DURHAM, N.C. – Seth Curry scored 12 of his season-high 31 points during the late run that helped No. 1 Duke pull away for a 90-77 victory over pesky Santa Clara on Saturday.

Mason Plumlee added 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Blue Devils (12-0), who needed a huge run late to overcome both a big game from Kevin Foster and a real scare from the Broncos (11-3).

Foster scored 18 of his 29 points in the first half for upset-minded Santa Clara, and his soaring baseline dunk put the Broncos up 45-41 with 16:30 left.

But the Broncos managed just one field goal over the next 8½ minutes, and that gave Duke just enough of an opening to break this one open.

The Blue Devils, however, had missed 10 of their first 18 free throws, had six shots blocked and were regularly outworked by the Broncos. But they were good enough when it counted to win their 101st straight nonconference game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

(2) MICHIGAN 88, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 73: Trey Burke had 22 points and 10 assists as Michigan finished its non-conference schedule with a win at Ann Arbor, Mich.

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Michigan played without junior Tim Hardaway Jr., who missed the first game of his college career with an ankle injury.

Glenn Robinson III had 20 points, while Nik Stauskas finished with 19 for Michigan (13-0), which is off to the second-best start in school history.

(4) LOUISVILLE 80, KENTUCKY 77: Russ Smith scored 21 points and Chane Behanan had 20 as Louisville (12-1) ended a four-game losing streak against rival Kentucky (8-4) with an up-and-down win at home.

Peyton Siva added 19 points for the Cardinals.

(6) KANSAS 89, AMERICAN 57: Travis Releford scored 19 points and Kansas (11-1) hit a scorching 13 of its first 18 3-point attempts, rolling to awin at Lawrence, Kan.

Kansas took command with a 21-4 spree in the opening minutes against the Eagles (4-9).

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(9) SYRACUSE 57, ALCORN STATE 36: C.J. Fair scored 13 points, Trevor Cooney added 12, all in the second half to key a late surge, and (11-1) won the final of the Gotham Classic in Syracuse, N.Y.

It was the 901st win for Orange coach Jim Boeheim, one behind Bob Knight for second place all-time among Division I men’s coaches. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski leads with 939 wins.

(10) OHIO STATE 87, CHICAGO STATE 44: Deshaun Thomas scored 17 points and the Buckeyes (10-2) regained their shooting touch at Columbus, Ohio, their final tuneup before beginning Big Ten play.

LaQuinton Ross added 15 points for the Buckeyes.

(12) ILLINOIS 81, AUBURN 79: Tracy Abrams scored a career-high 29 points and Illinois (13-1) barely avoided an upsetagainst Auburn (5-7) at Chicago.

The Illini saw an 11-point lead shrink to one in the closing minutes but they prevailed after falling to Missouri in the Braggin’ Rights game a week earlier.

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(14) FLORIDA 78, AIR FORCE 61: Kenny Boynton snapped a shooting slump with three 3-pointers in the second half, when Florida pulled away to win in the second game of the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic at Sunrise, Fla.

(16) CREIGHTON 87, EVANSVILLE 70: Doug McDermott scored 14 of his 29 points in a 6½-minute stretch of the second half when No. 16 Creighton (12-1) pulled away for a win at Omaha, Neb.

Gregory Echenique had 13 points and 13 rebounds while Jahenns Manigat added 13 points for Creighton.

(18) BUTLER 68, VANDERBILT 49: Rotnei Clarke hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 22 points as Butler (10-2) shook off a sluggish start at Nashville, Tenn.

The Bulldogs missed their first seven 3-pointers and led only 25-22 at halftime.

NORTH CAROLINA 79, (20) UNLV 73: P.J. Hairston scored 15 points in his first career start to help North Carolina (10-3) win at Chapel Hill, N.C.

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Dexter Strickland added a season-high 16 points for the Tar Heels, who led by 15 points in the first half and by nine at the break.

(23) NORTH CAROLINA STATE 84, WESTERN MICHIGAN 68: C.J. Leslie scored 19 points to lead North Carolina State (10-2) to a win at Raleigh, N.C.

Richard Howell added 18 points on 8-of-8 shooting for the Wolfpack, who won their sixth consecutive game.

N.C. State shot 55 percent from the field, padding its NCAA-leading field goal percentage.

(25) KANSAS STATE 52, MISSOURI-KANSAS-CITY: Rodney McGruder scored 17 points, Thomas Gipson had 13 points and six rebounds as Kansas State struggled to a win at Manhattan, Kan.


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