The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE - Nate Daniels scored 15 points and Otis George tied a career high with 10 rebounds as No. 10 Louisville used dominating defense to beat Southern Mississippi 76-42 on Wednesday night.

The Cardinals (10-1), fifth in the nation in field goal percentage defense, held the Golden Eagles scoreless for 12:52 bridging halftime in the Conference USA opener for both teams.

Southern Miss (7-5) missed 15 consecutive shots and committed 15 turnovers during the span. The Eagles finished 15-of-51 from the field (29 percent) and committed 21 turnovers.

Louisville has held all 11 opponents under 45 percent shooting and five of the last six below 40 percent.

SOUTHERN MISS (7-5)-Carter 0-3 1-2 1, Gaines 5-13 2-2 12, Haywood 1-4 0-0 3, Stiggers 1-3 0-0 2, G.Johnson 0-4 0-0 0, Forte 0-3 0-2 0, Pittman 1-3 1-6 3, Richardson 1-1 0-0 3, Singleton 3-7 0-0 7, J.Johnson 3-10 2-2 11, Lewis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-51 6-14 42.

LOUISVILLE (10-1)-Whitehead 2-5 0-0 5, O'Bannon 3-8 0-0 7, Dartez 3-4 0-0 6, Dean 4-8 0-0 11, Garcia 2-6 5-8 9, Tinch 2-2 0-0 4, Diakite 2-6 0-0 4, Jenkins 1-3 0-0 3, Gianiny 0-2 0-0 0, Mohammed 3-6 0-0 6, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Current 0-1 0-0 0, Daniels 6-11 0-0 15, George 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 31-67 5-8 76.

Halftime-Louisville 39-19. 3-Point Goals-Southern Mississippi 6-18 (J.Johnson 3-7, Richardson 1-1, Singleton 1-3, Haywood 1-3, G.Johnson 0-1, Forte 0-1, Carter 0-2), Louisville 9-21 (Dean 3-6, Daniels 3-6, Whitehead 1-1, Jenkins 1-2, O'Bannon 1-3, Gianiny 0-1, Garcia 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Southern Mississippi 38 (Gaines 10), Louisville 40 (George 10). Assists-Southern Mississippi 8 (Forte, Singleton, J.Johnson 2), Louisville 17 (Garcia, Gianiny 4). Total fouls-Southern Mississippi 10, Louisville 17. A-19,319.

No. 12 North Carolina 89,

Miami 64

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Sean May had 23 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Tar Heels.

Jawad Williams, Rashad McCants and Jackie Manuel each scored 15 points for the Tar Heels (9-2), who earned their 200th win in the 18-year history of the Smith Center. North Carolina improved to 93-11 against nonconference opponents in the building which opened in January 1986.

Robert Hite, a Winton Woods product, scored 27 points to lead the Hurricanes (10-4), who fell to 1-7 against their future Atlantic Coast Conference rival.

North Carolina faces No. 8 Georgia Tech on Sunday, then travels to Maryland before hosting No. 1 Connecticut next week.

MIAMI (10-4)-Djahue 2-4 0-0 4, Rice 2-8 2-2 7, Diaz 6-14 4-5 17, Hite 10-16 3-4 27, Surratt 1-10 0-3 2, Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Hamilton 1-3 0-0 2, Wilkins 1-2 0-0 2, Clarke 0-4 1-2 1, King 1-2 0-1 2, Harden 0-0 0-0 0, Okpalobi 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-64 10-17 64.

NORTH CAROLINA (9-2)-Williams 4-9 6-6 15, McCants 6-15 3-3 15, May 11-18 1-2 23, Scott 4-11 1-1 10, Felton 1-3 3-4 5, Sanders 1-1 0-1 2, Noel 0-0 0-0 0, Terry 0-0 0-2 0, Manuel 6-9 2-3 15, Bohlander 1-1 0-0 2, McLamb 0-1 0-0 0, Price 0-0 0-0 0, Holley 1-1 0-0 2, Hooker 0-0 0-2 0, Miller 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 35-70 16-24 89.

Halftime-North Carolina 44-33. 3-Point goals-Miami 6-20 (Hite 4-10, Diaz 1-3, Rice 1-4, Surratt 0-1, Clarke 0-2), North Carolina 3-17 (Manuel 1-2, Williams 1-3, Scott 1-5, Felton 0-1, McLamb 0-1, Miller 0-1, McCants 0-4). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Miami 32 (Hite 6), North Carolina 52 (May 16). Assists-Miami 12 (Surratt 4), North Carolina 24 (Felton 8). Total fouls-Miami 21, North Carolina 21. A-21,073.

No. 14 Florida 65,

South Carolina 62

COLUMBIA, S.C. - David Lee continued his hot shooting and scored 21 points to lead the Gators.

Lee, who had 14 rebounds, was 8-of-12 from the field, making him 29-of-35 in the past four games for the Gators (10-2).

Lee's spinning heave about 4 feet from the basket with 4:50 left broke a 57-all tie and put the Gators ahead for good.

FLORIDA (10-2)-Drejer 7-12 0-1 16, Lee 8-12 5-5 21, Colas 1-4 0-0 2, Roberson 1-5 2-2 5, Walsh 3-11 4-4 13, Moss 1-4 0-0 2, Humphrey 2-3 0-0 4, Mohamed 0-3 0-0 0, Al-Kaleem 0-0 0-0 0, Appleby 0-1 0-0 0, Richard 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 24-56 11-12 65.

SOUTH CAROLINA (13-2)-Powell 5-9 2-2 12, Kinsey 3-8 1-2 7, Brown 1-4 0-2 2, Boynton 1-8 1-1 3, Gonner 6-20 2-2 18, Kelley 3-6 0-0 6, Wallace 1-1 1-2 4, Balkman 3-5 0-1 6, Howell 1-2 2-2 4. Totals 24-63 9-14 62.

Halftime-SCarolina 29-27. 3-Point goals-Florida 6-22 (Walsh 3-9, Drejer 2-5, Roberson 1-4, Humphrey 0-1, Appleby 0-1, Mohamed 0-2), SCarolina 5-29 (Gonner 4-13, Wallace 1-1, Brown 0-1, Powell 0-1, Kelley 0-2, Balkman 0-2, Kinsey 0-3, Boynton 0-6). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Florida 41 (Lee 14), SCarolina 33 (Powell, Brown 7). Assists-Florida 12 (Lee 5), SCarolina 13 (Boynton 8). Total fouls-Florida 19, SCarolina 16. A-15,042.

No. 17 Syracuse 65,

St. John's 59

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Gerry McNamara scored 14 of his 23 points over the final 11 minutes as Syracuse won the Big East opener for both teams.

The Orangemen (10-1) won for the 10th straight time and handed the Red Storm (4-7) their third loss in five games under interim head coach Kevin Clark.

Hakim Warrick had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Billy Edelin had 13 points, and Josh Pace had eight points and seven rebounds for the Orangemen.

ST. JOHN'S (4-7)-Cuffe 4-9 2-4 12, Reynolds 6-15 1-2 13, Keita 1-2 1-1 3, Hill 6-14 0-0 12, Ingram 1-12 0-2 3, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Stanley 3-8 2-2 8, Hamilton 4-9 0-0 8. Totals 25-70 6-11 59.

SYRACUSE (10-1)-Warrick 6-14 6-8 18, Pace 4-9 0-0 8, Forth 1-3 1-3 3, McNamara 6-15 8-8 23, Edelin 6-10 1-2 13, McNeil 0-0 0-0 0, McCroskey 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-52 16-21 65.

Halftime-Syracuse 32, St. John's 26. 3-Point Goals-St. John's 3-15 (Cuffe 2-4, Ingram 1-9, Hill 0-1, Reynolds 0-1), Syracuse 3-8 (McNamara 3-7, McCroskey 0-1). Fouled out-Stanley. Rebounds-St. John's 38 (Reynolds 13), Syracuse 41 (Warrick Warrick, Forth 11). Assists-St. John's 10 (Hill 5), Syracuse 10 (Pace, McNamara 3). Total Fouls-St. John's 16, Syracuse 10. A-17,033.

No. 20 Vanderbilt 59,

Auburn 53

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Matt Freije scored 15 points and Corey Smith added 10 for Vandy.

Vanderbilt (12-0), which blew a 17-point first-half lead, is off to its best start in school history. The Commodores also eclipsed last season's win total when they went 11-18.

AUBURN (9-3)-Killingsworth 6-10 0-0 12, Robinson 4-8 0-0 9, Davis 2-6 1-2 5, Young 3-9 0-0 7, Watson 4-9 4-4 13, Gaines 2-11 0-4 6, Brown 0-1 0-1 0, LeMelle 0-0 0-1 0, Curtis 0-0 0-0 0, Lollar 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 21-54 6-14 53.

VANDERBILT (12-0)-Terrell 1-2 1-2 3, Freije 4-14 5-8 15, Smith 4-8 0-0 10, Moore 3-9 0-0 7, Holwerda 2-3 0-0 4, Payton 1-2 0-0 2, Lakey 2-4 2-3 7, Przybyszewski 1-4 0-0 3, Cage 0-0 0-0 0, Hundley 3-5 0-0 6, Skuchas 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 22-52 8-13 59.

Halftime-Vanderbilt 34-20. 3-Point goals-Auburn 5-18 (Gaines 2-5, Robinson 1-3, Young 1-5, Watson 1-5), Vanderbilt 7-25 (Freije 2-5, Smith 2-6, Lakey 1-2, Przybyszewski 1-3, Moore 1-6, Holwerda 0-1, Payton 0-1, Hundley 0-1). Fouled out-Davis. Rebounds-Auburn 40 (Davis 10), Vanderbilt 33 (Freije 6). Assists-Auburn 8 (Davis, Young, Watson 2), Vanderbilt 14 (Holwerda 5). Total fouls-Auburn 19, Vanderbilt 17. A-13,089.

No. 22 Mississippi St. 61,

Mississippi 54

OXFORD, Miss. - Mississippi State improved to 12-0 for the first time in school history by overcoming a 10-point second-half deficit.

The Bulldogs closed the game with a 22-5 run, led by Timmy Bowers, who finished with 18 points.

MISSISSIPPI ST. (12-0)-Roberts 4-7 3-8 11, Bowers 5-12 7-9 18, Frazier 3-8 0-0 7, Vincent 3-3 2-2 8, Campbell 2-5 2-4 6, Ervin 2-4 0-1 4, Power 1-4 3-5 5, Slater 1-3 0-0 2, Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-46 17-29 61.

MISSISSIPPI (8-4)-Harper 2-5 1-4 6, Abernethy 5-8 1-2 12, Johnson 4-10 0-0 8, Reed 5-16 2-4 13, Eddie 5-7 3-6 13, Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Fox 0-1 0-0 0, Doyne 0-0 0-0 0, Nunnery 0-0 0-0 0, Glass 0-0 0-0 0, Rhodes 1-3 0-0 2, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-50 7-16 54.

Halftime-Mississippi 29-19. 3-Point goals-Mississippi St. 2-12 (Frazier 1-4, Bowers 1-6, Power 0-1, Slater 0-1), Mississippi 3-11 (Abernethy 1-2, Harper 1-2, Reed 1-3, Fox 0-1, Johnson 0-3). Fouled out-Johnson. Rebounds-Mississippi St. 31 (Roberts 8), Mississippi 32 (Eddie 12). Assists-Mississippi St. 6 (Bowers 2), Mississippi 8 (Harper, Reed 3). Total fouls-Mississippi St. 15, Mississippi 24. A-9,010.

Iowa 71, No. 24 Purdue 61

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Pierre Pierce scored 19 points and Jared Reiner added 14 to lead Iowa .

The Hawkeyes (8-3) were helped by a major turnaround in free throw shooting. Iowa shot 78 percent from the line, a season best, and 13 of Pierce's points came on free throws.

Notre Dame 63,

West Virginia 52

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Torrian Jones had 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds and Torin Francis added 17 points to lead Notre Dame.

The Irish (7-3, 1-0) held West Virginia (7-4, 0-1) to 38 percent shooting, the Mountaineers' second worst shooting game this season, and the 52 points scored by the Mountaineers were the second fewest ever allowed by Notre Dame in a Big East game.

Dayton 76,

St. Bonaventure 72

ST. BONAVENTURE (5-8)-Dumbliauskas 1-2 0-0 2, Young 3-11 0-2 8, Camara 0-1 0-0 0, Smith 6-13 0-0 13, Green 10-24 3-6 31, Carter 0-0 0-0 0, Lottin 6-13 2-2 18. Totals 26-64 5-10 72.

DAYTON (11-3)-Bennett 1-2 0-1 3, Waleskowski 4-10 5-6 14, Finn 3-3 1-2 7, Marshall 4-15 5-6 17, Jones 7-11 1-2 20, Scott 4-8 0-0 8, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, White 2-4 0-0 5, Iguodala 1-1 0-0 2, Cripe 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-56 12-17 76.

Halftime-St. Bonaventure 30, Dayton 28. 3-point goals-St. Bonaventure 15-37 (Green 8-19, Lottin 4-8, Young 2-8, Smith 1-2), Dayton 12-32 (Marshall 4-12, Jones 5-9, White 1-3, Waleskowski 1-3, Bennett 1-2, Scott 0-2, Williams 0-1). Fouled out-Dumbliauskas. Rebounds-St. Bonaventure 30 (Lottin 10), Dayton 42 (Waleskowski 14). Assists-St. Bonaventure 12 (Green 6), Dayton 17 (Marshall 10). Total fouls-St. Bonaventure 18, Dayton 14. A-12,899.