CHAPEL HILL, N.C. ? Jawad Williams found himself in the right place at the right time, with a stern message from assistant coach Steve Robinson fresh in his mind.

“Coach Robinson cussed me out for not playing hard,” Williams said with a smile. “He gave me a little extra motivation.”

Soon after the tongue-lashing, Williams tipped in a miss to thwart a second-half rally by Kentucky, helping No. 9 North Carolina beat the No. 8 Wildcats, 91-78, Saturday in a game between the two winningest programs in college basketball history.

Rashad McCants had 20 of his 28 points in the first half, and Sean May scored 11 of his 14 in the first eight minutes of the second, but Williams’ basket equally was clutch. The Wildcats had trimmed what was a 17-point deficit to seven on a three-pointer by Bobby Perry with about four minutes left.

Raymond Felton missed a three for the Tar Heels, and Williams timed his leap perfectly to give North Carolina (6-1) an 81-72 lead. May made a free throw, and McCants added two, and Kentucky never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

Williams scored 19 points, and May had 19 rebounds for the Tar Heels, who outrebounded Kentucky 51-30.

“I can’t say enough about Sean May,” Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said. “You know, he had nine rebounds in the first half, just dominating on the boards, and then he turned around in the second half and got 10.”

Kelenna Azubuike had 24 points for the Wildcats (4-1), and Joe Crawford finished with 11. Leading scorer Chuck Hayes, saddled with foul trouble, didn’t score until the second half and had only four points.

“They dominated us in every phase,” Hayes said. “They played great, and we didn’t.”

These two powers have played since 1923-24 — Kentucky leads the career victory list 1,880-1,833 — and the recent history has belonged to the Wildcats. They have won four straight since the series was revived in 2000, including a 61-56 decision last season in Lexington.

The game was fast-paced from the beginning, with North Carolina scoring the first eight points in less than two minutes to force a timeout by Kentucky coach Tubby Smith. The Tar Heels’ lead reached 24-6 and 36-19 before the Wildcats recovered, but North Carolina still had a 15-point margin at the break.

“Our goal was to get the ball out and get running again,” May said. “That’s what we wanted to do to them.”

No. 1 Wake Forest 90, Richmond 73

Winston-Salem, N.C. — Eric Williams had a season-high 21 points, and Wake Forest rebounded from its first loss by beating Richmond. Justin Gray scored 18 of his 22 points in the first half for the Demon Deacons (6-1), coming off a lopsided loss at Illinois that almost certainly will cost them the No. 1 ranking next week. They never trailed against the Spiders, shooting 53 percent and playing improved defense before heading into a nine-day break for final exams. Jermaine Bucknor scored 14 points to lead the Spiders (3-2).

No. 3 Syracuse 68, Colgate 55

Syracuse, N.Y. — Hakim Warrick scored 23 points, and Terrence Roberts scored six of his 13 points during a decisive second-half spurt to help Syracuse beat Colgate for the 39th straight time. It was the 147th meeting between the schools and this time it was a struggle for the Orange (7-0). Simon led Colgate (2-4) with 18 points, Andrew Zidar had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Alvin Reed had nine points.

No. 5 Illinois 72, Arkansas 60

North Little Rock, Ark. — Roger Powell scored 19 points, and Dee Brown and Deron Williams added 13 each, helping Illinois overcome a sluggish offense and poor free-throw shooting to defeat Arkansas (5-1). The Illini (6-0) rarely looked like the team that beat top-ranked Wake Forest by 18 Wednesday night. Illinois was playing its first game in front of a hostile crowd, and, while never rattled, it committed more than twice the number of turnovers as it did against the Demon Deacons.

No. 7 Connecticut 74, Indiana 69

Hartford, Conn. — Rashad Anderson scored 17 points, and Rudy Gay had 10 rebounds to rally Connecticut. The Huskies (3-0) got a lift from reserve freshman guard Antonio Kellogg, who ignited a 17-1 second-half run that erased 13-point deficit. Bracey Wright led the Hoosiers (2-2) with 28 points and four steals. The Hoosiers pulled within two points with 3:45 on a free throw by Robert Vaden, but UConn hit 7-of-10 free throws down the stretch.

No. 10 Duke 93, Valparaiso 61

Chicago — J.J. Redick scored 26 points, and Duke used a smothering defense to rout Valparaiso and give coach Mike Krzyzewski his 699th career win. Playing in Krzyzewski’s hometown, the Blue Devils (5-0) took control midway through the first half with a 20-4 run and sailed from there.

George Washington 96, No. 11 Michigan St. 83

Washington — Pops Mensah-Bonsu scored 23 points, and George Washington forced Michigan State into committing 22 turnovers in a surprisingly easy victory. T.J. Thompson had 18 points, and Carl Elliott added 17 for the Colonials (4-1), who have won four straight following a season-opening loss to top-ranked Wake Forest. George Washington had dropped 12 in a row against ranked teams since defeating St. John’s in December 2000.

No. 12 Maryland 78, George Mason 54

Washington — Chris McCray and Nik Caner-Medley each scored 20 points, and Maryland limited George Mason to four first-half baskets to advance to the championship game of the BB&T Classic. John Gilchrist had nine points and nine assists for the Terrapins (4-1), who will be seeking their fifth title in the tournament’s 10-year history. George Mason (3-2) made only four of 27 field-goal attempts in the first half and went 0-for-13 from 3-point range. Jai Lewis had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Patriots, who are 0-7 against Maryland.

No. 13 Pittsburgh 87, Duquesne 57

Pittsburgh — Chris Taft and Chevon Troutman controlled the inside, and Carl Krauser led Pittsburgh’s improved guard play in a win over city rival Duquesne. Taft had 16 points, Troutman added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Krauser scored 15 points to help Pittsburgh start 5-0 for the fifth consecutive season and the second time under coach Jamie Dixon.

No. 17 Louisville 98, Lafayette 57

Louisville, Ky. — Francisco Garcia scored 25 points, and Ellis Myles grabbed 16 rebounds to lead Louisville to a rout of Lafayette. Freshman Juan Palacios scored 16, and Larry O’Bannon added 13 for the Cardinals (4-1), playing for the first time since finishing fifth in the Maui Invitational. Garcia also had five assists and seven rebounds.

Miami 72,

No. 19 Florida 65

Gainesville, Fla. — Anthony Harris scored 18 of his career-high 23 points in the second half to help Miami topple Florida and give first-year coach Frank Haith his biggest victory. Miami’s three starting guards combined for 55 points. Guillermo Diaz and Robert Hite added 16 apiece for the Hurricanes (3-2). Anthony Roberson had 20 points for Florida (4-1), and David Lee added 16, but Matt Walsh was 2-of-9 from the floor and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc. He finished with eight points.

Michigan 61,

No. 20 Notre Dame 60

Ann Arbor, Mich. — Daniel Horton’s three-point play with 20.7 seconds to go lifted Michigan to a win over Notre Dame.

Chris Thomas had two chances in the last 10 seconds to score a go-ahead basket for Notre Dame, but he missed the first and had the second attempt blocked by Brent Petway.

The Wolverines (4-3) had lost three straight to No. 4 Georgia Tech, Providence and No. 21 Arizona. Horton scored 15 points, all in the second half. Ron Coleman added 11 and Dion Harris had 10. Dennis Latimore led the Fighting Irish (3-1) with 18 points, twice his average since transferring from Arizona. Torin Francis scored 12 and Thomas had just two points on 1-of-13 shooting. Thomas was averaging 14 points a game.

No. 22 Alabama 102, Charlotte 101, 3OT

Charlotte, N.C. — Kennedy Winston scored a career-high 33 points and hit a 16-foot jumper with 20.5 seconds left in the third overtime to lift Alabama past Charlotte. Winston forced overtime when he made an 18-footer with 2.9 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 78-all. That shot capped a rally in which Alabama (6-1) came back from a seven-point deficit in the final three minutes.

No. 23 Iowa 83,

UNC-Greensboro 58

Iowa City, Iowa — Pierre Pierce and Adam Haluska scored 17 points apiece, and Iowa (6-1) overcame a sloppy effort to beat UNC-Greensboro and win the Hawkeye Challenge.

No. 25 Wisconsin 70, Rutgers 62

Piscataway, N.J. — Senior forward Mike Wilkinson scored a career-high 26 points, and Wisconsin handed Rutgers its second home loss to a Big Ten team in a week. The Badgers (4-1) shot 60.9 percent from the field in the second half (14-for-23). Freshman forward Ollie Bailey had 20 points for Rutgers (2-2), which lost 83-80 to Penn State on Wednesday.