Atlanta ? Will Bynum made sure Georgia Tech didn’t miss B.J. Elder too much.

Bynum scored 21 points while his injured teammate watched from the bench, and the ninth-ranked Yellow Jackets ruined Miami’s Atlantic Coast Conference debut with an 80-69 victory Thursday night.

Georgia Tech (10-2, 1-0) bounced back from an overtime loss New Year’s Day at No. 2 Kansas University, the game Elder left after hurting his left hamstring. The team’s second-leading scorer likely will be out through the weekend.

“With B.J. out, I had to be more assertive,” said Bynum, who did more than just score — he also had seven assists.

“I like those seven assists better than the 21 points,” he said, “and no turnovers.”

The Yellow Jackets built a 14-point halftime lead and held off Miami’s surge in the first five minutes of the second half.

Luke Schenscher scored 15 points, and Jarrett Jack, who had a huge game against KU, chipped in 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Not surprisingly, Georgia Tech seemed to have a bit of a letdown after squandering a 16-point lead to the Jayhawks on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets lost, 70-68 in overtime, falling to the team they beat last year to reach the Final Four.

“I was glad to get back on the court,” coach Paul Hewitt said. “It was probably the hardest, toughest regular-season loss I’ve ever experienced.”

Georgia Tech's Isma'il Muhammad, right, knocks the ball away from Miami's Robert Hite in the second half. The ninth-ranked Yellow Jackets won, 80-69, Thursday in Atlanta.

The Hurricanes (9-3, 0-1) moved from the Big East to the ACC this season — a football power hoping to make a mark in a league known for basketball. They came into their conference debut with an eight-game winning streak, including an upset of Florida, but couldn’t keep it going despite Guillermo Diaz’s 27 points.

“We had a lot of energy,” Diaz said. “We expected to win.”

Looking for the bright side to Elder’s injury, Hewitt believes it can give the Yellow Jackets a chance to develop more depth for the brutal ACC schedule.

“Obviously, B.J. is very, very important to us because he can carry us on any given night,” Hewitt said. “While he’s out, other guys are going to have an opportunity to gain some valuable experience that should help us as we move through the season.”

Diaz did everything he could to pull off the upset. The sophomore guard hit several acrobatic shots that drew gasps from the crowd at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, equaling his career high for points.

But Miami couldn’t overcome 37 percent shooting (27-of-73).

“We know we can compete with anybody in the ACC the way we played in the second half,” said Robert Hite, who added 13 points for the Hurricanes. “We were right there.”

No. 12 Washington 84, Southern California 59

Los Angeles — Tre Simmons scored 22 points, and Washington defeated Southern California for its ninth consecutive victory.

The Huskies (13-1, 3-0 Pac-10) are off to their best start in 29 years. The last Washington team with a longer winning streak was the 1982 squad that won 10 in a row.

The Trojans (7-7) have yet to win a Pac-10 game under interim coach Jim Saia, getting swept on the road at Oregon last week. The 0-3 mark is their worst conference start since they began 0-4 in 1991, but still made the NCAA Tournament.

Freshman Nick Young scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half to lead the Trojans.

No. 13 Arizona 87, California 67

Berkeley, Calif. — Channing Frye had 20 points and eight rebounds, leading Arizona to its ninth straight victory in the Wildcats’ first road game in 19 days.

Hassan Adams added 16 points, and Ivan Radenovic had 14 points and seven rebounds for Arizona (12-2, 2-0 Pac-10). Mustafa Shakur and Chris Rodgers each had 10 points for Arizona, which beat the Bears for the 11th time in the last 12 meetings.

Arizona had not played away from Tucson since a 48-43 win over Marquette on Dec. 18. The Wildcats, who last season had just their fourth losing road record in the Pac-10 under coach Lute Olson, play three of their next five conference games away from home.

Richard Midgley scored 14 points to lead California (8-5, 1-2), while Rod Benson added 13 and Dominic McGuire 12.

No. 23 Cincinnati 83, DePaul 54

Cincinnati — Jason Maxiell scored 19 points for the Bearcats, who have won 26 of 29 over DePaul, including 14 straight on the Bearcats’ home court. Armein Kirkland had 18 points for Cincinnati (12-1, 1-0 Conference USA). Quemont Greer, who leads the conference in scoring at 24.1 points per game, had 12 on 4-of-13 shooting for the Blue Demons (8-4, 0-1). That ended his school-record streak of eight consecutive games with at least 20 points.