Jeff Hart

Mike Krzyzewski drew a circle around the basket on his chalkboard at halftime to make his point: Clemson was dominating that part of the floor, but Duke was in control everywhere else. The No. 7 Blue Devils overcame their decided size disadvantage with quickness, using 24 points from DeMarcus Nelson to beat No. 24 Clemson 93-80 Saturday night for their 22nd straight win in the series.

Tyler Smith made two free throws with 11 seconds left and No. 6 Tennessee got some small revenge for its NCAA tournament loss to Ohio State last season with a 74-69 victory on Saturday.

Jamont Gordon scored 24 points and keyed a late run in Mississippi State's 66-56 victory over Alabama on Saturday.

Alex Gordon and Shan Foster both scored 18 points and No. 16 Vanderbilt snapped a two-game losing streak with a 92-76 victory over LSU on Saturday.

Frank Tolbert scored 29 points and DeWayne Reed had 21, both career highs, to lead Auburn to an 80-77 victory over No. 18 Mississippi on Saturday, keeping the Rebels from matching the best start in school history.

Vladimir Kuljanin scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to help North Carolina-Wilmington beat Georgia State 68-61 on Saturday night.

Virginia coach Dave Leitao said he did some self-scouting after his Cavaliers absorbed their third consecutive tough loss, and what he found was that a key element to his program was missing: having fun.

The Patriots are renowned for throwing new defensive twists at opponents. Here's one they'd like to show on Sunday: stopping long drives and getting the ball back into Tom Brady's hands faster. After two of their weaker defensive games of the season, unbeaten New England is determined to improve against the San Diego Chargers in the AFC championship game.

It was a day former East Hall standout Matt Causey will never forget. Neither will Georgia Tech. Needing a victory badly, Causey scored a career-high 30 points, 18 in the second half, and Anthony Morrow added 17 points as Georgia Tech ended a three-game losing streak to earn its first Atlantic Coast Conference win, beating Virginia Tech 81-70 on Saturday.

Baby, it's cold outside. So cold, one team has practiced with footballs straight out of the freezer. But not so frigid that many players say they will go sleeveless. As for the plummeting temperatures being an advantage for the Green Bay Packers in Sunday's NFC championship game against the New York Giants, the hosts aren't quite so sure.