Seattle ? Last week in practice with Washington’s scout team, Brandon Roy was pretending to be North Carolina State standout Julius Hodge.

Sunday, Roy defended Hodge on the decisive play and got just enough of his finger on Hodge’s final shot to help the Huskies win.

Will Conroy and Tre Simmons each scored 12 points, and Roy returned earlier than expected from arthroscopic knee surgery to lead No. 18 Washington to a 68-64 victory over No. 12 N.C. State.

“This was obviously a huge game for us going in,” Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar said. “It was an even bigger game the way we won it. We didn’t shoot the ball well from the perimeter, and we didn’t make foul shots, but we found a way to win.”

It didn’t hurt Washington (8-1) that Roy, who scored 10 points, was back in uniform.

The Huskies led, 66-64, and the clock was ticking down the final seconds when Hodge went up for a short jumper that would have tied it. He slipped past Washington’s Nate Robinson, leaned into Roy and launched the shot.

“I knew he was going to shoot it,” Roy said. “He went up, and I just kind of tipped it. I got high enough, and then it went off his hands and slipped out of bounds. But I got a piece of it.”

Simmons came away with the ball before it went out of play, drew a foul and made two free throws with 0.2 seconds to seal the victory. That left the Wolfpack (8-1) looking back on a questionable no-call.

“When I watch the film, I will be able to tell you,” N.C. State coach Herb Sendek said.

No. 1 Illinois 93, Valparaiso 56

Champaign, Ill. — Dee Brown had 19 points to lead all five Illinois starters in double figures for the second straight game, and the top-ranked Illini beat Valparaiso. Brown scored five points in a 20-5 run midway through the second half that gave the Illini (10-0) a 39-point lead over the Crusaders (2-6).

No. 5 North Carolina 85, Virginia Tech 51

Blacksburg, Va. — Jawad Williams and Sean May each scored 17 points, and the Tar Heels (8-1) gave Virginia Tech (5-3) a rough welcome to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

No. 11 UConn 81, Rice 72

Hartford, Conn. — Rashad Anderson scored 27 points and went 7-for-8 from the free throw line over the final two minutes for the Huskies (5-1).

No. 23 Maryland 90,

Florida St. 88, OT

College Park, Md. — John Gilchrist made two free throws with 6.6 seconds left in overtime to cap a 21-point, 13-rebound performance. Six players scored in double figures for the Terrapins (6-2), who held on after having blown a 13-point lead. The Seminoles (5-5) committed 25 turnovers in losing their 25th consecutive ACC road game.

Late Saturday Game

No. 22 Gonzaga 85,

No. 3 Georgia Tech 73

Las Vegas — Adam Morrison scored 24 points to lift Gonzaga past Georgia Tech in the Las Vegas Showdown. Derek Raivio tied a career high with 21 points on 11-of-18 shooting for Gonzaga (8-1), which earned its biggest victory since beating No. 3 Missouri on Dec. 13, 2003.