Puff Johnson gets key bucket in Penn State’s upset of No. 14 Illinois; Love hits 27 in loss; Garcia scores 22 in win

It hasn’t always gone smoothly for Puff Johnson in his first season at Penn State, but he made a huge play Wednesday when the Nittany Lions pulled off a huge upset of No. 14 Illinois. That was one highlight for the former Tar Heels during a week that Caleb Love and Dawson Garcia scored in the 20s while Destiny Adams and Kennedy Todd-Williams each scored 15.

UNC keeps foot on gas, runs over No. 6 N.C. State, led by 23 from Donarski

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina’s record would be dramatically different if a few plays at the end of close losses had gone differently. The Tar Heels repeatedly shot down any chance that Thursday’s game against No. 6 N.C. State would come down to one or two possessions like the other defeats. UNC came through with its best perimeter shooting game of the season, never trailing after the opening quarter, on its way to an 80–70 win at Carmichael Arena.

UNC gets big bounce-back win with beast mode from Ingram early, Bacot late

CHAPEL HILL — The beast mode from Harrison Ingram early and Armando Bacot late drove No. 7 North Carolina to a huge bounce-back victory it badly needed. Bacot scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half, and Ingram had a double-double by halftime as the Tar Heels eased to a 96–81 win Saturday over Virginia Tech at the Smith Center for the 64th 20-win season in program history and third in a row.