Duke

Since we last met, the number of unbeaten Division I teams has been trimmed from four to two. Wyoming was knocked out Wednesday night at home, 63-61, on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Boise State. The next night, No. 4 Arizona went to Oregon and lost, 70-66, to the Ducks, who won their 17th straight home game. The remaining two unbeatens could fall by the end of the weekend in road games: Duke takes on North Carolina State on Saturday, and Michigan has a tough test at Ohio State on Sunday.

QUINN COOK scored a career-high 27 points and No. 1 Duke held Clemson to its lowest-scoring half in 12 years in a 68-40 victory over the visiting Tigers on Tuesday night. Ryan Kelly added 12 points in the first half but sat out the second with what team officials said was a right leg injury. Coach Mike Krzyzewski said a CAT scan and X-rays are planned. "We're hopeful that it's not real serious, but for precautionary reasons, we felt that it wasn't good to play him in the second half," Krzyzewski said.

Ryan Kelly and Seth Curry each scored 22 points as top-ranked Duke (14-0, 1-0 ACC) put an 80-62 thumping on turnover-prone Wake Forest (7-6, 0-1) in Durham, N.C. Rutgers 67, Pittsburgh 62 - Eli Carter scored 23 points and the Scarlet Knights (10-3, 1-1 Big East) held off a rally by the No. 24 Panthers (12-3, 0-2) in Piscataway, N.J. Virginia Commonwealth 59, Lehigh 55 - Treveon Graham scored 17 points as the Rams (12-3) beat the Mountain Hawks (9-4) in Richmond, Va. Lehigh lost C.J. McCollum, the nation's leading scorer, with a foot injury.

Argue if you want, but the real college basketball season is now under way with the start of conference competition. The new year began with just four unbeaten teams - Duke, Michigan, Arizona, and Wyoming - and three winless squads - Maryland-Eastern Shore, Grambling State, and Mississippi Valley State. Indiana started out as the year's top-ranked team but slipped off its perch after losing to Butler, and Duke took its place. With our vote in the AP poll, we had Louisville No. 1 for the first three weeks, then switched to Duke after the Blue Devils defeated the Cardinals.

A Dec. 31 commentary, "Wishful thinking for 2013," incorrectly identified Britain's Prince William, the duke of Cambridge.

Seth Curry scored 12 of his season-high 31 points during the late run that helped No. 1 Duke pull away for a 90-77 victory over pesky Santa Clara on Saturday in Durham, N.C. Mason Plumlee added 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Blue Devils (12-0), who overcame a real scare from the Broncos (11-3).   Holy Family 76, Assumption 74 - Ervin Ezell (Deptford) stole a midcourt inbounds pass with six seconds left in the first overtime period and coasted in for the game-winning layup to give the Tigers the victory in the East Coast Classic hosted by Stonehill College.

NEW YORK - Khalif Wyatt was eager to play at Madison Square Garden. The Temple guard was aware of the arena's storied basketball history. It's the place where Rick Barry, Bernard King, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and many others gave memorable performances. Judging by the media attention after Saturday's game, it was obvious that Wyatt had added another chapter to MSG lore. The guard finished with a career-high 33 points to lead Temple to an 83-79 upset of third-ranked Syracuse.

Prized prospect Jabari Parker of Chicago's Simeon Career Academy, one of the most highly touted recruits in years, is headed to Duke. With a national TV audience watching, he announced his decision at a news conference at his high school gym. Parker can't sign his letter of intent until April 17, but he made his intentions clear with one highly anticipated oral commitment. Michigan State, Florida, Stanford, and Brigham Young also made his top five, but he said it really came down to three schools in the end, with the Gators and Spartans close with the Blue Devils.

CALL IT a winning day for top-ranked Duke - in more ways than one. First, the Blue Devils won the sweepstakes for one of the top recruits in the nation, and then they capped off the night with an easy win over visiting Elon. Jabari Parker, a 6-8 forward from Chicago's Simeon Career Academy who is ranked No. 2 among high school prospects, announced Thursday afternoon that he would attend Duke. He chose the Blue Devils over Michigan State, Florida, Stanford and BYU, and announced his decision live on ESPNU from school.

Jim Boeheim became the third Division I men's coach to reach 900 wins as No. 3 Syracuse beat Detroit, 72-68, on Monday night in the Gotham Classic in Syracuse, N.Y. Boeheim, 68 and in his 37th year at his alma mater, is 900-304 with the Orange and joined an elite fraternity. Mike Krzyzewski (936) and Bob Knight (902) are the only other men's Division I coaches to win that many games. James Southerland had 22 points for Syracuse (10-0), which increased its home winning streak to 30 games, longest in the nation.