First Duke, now North Carolina.
Virginia Tech has beaten them both in a span of eight days, riding the play of senior guards Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon and an unheralded cast of role players through a magical week.
Dowdell scored 23 points and had four steals, Gordon added 17 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals, and the ball-hawking Hokies likely ended North Carolina's stay at No. 1 after only a week with a stunning 94-88 victory yesterday in Blacksburg, Va.
It ended with some tension -- the Tar Heels closed a 22-point deficit to 91-88 with 16.9 seconds left -- but then Dowdell made one free throw, Gordon made two more and the final seconds ticked off, bringing hundreds of frenzied fans rushing onto the court.
"They scared us at the end," Gordon said. "They were hitting shots like the Phoenix Suns. They're No. 1 for a reason."
The Hokies (13-4, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won not only because of their guard play, but also because of Coleman Collins, who had 12 points and frustrated Tyler Hansbrough inside; because of A.D. Vassallo, who scored 17 points off the bench; and because of Nigel Munson, who scored 10.
There also were key moments for Deron Washington, Cheick Diakite, and Lewis Witcher, who all got in foul trouble but combined for 12 points and helped the Hokies slow down the Tar Heels' inside game, and former walk-on Chris Tucker, who hit a 3-pointer.
"That's kind of the pleasure of coaching," Hokies coach Seth Greenberg said of seeing guys who work hard and don't always get to play get in and make contributions.
The Hokies, who came in leading the ACC by a wide margin in averaging 9.5 fewer turnovers than their opponents, turned 17 turnovers into 20 points against the Tar Heels (15-2, 2-1).
"In the ACC, it doesn't matter who it is or where it is, you always have to play hard," said Hansbrough, who finished with 19 hard-earned points and 15 rebounds.
Leading, 30-21, the Hokies saw North Carolina close to within 4, but then Virginia Tech scored 7 straight points late in the half and led, 47-37, at halftime.
The stage was set for the deeper Tar Heels to assert themselves after halftime, but as if to show they weren't in over their heads, the Hokies scored 19 of the first 26 points after halftime, opening a 66-44 lead with 12 minutes left, and then hung on.
Maryland 92, Clemson 87 -- Ekene Ibekwe had 20 points and 10 rebounds to spark the host Terrapins to an upset of the 17th-ranked Tigers, who were the last unbeaten team in Division 1.
D.J. Strawberry added 14 points, James Gist had 12, and Mike Jones and Greivis Vasquez each scored 10 for Maryland (15-3, 1-2), which bounced back from poor shooting in a loss to Miami Wednesday by hitting 65 percent in the first half.
James Mays led the Tigers (17-1, 3-1) with 22 points. K.C. Rivers had 18 and Vernon Hamilton totaled 15. Clemson trailed by 6 at halftime and never got closer than 5 in the second half.
N.C. State 88, Wake Forest 74 -- Gavin Grant scored 24 points and Courtney Fells added a career-high 20 for the Wolfpack (11-6, 1-3), who won their first road game and avoided their first 0-4 conference start in 10 years.
Brandon Costner added 17 points as North Carolina State shot 61 percent and hit 9 of 20 3-pointers.
Kevin Swinton scored a career-high 16 points for the Demon Deacons (9-7, 1-3), but leading scorer Kyle Visser was plagued by foul trouble and had only 11 points and two rebounds.
Georgia Tech 88, Florida St. 80 -- Freshman Javaris Crittenton scored a career-best 23 points, Mario West also set a personal high with 18, and the Yellow Jackets (13-4, 2-2) spotted the Seminoles (12-5, 0-3) an 8-0 lead before asserting themselves in Atlanta.