Tuesday's Shootaround: Duke, UConn, and Syracuse win big, remain undefeated

Jacksonville 71, Florida 68 OT: See here.

No. 1 Duke 98, Elon 72: The only notable news coming out of this win by the Dukies is that Coach K has tied Dean Smith for second all-time with 879 career coaching wins.

"It's an honor to have won that many games," Krzyzewski said. "I'm sure Dean would say the same thing, that it was an honor for him to win that many games. I have the utmost respect for Dean -- the fact that we've been really good coaches in this league ... he was at his school a long time and I've been here a long time.

"I know we've both realized we wouldn't have won as many games without being at these schools. Again, I know it's like a milestone, but I'm more interested in how we become a better team this year."

Most people are making a huge deal out of these wins -- the Fayetteville Observer did a really cool three-part series on Coach K over the weekend -- but personally, I couldn't really care less. Milestones don't mean all that much to me. Its an impressive accomplishment, there is no doubt about that, but we all know that Coach K is arguably the greatest coach of this generation in any sport. We also know that Coach K has been a great coach for a long time, and it takes a long time to rack up 879 wins.

Am I supposed to care because Krzyzewski is on the verge of passing Smith, the legendary head coach of Duke's biggest rival? Am I supposed to care because he could set the all time record this season?

Yes, congratulations are in order. But let's move on.

Singler had 24 points in the win last night.

No. 4 UConn 76, Coppin State 64: Kemba Walker had a slow night -- 20 points, 5 boards, 4 assists -- but the Huskies were still able to hold on against a Coppin State team that made a late run to get the score into the respectable range. For the third straight game, freshman Jeremy Lamb reached double figures, going for 16 last night.

No. 5 Syracuse 97, Morgan State 55: The Orange had two break out performances that may matter down the stretch -- Fab Melo battled through leg injuries and finished with 9 points and 4 blocks while James Southerland added 18 points on 4-6 shooting from three.

No. 17 Memphis 68, Texas A&M-CC 63: Memphis needed everyone of Joe Jackson's career high 23 points and the 15 points and 9 boards Will Coleman added. Will Barton, who was 2-9 from the floor with 6 turnovers, was benched down the stretch.

Virginia 50, Norfolk State 49: Assane Sene scored just his sixth field goal of the season, tipping in a missed free throw with 4.8 seconds left to give Virginia the win.

St. John's 62, Davidson 57: With five minutes left, Davidson was down 59-57. Neither team scored until Dwight Hardy hit three free throws with 16.8 seconds left to clinch the win.

Other Notable Games

• Dayton 73, Winthrop 58
• Northwestern 92, St. Francis NY 61
• Creighton 60, Western Illinois 47
• UTEP 61, Stephen F. Austin 52