COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NATIONAL ROUNDUP : North Carolina Catches Seton Hall on Off Night

North Carolina played its usual game. Seton Hall’s Terry Dehere didn’t play his.

That translated into an 83-54 victory for the fifth-ranked Tar Heels at East Rutherford, N.J., Wednesday night and gave the Atlantic Coast Conference a 4-2 lead in its challenge series with the Big East with two games remaining.

Dehere, the sixth-ranked Pirates’ leading scorer last season and this, went three for 22 from the field and finished with seven points.

North Carolina (5-0) led, 37-26, at halftime as Seton Hall (2-1) shot 29% in the first half.

No. 4 Ohio State 78, Ohio University 62--Jim Jackson scored 26 points and had 11 rebounds to lead the Buckeyes past the Bobcats (1-1). Mark Baker scored 17 points and Jamaal Brown 14 for Ohio State (3-0).

No. 8 Oklahoma State 63, New Orleans 55--Sean Sutton and Darwyn Alexander each scored four points in overtime as the Cowboys (6-0) held the Privateers (2-3) scoreless in the extra session at Stillwater, Okla.

No. 14 Kentucky 90, Massachusetts 69--Jamal Mashburn scored five of his 28 points during a decisive 13-3 run in the second half to lead the Wildcats at Lexington, Ky.

No. 20 DePaul 100, Northeast Illinois 77--David Booth scored 19 points to lead the Blue Demons (2-0) to their 45th consecutive victory at Alumni Hall.

No. 22 Michigan State 101, Nebraska 78--Freshman guard Shawn Respert led a 12-2 charge in the second half that helped the Spartans (4-0) break open a close game at East Lansing, Mich. Nebraska is 4-1.

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

EAST

Walt Williams scored five of his 20 points during an 11-0 first-half run to help Maryland defeat Providence, 76-66, at East Rutherford, N.J. . . . Chris McNeal scored 21 points despite sitting out 10 minutes of the first half and Pittsburgh defeated St. Francis, 84-68, at Pittsburgh.

SOUTH

Anthony Reed’s 22 points led unbeaten Tulane to an 88-79 victory over Northwestern. . . . Stacey Poole scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half, and Florida pulled away to a 57-72 victory over Charleston at Gainesville, Fla.

SOUTHWEST

Jack Little scored 15 points to lead Stephen F. Austin to a 70-47 victory over the San Diego at Nacogdoches, Tex.

WEST

Prince Stewart scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half to lead unbeaten Texas El Paso to a 78-71 victory over New Mexico State at Las Cruces, N.M.