CHAPEL HILL, N.C. ? There still appears to be a wide gap between the two winningest programs in college basketball.

Gerald Fitch and Marquis Estill scored all of Kentucky’s points during an 18-2 run to start the second half as the 18th-ranked Wildcats defeated No. 12 North Carolina, 98-81, Saturday.

Kentucky beat the Tar Heels – two programs that have combined for 3,615 wins – for the third straight season, winning by 17, 20 and 17 points.

“They have a couple of things we don’t have,” said North Carolina coach Matt Doherty, who fell to 0-3 against the Wildcats. “They have talented big guys who can score.”

Fitch finished with a career-high 25 points, while Estill and Keith Bogans added 20 each for the Wildcats (4-1), who made 10 of 16 from three-point range to beat the young Tar Heels.

“We take pride in this, especially when you beat North Carolina in North Carolina – that’s huge,” said Fitch, who was 7-for-10 from the field and 7-of-8 from the foul line.

“In the second half we went down low and they lost their confidence,” Fitch added. “When we took the lead they weren’t attacking as much and they weren’t as aggressive.”

North Carolina (5-2) lost its second straight since jumping into the Top 25. The Tar Heels, who won just eight games last season, lost to Illinois by 27 points on Tuesday night.

“It’s better to learn from a win than a loss, but these two games helped us,” said freshman Sean May, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds. “We’ve just got to keep fighting. I can’t wait to play Vermont. It’s going to be hard sitting on a loss for 12 days.”

Rashad McCants, who hurt his left ankle in the final seconds, scored 22 to lead the Tar Heels, who were step for step with the Wildcats until point guard Raymond Felton and May got into foul trouble.

Once that happened, Kentucky pounced on North Carolina’s zone, using the big run over the first four minutes to take control. Fitch scored 10 points and Estill had eight during the burst.

Kentucky's Keith Bogans (10) celebrates in the closing seconds. The No. 18 Wildcats upended No. 12 North Carolina, 98-87, Saturday at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.

“We had basic fundamental breakdowns, and we can’t accept that,” Doherty said. “Yes, we’re a young team and all of that, but we’ve got to play 40 minutes against teams like Kentucky. We’ve got to play 40 minutes :quot; I don’t care who we’re playing.”

No. 1 Arizona 89, San Diego State 81

San Diego – Will Bynum scored 19 points and Rick Anderson had 17 points and 10 rebounds as No. 1 Arizona won by its narrowest victory margin this season. The Wildcats (4-0) had won their first three games by an average of 36 points. Arizona still handled San Diego State (2-3) with its two best players, Luke Walton and Jason Gardner, having off nights.

No. 3 Alabama 77, St. Bonaventure 68

Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Erwin Dudley tied a career high with 28 points and had 17 rebounds in Alabama’s school-record 23rd straight home victory. The Crimson Tide (6-0) eclipsed its 22-game home winning streak that started in 1971. Alabama dominated the undersized Bonnies (2-4), controlling the boards 62-39 and scoring 40 points in the paint.

No. 4 Duke 81, Michigan 59

Durham, N.C. – Daniel Ewing and Dahntay Jones had 17 points each as Duke spoiled the return Michigan coach Tommy Amaker, a former Blue Devils star. Duke (5-0) converted 25 turnovers into 26 points with a suffocating defense. Lester Abram scored 14 points for Michigan (0-6), off to the worst start in its 93-year history.

No. 5 Pittsburgh 82, Penn State 60

State College, Pa. – Donatas Zavackas hit three unguarded three-pointers early in the second half to give Pittsburgh a comfortable lead. Zavackas scored 20 points and Julius Page 14 for the Panthers (5-0). Penn State, which made the final 16 in the NCAA Tournament two seasons ago, is 0-5 for the first time since 1931.

Notre Dame 79, No. 9 Maryland 67

Washington – Freshman Torin Francis scored a 20 points on 8-for-8 shooting as Notre Dame stunned Maryland. Matt Carroll had 19 points, and former Terrapin Dan Miller added 17 for the Irish (7-1). Steve Blake scored 15 points for Maryland (3-2), which has lost consecutively for the first time since dropping three straight games two seasons ago.

No. 10 Indiana 91, Illinois-Chicago 62

Bloomington, Ind. – Jeff Newton had a career-high 25 points and 12 rebounds, and the unbeaten Hoosiers blocked eight shots. Bracey Wright scored 16 points, and Tom Coverdale added 14 for Indiana (6-0).

No. 11 Connecticut 97, Wagner 85

Storrs, Conn. – Emeka Okafor had 23 points, a career-high 19 rebounds and blocked eight shots for Connecticut. The sophomore center has recorded a double-double in all five games this season. The last time a UConn player had five straight double-doubles to open the season was Tony Hanson in 1976-77. Ben Gordon led UConn (5-0) with 29 points.

No. 13 Marquette 101, Appalachian St. 78

Milwaukee – Dwyane Wade scored 31 points for Marquette, which used a 27-3 run to pull away from Appalachian State. Robert Jackson added 25 points and 13 rebounds, Scott Merritt 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Travis Diener 10 points and 10 assists for Marquette (5-1).

No. 16 Xavier 50, Cincinnati 44

Cincinnati – David West scored 23 points as Xavier continued to hold the upper hand against its crosstown rival. Xavier (4-1) has won five of the last seven games in the series. Leonard Stokes scored 13 points to lead Cincinnati (3-2), which shot only 30 percent. Cincinnati dominated last year’s game, winning by 20 points.

No. 23 Wisconsin 91, UNLV 74

Madison, Wis. – Freshman Alando Tucker had 24 points and 18 rebounds in his first start, and Wisconsin handed UNLV its first loss. Devin Harris added 20 points, Kirk Penney 17, and Freddie Owens and Mike Wilkinson 15 apiece for Wisconsin (5-1). Dalron Johnson led UNLV (4-1) with 19 points and James Peters had 18.

No. 24 Mississippi State 78, Louisiana Tech 38

Starkville, Miss. – Michael Ignerski had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Mississippi State, which had a 20-0 run to open the second half. Ontario Harper added 11 points and 15 rebounds for the Bulldogs (5-1), who held Louisiana Tech (1-2) scoreless for nearly 11 minutes.

No. 25 Illinois 62, Arkansas 58

North Little Rock, Ark. – Brian Cook scored 18 points as Illinois remained undefeated. Arkansas point guard Eric Ferguson’s turnover with 2.9 seconds remaining all but clinched the game for the Fighting Illini (5-0).