Virginia defense smothers UNC

North Carolina coach Roy Williams didn’t bother with technical talk after his 12th-ranked Tar Heels lost 61-49 at No. 8 Virginia.

“It was a big ole butt kicking. That’s all it was,” Williams said. “Their defense was a million times stronger than our offense. We didn’t have very good movement.”

Devon Hall scored 16 points and had seven assists while the Cavaliers (14-1, 3-0 ACC) held the Tar Heels to 29.6 percent shooting (16-for-54) and scored 25 points off 19 UNC turnovers. The point total was the second-lowest of the season for UNC, which scored fewer only in a 63-45 loss to No. 1 Michigan State on Nov. 26.

The Cavaliers won their sixth in a row and sent the Tar Heels (12-4, 1-2) to consecutive losses for the first time since February 2016.

Kyron Cartwright had 19 points, nine assists and four steals to help host Providence beat No. 5 Xavier 81-72 on Saturday, snapping the Musketeers’ 10-game winning streak and ending the best start in their school’s history.

Rodney Bullock scored 17 points with six rebounds and two blocked shots as the Friars (11-6, 2-2 Big East) beat a ranked team for the first time this season.

Kerem Kanter had 24 points and 12 rebounds in 20 minutes for the Musketeers (15-2, 3-1).

Freshman Tremont Waters scored 21 points and buried an off-balance 3-pointer with 1 second left as visiting LSU knocked off No. 11 Texas A&M 69-68 in College Station, Texas.

The game was tied before the Aggies used an 8-3 run, capped by four points from Tyler Davis, to take a 68-63 lead. But Waters, who finished with five 3s, made a 3-pointer to get the Tigers (10-4, 1-1 SEC) within three with 12 seconds left.

Davis missed two free throws on the other end before Waters launched his winner under heavy defensive pressure to give the Tigers the win.

Leading scorer D.J. Hogg returned for the Aggies (11-4, 0-3) after a suspension, but it wasn’t enough to stop them from dropping their third straight. AP