CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -- Austin Rivers pulled up, launched a high-arcing 3-pointer -- and shot No. 10 Duke right back to the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The freshman capped the Blue Devils' furious rally with a buzzer-beater that gave them an 85-84 win over No. 5 North Carolina on -- and just might have put their season back on track.
A few days earlier, Duke was reeling after a home loss to Miami -- its second defeat in a stretch of three home games.
Just that quickly, the Blue Devils find themselves sharing first place in the league with Florida State and a Tar Heels team they stunned by storming back from 10 points down in the final 3 minutes.
"This could be a huge momentum thing for our team right now," Rivers said.
Rivers finished with a season-high 29 points -- a Duke freshman record for points scored against North Carolina -- and his six of the Blue Devils' season high-tying 14 3-pointers. The last came over 7-footer Tyler Zeller with the Blue Devils (20-4, 7-2) trailing by two in the final seconds.
With teammate Seth Curry in the corner screaming at him to shoot, Rivers let the shot fly over Zeller's outstretched hand with about a second left and it swished through the net after the buzzer sounded.
That sent the freshman running down the court in celebration while the Blue Devils mobbed him and the North Carolina crowd could only watch in disbelief. It also sent his dad, Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, into jubilant celebration in the stands.
"It was two great basketball programs, two big-time teams," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said, "and they made more plays the last three minutes than we did."
As the Blue Devils came off the court, Curry was bear-hugged by Blue Devils assistant coach Jeff Capel -- who's most famous for hitting another of the rivalry's signature shots, a running 40-footer at the buzzer that sent the 1995 meeting at Duke into double overtime.
"It took me a minute for me to believe it was real," Curry said.
Rivers called it "my favorite win I've ever had in my entire life."
"And it's because we were down the whole game," he said. "The whole game, we were down. They just kept it on us -- 10-point lead, 10-point lead. And then there (were) 3 minutes left and probably everybody thought we were going to lose, and we just kept fighting."
Harrison Barnes scored 25 points for the Tar Heels (20-4, 7-2), whose school-record 31-game home winning streak was snapped. Zeller finished with 23 points -- but only four in the second half -- and 11 rebounds.
Zeller also missed two free throws in the final minute, including one with 13.9 seconds left that set up Rivers' winning shot, and accidentally tipped the ball into Duke's basket while trying for a rebound in the final 15 seconds.
"They made the right plays and we didn't," Barnes said. "It's just that simple."
Ryan Kelly and Curry each finished with 15 points for the Blue Devils -- who trailed by 13 in the second half, were down 82-72 with 2 1/2 minutes left and appeared headed for their first two-game losing streak since 2009.
Tyler Thornton started the comeback by hitting a 3 with just over 2 minutes remaining. Mason Plumlee's steal seconds later led to another 3 by Curry with 1:48 left. Kelly then followed with a jumper to pull Duke to 83-80.
Zeller made it a three-point game with a free throw, but Kelly followed by launching a long shot that looked like a 3. With the ball falling short of the rim, the North Carolina big man tried for the rebound but accidentally deflected the ball up and into the basket -- bringing the Blue Devils within one point.
Zeller's free throw extended North Carolina's lead to 84-82 with 13.9 seconds left -- plenty of time for Rivers to etch his name squarely into the lore of this Tobacco Road rivalry.
"Guys responded well, and it showed," Kelly said. "But that's how we have to play moving forward. We have an incredible opportunity as a team. We fought our way back into the top of the ACC. ... Now, we've just got to keep it rolling."
No. 2 Syracuse 64, Georgetown 61
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Kris Joseph scored a career-high 29 points, hitting a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute of overtime, and Syracuse beat Georgetown to give coach Jim Boeheim his 880th career win.
Boeheim took sole possession of third place all-time in Division I, one more than North Carolina's Dean Smith, but it wasn't easy against the Orange's rival.
The game was tied at 55 after regulation, and freshman Otto Porter scored the first four points of overtime for the Hoyas, swishing two free throws and hitting a baseline jumper to give Georgetown 61-59 lead with 2:19 left.
Dion Waiters tied it with a pair of free throws for the Orange, and after Porter lost the ball out of bounds at the other end, Scoop Jardine fed Joseph in the left corner, and he buried his career-best sixth 3 of the game with 29 seconds left.
Jardine sealed it by forcing a turnover by Jason Clark with 4.9 seconds to go, allowing Syracuse (24-1, 11-1 Big East) to remain unbeaten at home at 16-0. Georgetown (18-5, 8-4), had won five of six entering the game.
No. 7 Kansas 68, No. 6 Baylor 54
WACO, Texas -- Jeff Withey scored a career-high 25 points and Kansas went ahead to stay during a stretch without Thomas Robinson as the seventh-ranked Jayhawks had another convincing victory over sixth-ranked Baylor, winning 68-54.
No. 11 Michigan State 77, Penn State 57
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Draymond Green had 23 points and 12 rebounds and made some timely shots.
The Spartans (19-5, 8-3 Big Ten) are a game behind conference-leading and third-ranked Ohio State, setting up a big game Saturday on the road against the Buckeyes.
The last-place Nittany Lions (10-15, 2-10) have lost five straight and eight of nine.
Michigan State's Adreian Payne matched a career high with 12 points and freshman Branden Dawson also had 12, scoring in double figures for the fifth straight game.
Tim Frazier scored 19 on 6-of-18 shooting for the Nittany Lions.
Boston College 64, No. 15 Florida State 60
BOSTON -- Jordan Daniels scored a career-high 19 points, including four 3-pointers, to help the Eagles snap the Atlantic Coast Conference-leading Seminoles' win streak at seven games.
BC (8-16, 3-7 ACC) had lost six in a row and nine of its previous 11. It had not beaten a ranked team in three years.
No. 19 Virginia 68, Wake Forest 44
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Mike Scott made all nine of his shots and scored 19 points.
Joe Harris added 11 points and three other players were in double figures for the Cavaliers (19-4, 6-3 Atlantic Coast), who ended a six-game losing skid at the hands of the Demon Deacons.
Travis McKie scored 16 points for Wake Forest (11-13, 2-8), which has dropped five in a row and nine of its past 11. C.J. Harris scored 10.
No. 22 Michigan 62, Nebraska 46
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Zack Novak scored 14 points to go over 1,000 for his career.
The Wolverines (18-7, 8-4) outscored Nebraska 15-4 to start the second half and went on to only their second win in six Big Ten road games. The Cornhuskers (11-12, 3-9) lost their third straight.
Stu Douglass had 13 points and Trey Burke 12 for Michigan. Bo Spencer scored 13 to lead Nebraska.
Michigan, playing on the road for the fifth time in six games, had no trouble against a downtrodden team that's one game out of last place in its first season in the Big Ten.
MAC
Toledo 77, Ohio 73
TOLEDO -- Rian Pearson notched a double-double and Toledo went on a 5-0 run in the game's final minute to seal a 77-73 comeback win over Ohio on, snapping a three-game losing skid for the Rockets.
Down 73-72 with 1:08 to play, Curtis Dennis' three-point play pulled the Rockets (11-13, 3-7 Mid-American Conference) ahead for good. The Bobcats then missed two jumpers and turned the ball over once down the stretch, and Matt Smith clinched the win for Toledo with a pair of foul shots in the game's final second.
Toledo outrebounded Ohio 43-32, and outscored the Bobcats 36-20 in the paint.
Pearson finished with 18 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, and Smith also tallied 18 points for the Rockets.
D.J. Cooper also had 18 points to lead the Bobcats (19-5, 7-3), who had a six-game winning streak snapped in defeat.
Kent St. 62, E. Michigan 58
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- Justin Greene scored 17 points and Carlton Guyton 10 to lead Kent State to a 62-58 victory against Eastern Michigan.
Randal Holt's 3-pointer put the Golden Flashes (17-6, 7-3 Mid-American) up 59-58 with 23 seconds remaining, and Patrick Jackson preserved the lead with a block of Darrell Lampley's short shot attempt with six seconds left. Chris Evans made three free throws in the final four seconds for Kent State, which won its fifth straight.
Akron 69, Western Michigan 66
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Quincy Diggs scored six of his 10 points in overtime, but it was Zeke Marshall's two free throws with 37 seconds left in the extra session that gave Akron a 69-66 victory over Western Michigan on.
Bowling Green 61, Ball St. 54
MUNCIE, Ind. -- A'uston Calhoun had 27 points and nine rebounds, and Dee Brown hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the game as Bowling Green defeated Ball State 61-54 on Wednesday.
Calhoun, who was averaging 13 points per game, hit 11 of 21 shots and was 5 for 6 from the free-throw line. Brown added 12 points for the Falcons (12-11, 6-4 Mid-American), who won their third straight game for the first time this season.
Buffalo 66, C. Michigan 62
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Javon McCrea scored 16 points leading four Buffalo players in double figures, and the Bulls won their seventh straight game by beating Central Michigan 66-62.
N. Illinois 62, Miami (Ohio) 59
DEKALB, Ill. (AP) -- Tyler Storm scored 17 points off the bench and Northern Illinois won for only the third time this season, defeating Miami (Ohio) 62-59.
The Huskies (3-19, 2-8 Mid-American), who snapped a six-game losing streak, trailed by 10 points midway through the second half before going on a 17-5 run to take a 58-56 lead on Aksel Bolin's 3-pointer with 2:30 left in the game.
Ohio colleges
Cincinnati 76, St. John's 54
NEW YORK -- Sean Kilpatrick scored 10 of his 14 points in the opening 5 minutes of the second half and Cincinnati went on to a 76-54 victory over St. John's.
The blowout win by the Bearcats (17-7, 7-4 Big East) ended a string of four straight games between the teams that ended with two-point margins, including St. John's 57-55 win at Cincinnati on Jan. 7.
Xavier 84, Rhode Island 66
CINCINNATI -- Tu Holloway had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, getting Xavier's sluggish offense going to an 84-66 victory over Rhode Island that kept the Musketeers locked in a second-place tie in the Atlantic 10.
Xavier (16-8, 17-3) can grab at least a share of first place when it plays at Temple (18-5, 7-2) on Saturday. The Owls rallied to beat George Washington 79-72 on.
The Musketeers have won five in a row against Rhode Island (5-20, 2-8) and 17 of the last 18 in their series.
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