The Associated Press

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - They're without four starters from last year's team, have three freshmen receiving significant minutes and play in an arena that's almost as unfamiliar to them as it is to their opponents. One thing that hasn't changed about No. 10 Maryland this season is its position in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.

The Terrapins (13-4, 6-1) solidified their hold on first place in the ACC with their 14th straight home win over North Carolina State, pulling away in the second half to a 75-60 victory Thursday night.

Steve Blake scored 20 points for the defending ACC regular-season champions, who overcame a rough start to win their fourth straight and end the Wolfpack's three-game winning streak.

"We've established ourselves as the top team in the ACC," Blake said. "Now we need to work to stay there. We have to keep getting better."

Drew Nicholas scored all 13 of his points after halftime, including two successive 3-pointers during a pivotal 14-0 run, to lead the defending NCAA champs to their 14th straight ACC home win.

"We're on top of league and it feels good," said Nicholas, who rebounded from an 0-for-4 first-half shooting performance.

"It was just a matter of getting my rhythm," he said. "Once I hit a shot it started to flow, and I got on a little bit of a roll."

Marcus Melvin had 15 points and Julius Hodge 14 for NC State (11-5, 4-2), which missed a chance to move into first place in the ACC.

"The big difference was the turnovers. It's difficult to overcome 21 turnovers," Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek said. "But credit Maryland; it's obvious why they're one of the best teams in the country."

After committing six turnovers during Maryland's 14-point run, the Wolfpack battled back. A 10-0 spree made it 60-54 with 5:20 to go, but two free throws by Blake and a basket by Caner-Medley quelled the comeback.

"Drew and Steve were terrific in the second half. They're a great backcourt together," Maryland coach Gary Williams said.

"This year's team is finding ways to win, and I'm proud of what they've done so far," he added. "This was a pretty good January. We only lost one game."

NORTH CAROLINA STATE (11-5)-Hodge 3-8 8-9 14, Powell 5-8 2-2 12, Melvin 5-11 1-2 15, Sherrill 3-7 0-2 8, Crawford 1-1 0-0 2, Mejia 0-2 0-0 0, Bennerman 1-1 0-0 3, Watkins 2-6 0-0 6, Collins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-44 11-15 60.

MARYLAND (13-4)-McCall 2-3 2-2 6, Holden 2-4 8-11 13, Randle 3-7 0-1 6, Nicholas 4-11 2-2 13, Blake 7-10 2-3 20, Smith 2-9 2-2 6, Garrison 0-0 0-0 0, Gilchrist 1-1 0-0 2, McCray 0-0 0-1 0, Caner-Medley 4-5 1-3 9. Totals 25-50 17-25 75.

Halftime-N.C. State 28-27. 3-Point goals-N.C. State 9-24 (Melvin 4-7, Watkins 2-5, Sherrill 2-5, Bennerman 1-1, Mejia 0-1, Powell 0-1, Hodge 0-4), Maryland 8-11 (Blake 4-4, Nicholas 3-6, Holden 1-1). Fouled out-Crawford, Caner-Medley. Rebounds-N.C. State 23 (Hodge 7), Maryland 33 (Smith 10). Assists-N.C. State 15 (Hodge 8), Maryland 16 (Blake 7). Total fouls-N.C. State 22, Maryland 17. A-17,950.

No. 5 Duke 80, Butler 60

DURHAM, N.C. - Dahntay Jones scored 25 points and Shavlik Randolph added a season-high 24 as Duke won its 23rd straight game in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Blue Devils (14-2) built on their 12-point halftime lead by making eight of their first nine shots to start the second half.

"Psychologically, to play a really outstanding team in between conference games is different, because each one of our conference games are out of sight this year," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "It showed how much we respected Butler by how well we were prepared and how hard we played. We're growing up, because that was a really good win for us."

Butler (16-3), playing Duke to improve its strength of schedule come NCAA Tournament selection time, couldn't stop the driving ability of Jones or the inside presence of Randolph, who was 11-of-13 from the field.

"I was making sure I took it to the basket hard because they were so spread out trying to get out on our shooters," said Jones, who was 8-for-12 from the field and 7-of-7 from the foul line.

"It always doesn't come down to shooting," Butler coach Todd Lickliter said. "We struggled to guard. Randolph was incredible and Jones was tough to contain. They have a lot of weapons."

BUTLER (16-3) - Monserez 3-12 0-0 8, Curry 2-5 0-0 6, Cornette 6-12 0-3 12, Miller 3-5 4-4 12, Archey 4-10 3-3 14, Lightfoot 3-7 0-0 6, Horan 0-1 0-0 0, Sheets 1-5 0-0 2, Walls 0-0 0-0 0, Gardner 0-1 0-0 0, Moore 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-58 7-10 60.

DUKE (14-2)-Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Jones 8-12 7-7 25, Sanders 4-5 2-3 10, Redick 2-9 0-0 6, Duhon 0-3 0-0 0, Buckner 0-0 0-0 0, Horvath 0-0 0-0 0, Ewing 2-7 7-8 11, Melchionni 0-0 0-0 0, Dockery 1-2 2-2 4, Randolph 11-13 1-1 24, Means 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-53 19-21 80.

Halftime-Duke 32-20. 3-Point goals-Butler 9-26 (Archey 3-8, Miller 2-3, Curry 2-5, Monserez 2-6, Lightfoot 0-1, Horan 0-1, Sheets 0-1, Gardner 0-1), Duke 5-15 (Jones 2-4, Redick 2-5, Randolph 1-2, Ewing 0-1, Dockery 0-1, Duhon 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Butler 22 (Cornette 7), Duke 40 (Randolph 10). Assists-Butler 7 (Cornette 3), Duke 10 (Duhon 4). Total fouls-Butler 19, Duke 10. A-9,314.

Arizona State 75, California 70

TEMPE, Ariz. - Curtis Millage scored seven of his 21 points on free throws in the final 3:22 as Arizona State ended California's best conference start in 46 years.

Ike Diogu, a freshman who has scored in double digits each game, had 19 points and 13 rebounds for his second double-double.

Donnell Knight and Shawn Redhage added 10 points each for Arizona State (13-6, 5-3 Pac-10), which hadn't played since an eight-point loss at Arizona on Jan.22.

Joe Shipp had 27 points and eight rebounds for Cal (14-3, 7-1).

CALIFORNIA (14-3)-Tamir 5-13 2-2 14, Shipp 11-20 5-10 27, Hughes 3-5 0-0 6, Midgley 1-4 0-1 2, Wethers 7-17 2-3 18, Diggs 1-1 1-2 3, Famulener 0-1 0-0 0, Benson 0-0 0-0 0, Forehan-Kelly 0-0 0-0 0, M.Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Bond 0-1 0-0 0, Paris 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-62 10-18 70.

ARIZONA ST. (13-6)-T.Smith 1-4 2-6 4, Knight 4-7 1-3 10, Diogu 5-7 8-12 18, Braxton 3-6 0-0 6, Millage 6-11 7-7 21, Dodd 0-3 0-0 0, Crandall 1-1 3-3 6, Hill 0-1 0-0 0, Redhage 5-8 0-0 10, DeWitt 0-0 0-0 0, Allen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-48 21-31 75.

Halftime-California 34-30. 3-Point goals-California 4-14 (Tamir 2-4, Wethers 2-6, Famulener 0-1, Shipp 0-3), Arizona St. 4-14 (Millage 2-4, Crandall 1-1, Knight 1-4, T.Smith 0-1, Hill 0-1, Redhage 0-1, Dodd 0-2). Fouled out-Hughes, Famulener. Rebounds-California 30 (Hughes 9), Arizona St. 37 (Diogu 13). Assists-California 14 (Midgley, Wethers 4), Arizona St. 18 (Millage 5). Total fouls-California 22, Arizona St. 17. A-9,590.