College Basketball: Illinois triumphs in 'small ball' game

Demetri McCamey scored 29 points, including 11 straight in a key second-half stretch, to lead No. 16 Illinois to a 74-63, comeback victory over Oakland in Champaign, Ill., on Wednesday night.

The Illini (9-1) didn't lead until McCamey hit a basket, drew a foul, and made the free throw with just under 15 minutes left in the game. That put them ahead by 37-36.

Oakland (5-4) led 28-24 at the end of a sloppy first half. The first few minutes were inadvertently played with a smaller women's ball.

In the nation: No. 17 Kentucky (6-2) avoided its first losing streak under coach John Calipari with a 72-58 home victory over No. 23 Notre Dame (8-1). . . . Mike Krzyzewski moved into sole possession of third place on the all-time wins list as No. 1 Duke defeated Bradley, 83-48, in Durham, N.C. . . . No. 3 Pittsburgh (10-0) scored a 70-42 home victory over Delaware State (4-4). . . . Marcus Denmon made a clinching three-point play off his steal with 5.8 seconds to go in overtime, allowing host Missouri, ranked 15th, to hold off Vanderbilt, 85-82. . . . No. 18 Brigham Young (9-0) defeated Vermont, 86-58, in Glens Falls, N.Y. . . . No. 24 Louisville (7-0) racked up to a 61-35 home victory over San Francisco (3-5).

In the area: Immaculata's second-half surge propelled the Mighty Macs to a 70-69 home win against Widener. . . . Visiting Washington College broke open a close game in the second half to defeat Swarthmore, 74-64. . . . Kean won, 71-66, over host Rowan in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game.

Delaware Valley 79, Immaculata 63 - Emily Soper had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Aggies (4-4) to a win in Doylestown over the Mighty Macs (5-3).

Widener 92, Penn State Brandywine 50 - Widener fell behind by 2-1, then went on a 24-4 run to grab control of the game in Chester.

Ursinus 65, Haverford 48 - Host Ursinus (6-2, 4-1 Centennial Conference) had to hold on after Haverford (4-4, 2-3) cut a 19-point, second-half deficit down to five with four minutes left to play.

In the nation: No. 12 North Carolina (9-0) used a big second half to surge past East Tennessee State (2-5) for an 87-47 home win. . . . Morgan Hook hit seven three-pointers, helping No. 13 Oklahoma (8-1) defeat Stephen F. Austin at home, 84-57. . . . No. 15 Michigan State (8-1) had to hold on for a 55-48 victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee (3-5) in East Lansing, Mich. . . . Notre Dame (7-3, 1-0), ranked 18th, won its Big East opener, 79-43, at Providence (5-6, 0-1).

NCAA tickets on sale. All-session passes for the 2011 NCAA tournament's Philadelphia Regional at Temple's Liacouras Center are available for purchase to the general public. The all-session pass includes tickets for two round-of-16 games on Sunday, March 27, and for the regional final on Tuesday, March 29.

All-session passes can be purchased through OwlsTix.com, by calling 800-298-4200, or in person at the Liacouras Center box office.