Evansville, Ind. ? Steve Merfeld had to do something different against Creighton’s Kyle Korver. Even if that meant giving up his top scorer for defense.

The Evansville coach put Clint Cuffle on Korver, then watched as Cuffle scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half and limited Korver to a season-low five points and led the Aces to a 74-66 victory against No. 10 Creighton.

“There’s just no explanation for what he did,” Merfeld said. “I’m just elated.”

Cuffle was as dominant as Korver was expected to be.

He connected on 9-of-14 shots and grabbed four rebounds in 38 minutes, and, most important, made life difficult all night for Korver.

Korver entered the game averaging 20 points and leading the nation in three-pointers, but he turned in his worst performance of the year. He went 1-of-12 from the field, 0-for-7 from three-point range and never got into a rhythm.

The reason was that everywhere Korver went, Cuffle was shadowing him.

“That was the best matchup for us because of Clint’s knowledge of the game and his ability to focus on the task at hand,” Merfeld said.

It was Merfeld’s biggest win since leaving Hampton and taking over Evansville (6-9, 2-4 Missouri Valley Conference) this year, and it was the Aces’ first win over a Top 10 team since December 1983 when they beat Purdue 80-65.

Creighton center Brody Deren shoots over Evansville's Dan Lytle. Evansville defeated No. 10 Creighton, 74-66, Thursday at Evansville, Ind.

Evansville followed Merfeld’s blueprint perfectly.

The Aces kept the game close throughout, and used a stingy defense and a deliberate offense to give themselves a chance.

They scored the first five points of the second half to erase a 31-27 halftime deficit and never trailed by more than three points the rest of the way.

With 4:32 to go, Lucious Wagner knocked down a three-pointer, Evansville’s eighth of the night, to give the Aces a 60-59 lead they would not relinquish. After that, Creighton (16-2, 7-1) fell apart.

“I think we just got tired,” Korver said.

Cuffle put in a layup and completed a three-point play. Tobias Brinkley hit a short jumper and then the Bluejays started fouling.

Evansville sealed the win by hitting 6-of-8 free throws in the final minute.

“It was a great team effort,” Cuffle said. “It’s a great stepping stone for the season and the program.”

The fans celebrated by storming the floor and hopping up-and-down at midcourt. Cuffle simply gave one of his teammates a chest bump, knocking him to the floor as the Bluejays tried to rush off the court before the crush of fans.

Like Korver, Creighton played badly. The Bluejays shot 37.9 percent from the field and were outrebounded by a team that it had beaten 93-56 just eight days earlier.

The loss prevented coach Dana Altman from tying the school record with his 163rd victory, ended Creighton’s six-game winning streak and soured a week in which the Bluejays had claimed their highest national ranking in school history.

Virginia 85, No. 17 Wake Forest 75

Charlottesville, Va. — Todd Billet scored 23 points and Majestic Mapp returned as a leader for Virginia, helping the Cavaliers (11-6, 2-3 ACC) end a three-game skid and improve to 8-0 at home.

Mapp, playing for only the third time after missing more than two seasons while undergoing four surgeries to his right knee, scored just three points, but had four assists and gave the Cavaliers energy.

Wake Forest (12-2, 2-2) got 20 points from Josh Howard and career highs of 20 points from Vytas Danelius and 19 from Taron Downey.

No. 23 Oregon 91, Washington 66

Eugene, Ore. — Luke Ridnour had 15 points and 11 assists, while James Davis scored 18 points in Oregon’s third straight victory.

Forward Luke Jackson, a lefty averaging 17.1 points, left the game in the first half with a cut on his finger that required stitches and did not return. Oregon (13-4, 3-3) didn’t need him and led by as many as 39 points in the second half.

Washington (7-9, 2-5) was led by freshman guard Nate Robinson with 18 points.

No. 25 Cal 73, USC 68

Berkeley, Calif. — Cal’s Richard Midgley led all players with 23 points, and the Bears (13-2, 6-0 Pac-10) won their seventh straight game and 13th in a row at Haas Pavilion.

Southern Cal fell to 7-7 and 3-3.