletic) - led by Tad Dickman with 19 points - went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the last minute of overtime to beat the Sea Gulls (9-10, 6-4).
Washington College 79, Johns Hopkins 73: : The visiting Shoremen (8-10, 5-6 Centennial) - led by Tim Kohlrus with 19 points - made 11 of 12 free throws in the last 61 seconds to win.
Colin Kamm had 15 points for the Blue Jays (11-7, 6-5), whose 18-game home winning streak ended.
State women
Boston University 84, UMBC 57: : Carlee Cassidy scored a game-high 33 points in a losing effort for the visiting Retrievers (12-8, 4-3 America East) against the Terriers (13-6, 7-0).
Johns Hopkins 73, Washington College 56: : The host Blue Jays (7-10, 5-5 Centennial) - led by Lyndsay Burton with 18 points - outscored the Shorewomen (9-7, 4-6) 40-19 in the second half.
Jane O'Donnell had 17 for Washington.
York 92, Hood 45: : April Sparkman scored a game-high 22 and the host Spartans (17-1, 10-0 Capital Athletic) extended their winning streak to 17.
Jessica Parrish had 16 for the Blazers (3-15, 1-8).
Mary Washington 85, Salisbury 45: : Kylie Hall scored 16 points in a losing effort for the visiting Sea Gulls (4-15, 4-6 Capital Athletic).
The Saints improved to 15-3, 7-2.
Gettysburg 77, McDaniel 69: : Caitlin Moser scored 24 points to power the host Bullets (10-8, 7-4 Centennial) past the Green Terror (10-7, 8-4).
Ali Moreland had 20 points for McDaniel.