Sean May had 23 points and 16 rebounds to lead No. 12 North Carolina past Miami 89-64 on Wednesday night in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Jawad Williams, Rashad McCants and Jackie Manuel each scored 15 points for the Tar Heels (9-2), who earned their 200th win in the 18-year history of the Smith Center. North Carolina improved to 93-11 against non-conference opponents in the building that opened in January 1986.
Robert Hite scored 27 points to lead the Hurricanes (10-4), who fell to 1-7 against their future Atlantic Coast Conference rival. Darius Rice finished with seven points, 11 below his average — for Miami, which leaves the Big East for the ACC next season.
The Hurricanes won last year's matchup, taking a 64-61 overtime win as North Carolina went without a field goal for the final 12 minutes. The Tar Heels had no such offensive troubles Wednesday, getting nine straight field goals from May to take control.
They increased their lead to 23 points midway through the second half behind several transition baskets, and shot 50 percent for the game.
Miami shot 38 percent and finished with 22 turnovers against the trapping North Carolina defense.
NO. 10 LOUISVILLE 76, SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 42: At Louisville, Ky., Nate Daniels scored 15 points and Otis George tied a career-high with 10 rebounds to lead No. 10 Louisville.
No. 11 CINCINNATI 71, TULANE 44: At New Orleans, reserve guard Tony Bobbitt scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half for the Bearcats in the Conference USA opener for both teams.
Jason Maxiell and Field Williams each scored 13 points for the Bearcats (10-0), who are off to their best start in five years.
No. 14 FLORIDA 65, SOUTH CAROLINA 62: At Columbia, S.C., David Lee had 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Gators in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. Lee was 8-of-12 from the field, making him 29-of-35 in the past four games for the Gators (10-2).
No. 17 SYRACUSE 65, ST. JOHN'S 59: At Syracuse, N.Y., Gerry McNamara scored 14 of his 23 points over the final 11 minutes to lead the Orangemen in the Big East opener for both teams.
Syracuse (10-1) won for the 10th straight time and handed the Red Storm (4-7) their third loss in five games under interim head coach Kevin Clark.
No. 19 ILLINOIS 85, OHIO ST. 63: At Champaign, Ill., reserve Nick Smith scored a career-high 22 points without missing a shot for Illinois in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
Smith, a 7-foot-2 center, was 6-for-6 from the field, including one 3-pointer, and went 9-for-9 from the free throw line. He grabbed nine rebounds.
No. 20 VANDERBILT 59, AUBURN 53: At Nashville, Matt Freije scored 15 points and Corey Smith added 10 for Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Vanderbilt (12-0), which blew a 17-point first-half lead, is off to its best start in school history. The Commodores also eclipsed last year's win total when they went 11-18.
No. 22 MISSISSIPPI ST. 61, MISSISSIPPI 54: At Oxford, Miss., Mississippi State moved to 12-0 for the first time in school history by overcoming a 10-point second-half deficit in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
The Bulldogs closed the game with a 22-5 run led by Timmy Bowers, who finished with 18 points. Tommie Eddie had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Rebels (8-4), who had a six-game winning streak snapped and lost to the Bulldogs for the fifth straight time.
No. 23 MARQUETTE 65, HOUSTON 52: At Houston, Travis Diener was 5-for-10 from 3-point range and scored 22 points to lead Marquette.
Scott Merritt had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Golden Eagles (10-2) in the Conference USA opener for both teams.
Marcus Oliver and Andre Owens each had 12 points for Houston (6-5), which lost to a ranked team for the 18th straight time since beating Memphis in 1996.
IOWA 71, No. 24 PURDUE 61: At Iowa City, Pierre Pierce scored 19 points and Jared Reiner added 14 to lead Iowa in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
The Hawkeyes (8-3) shot 78 percent from the free throw line, a season best, and 13 of Pierce's points came on free throws. Kenneth Lowe led the Boilermakers (10-4) with 19 points.