WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. ? Chris Paul wanted to win, and he got a reminder on just how to make that happen from Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser.

“Coach always tells us this is a team game played by individuals,” Paul said. “He says you have to beat your guy.”

No problem there.

Paul dominated his point-guard matchup with Raymond Felton, Taron Downey had a season-high 18 points, and the fourth-ranked Demon Deacons ran away from No. 3 North Carolina, 95-82, Saturday.

Wake Forest (15-1, 4-0) set an Atlantic Coast Conference record by making all 32 free throws — falling two short of tying the NCAA mark — with Paul finishing 9-for-9. The 6-foot sophomore finished with 26 points, eight assists, six rebounds and five steals to overshadow Felton, who shot only 5-for-18 and had 16 points.

“He is a very, very, very talented player with an excellent work ethic,” Prosser said of Paul. “He also can read and watch television, so he knew the magnitude of this game, and I think he stepped up to the challenge.”

Downey gave his team an unexpected boost. A senior whose playing time decreased with the emergence of Paul, he came in averaging only 7.6 points a game.

“I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again, he’s one of the most selfless players I’ve ever coached,” Prosser said. “And for that, he’s also one of the most popular among his teammates.”

Downey beat his average by making three consecutive three-pointers during a 90-second stretch of the first half to give the Deacons their first lead at 14-13, and the score was tied only once after that.

“Big-time players like to play on a big stage,” Downey said. “When the stage is big, I play better.”

The Tar Heels (14-2, 3-1), who lost for the first time since their opener at Santa Clara, struggled throughout with foul trouble. Jackie Manuel, Marvin Williams and David Noel all fouled out, and Rashad McCants finished with four.

Wake Forest's Chris Paul celebrates with fans after a 95-82 victory over third-ranked North Carolina. Paul had 26 points, eight assists, six rebounds and five steals for the No. 4 Demon Deacons on Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C.

McCants scored 19 points, and Williams added 15 for North Carolina.

“We just have to put everything in perspective,” said Tar Heels center Sean May, who was held to nine points. “It’s one game in conference play. We can’t hold on to this forever, but we do have to think about some things, things we did wrong and how we didn’t have each other’s backs out there.”

Because of a quirk in the scheduling for the newly expanded ACC, this was the only meeting of the season for the teams, the first time since 1922 they haven’t played a home-and-home.

It also was the first time they’ve played while both were ranked in the top five.

“We might play them in the ACC tournament or the NCAA Tournament, but if we don’t, we got this one,” Paul said.

McCants picked up his fourth foul about a minute into the second half and sat on the bench for 10 minutes. When he returned, he tried to rally North Carolina by himself, scoring 12 points down the stretch.

“I kept saying that if I didn’t have those four fouls, there would’ve been no telling where the game would’ve went,” McCants said. “It was hard, real hard.”

No. 1 Illinois 78, Northwestern 66

Evanston, Ill. — Luther Head scored a season-high 26 points, and Illinois improved to 18-0 — the best start in school history.

Roger Powell scored 15 points, and Dee Brown had 12 for the Illini, who are 4-0 in the conference and have won 14 straight Big Ten games.

Leading scorer Vedran Vukusic, held to just two free throws in the first half, led Northwestern with 20 points, while Davor Duvancic added 13. The Wildcats (8-8, 1-3) shot 57 percent from the field.

No. 7 Syracuse 75, Providence 71

Providence, R.I. — Hakim Warrick had 25 points, 12 rebounds and a key steal with 3.3 seconds left for the Orange (17-1, 4-0 Big East), who won their 10th consecutive game. Dwight Brewington had 21 points and eight rebounds for Providence, but he went 4-for-14 from three-point range. Ryan Gomes, who averages 21 points a game, had just 14 as Providence (9-7, 0-3) lost its third straight since the start of conference play.

No. 9 Kentucky 76, Georgia 55

Athens, Ga. — Patrick Sparks scored 15 points for the Wildcats (12-2, 3-0 Southeastern Conference), who led by as many as 30 and finished with a 44-18 edge rebounding. Levi Stukes had 18 points for the Bulldogs (6-8), who dropped to 0-4 in the SEC for the first time since 1998, when they opened league play with five straight losses.

No. 11 Miss. State 80, Arkansas 55

Starkville, Miss. — Lawrence Roberts had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and the Bulldogs (15-3, 3-1 SEC) won their ninth straight at home. Jonathon Modica had 14 points to lead Arkansas (13-4, 1-3), which lost its third straight and was held almost 24 points below its scoring average.

No. 12 Connecticut 78, Rutgers 64

Hartford, Conn. — Josh Boone had 20 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots, and Charlie Villanueva had 14 points, tied his career-high with 14 rebounds and blocked six shots for the Huskies (10-3, 2-1 Big East), who outscored Rutgers 58-28 in the paint. Marquis Webb had 16 points for the Scarlet Knights (6-7, 0-3), who lost their fourth in a row.

No. 14 Washington 108, Oregon State 68

Seattle — Tre Simmons matched a career high with 26 points, going 6-of-7 from three-point range, and Jamaal Williams added a career-high 24 points for Washington. Beavers coach Jay John left the arena in an ambulance at halftime after complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath. Nate Robinson had 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to help Washington (15-2, 5-1 Pac-10) extend its home winning streak to 17 games and tie a 20-year-old school record with 11 straight Pac-10 wins at home. Nick DeWitz led Oregon State (10-6, 2-3) with 17 points and nine rebounds.

No. 16 Gonzaga 86, Pepperdine 62

Spokane, Wash. — Adam Morrison scored 26 points, and Ronny Turiaf added 19 points and 10 rebounds, his fifth double-double of the season. Gonzaga (13-3, 3-1 WCC) has won six in a row against Pepperdine since 2000. Glen McGowan scored 15 points for Pepperdine (12-7, 2-2).

No. 17 Arizona 76, UCLA 73

Tucson, Ariz. — Salim Stoudamire capped a 24-point second half with a three-pointer with 2.5 seconds left to give Arizona the win and snap the Bruins’ four-game Pac-10 winning streak. The left-handed senior, who finished with 32 points, scored 24 of the final 29 points for the Wildcats (14-3, 4-1). Dijon Thompson had 27 points on 10-for-16 shooting and 10 rebounds for UCLA (10-4, 4-2).

No. 19 Louisville 69,

No. 18 Cincinnati 66

Cincinnati — Taquan Dean was 7-of-13 from three-point range and scored 25 points for the Cardinals (14-3, 3-1 Conference USA), who trailed by 17 points in the first half. Nick Williams led Cincinnati (14-2, 3-1) with 18 points, going 6-of-8 from behind the arc.

No. 20 Pittsburgh 67, Seton Hall 63

Pittsburgh — Chevon Troutman had 23 points for the Panthers (12-2, 2-1 Big East), who snapped a two-game losing streak at home after winning 43 of their first 44 in the Petersen Events Center. John Allen and freshman Justin Cerasoli each had 15 points for the Pirates (8-6, 0-3), who lost their third straight.

No. 22 Marquette 66,

South Florida 64

Milwaukee — Todd Townsend’s three-point play with five seconds to play lifted Marquette past South Florida. Travis Diener led Marquette (14-2, 2-1 Conference USA) with 24 points, and Townsend finished with 10. Terrance Leather led USF (8-6, 1-2) with 25 points.

Massachusetts 76,

No. 21 Geo. Wash. 74, OT

Washington — Rashaun Freeman, who had season-highs of 27 points and 15 rebounds, scored with less than a second left in overtime for the Minutemen (8-6, 2-2 Atlantic 10), who led by as many as 18 points in the second half. J.R. Pinnock scored 15 points to lead the Colonials (11-3, 3-1), but the 87.5 percent free-throw shooter missed the front end of a one-and-one with the game tied and 18 seconds to play in overtime.

No. 24 Iowa 66, Minnesota 60

Iowa City, Iowa — Pierre Pierce scored 18 points for the Hawkeyes (13-3, 1-2 Big Ten), who won despite going the final 10:45 without a field goal. Jeff Hagen had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Gophers (12-4, 2-1), who had a 10-game winning streak snapped.