CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Bambale Osby dropped to the court with his hands covering his face. He knew his basket had given Maryland the lead late. He heard the horn as North Carolina's final desperation shot clanged off the rim.

Yet he still couldn't believe it.

"It didn't feel real, man," Osby said. "It was like, 'Did this really just happen?' "

The same could be said of the top-ranked — and formerly unbeaten — Tar Heels.

Osby's layup with 21 seconds left helped Maryland stun North Carolina, 82-80, yesterday, giving the Terrapins a shocking win that will likely end the Tar Heels' run atop the polls.

James Gist finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Terrapins (12-7, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who blew an 11-point lead midway through the second half but still held on in a back-and-forth finish to win here for the first time in five years.

Maryland hardly seemed the ideal candidate to stand up to North Carolina at the Smith Center. The Tar Heels (18-1, 3-1) — off to their best start in two decades — had been rolling to big victories behind their crowd-pleasing and fast-paced transition attack.

But the Terrapins played tough and physical defense on Tyler Hansbrough, cutting off the All-American and making the Tar Heels work hard elsewhere for good looks in a largely halfcourt game. Maryland also showed the fortitude to bounce back after North Carolina pushed ahead by four in the final 2 1/2 minutes.

"I think our players really believed that if we could execute really good on offense, we had a chance to win the game," Maryland coach Gary Williams said.

The Tar Heels certainly had proven they could win the close ones, from Wayne Ellington's last-second 3-pointer in a 90-88 overtime win at Clemson two weeks ago to Wednesday's 83-82 win at Georgia Tech. But this time, they couldn't take advantage of several chances to answer Osby's layup.

After Ellington missed a 3-pointer and a driving shot, North Carolina could only watch as Hansbrough's last gasp 3-pointer bounced off the rim at the horn as the Terrapins ran to midcourt to celebrate.

Hansbrough had 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead North Carolina, which shot just 38 percent and went 7 for 23 from 3-point range. The Tar Heels were off to their best start since winning 21 in a row in the 1985-86 season, and came in averaging 98 points per game at home.

But on this day, North Carolina never led by more than four points.

"I haven't done a very good job with this basketball team the last couple of weeks," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "We've been living on the edge, and it caught up with us today."

NO. 2 MEMPHIS 83, SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 47

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 19 points, Derrick Rose added 13, and the Tigers (17-0, 4-0 Conference USA) staked their claim to the nation's top spot with a rout of the Golden Eagles (9-9, 1-3) for their 42nd straight home victory, while extending their streak of consecutive conference wins to 27.

Memphis is poised to move into the No. 1 spot next week. The only time the Tigers were previously ranked No. 1 was in 1983.

NO. 3 KANSAS 76, MISSOURI 70

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Mario Chalmers had 18 points and Brandon Rush shrugged off 2 for 14 shooting with three free throws in the final 1:04, helping the Jayhawks (18-0, 3-0 Big 12), off to their best start since a school-record 22-0 in 1996-97, hold off the boarder-rival Tigers (11-7, 1-2).

Kansas won despite 40 percent shooting — only their fourth game below 50 percent. But the Jayhawks compensated by making a season-high 28 free throws in 45 attempts, and outrebounding Missouri 52-43.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 72, NO. 4 UCLA 63

LOS ANGELES — Davon Jefferson scored 25 points, O.J. Mayo added 16 and the host Trojans (11-6, 2-3 Pac-10), trailing 57-51 with 6:18 remaining, finished the game with a 21-6 run to end the Bruins' (16-2, 4-1) nine-game winning streak.

The Trojans came in with less experience, but they lead the Pac-10 in field-goal percentage defense and held the Bruins to 33.3 percent, their worst shooting of the season. USC shot 61 percent from the field and 71 percent from the free-throw line.

NO. 5 GEORGETOWN 84, NOTRE DAME 65

WASHINGTON — Roy Hibbert had 21 points and five assists, DaJuan Summers had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and the host Hoyas (14-2, 4-1 Big East) held the Irish (13-4, 3-2) to 32.8 percent shooting and almost 15 points below their season average.

The Hoyas limited Notre Dame to 9 for 30 (30 percent) in the first half and 20 for 61 for the game. At one point in the second half, the Irish were 10 for 40 overall (25 percent).

NO. 6 TENNESSEE 74, OHIO STATE 69

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — JaJuan Smith scored 15 points, and Tyler Smith, who added 12, made two free throws with 11 seconds remaining to seal the victory after the Volunteers (16-1) used a 12-3 run to take a 51-49 lead they never relinquished in turning back the Buckeyes (12-6).

Tennessee's bench outscored Ohio State's 26-0. The Buckeyes struggled to control the ball, and the Vols scored 20 points off turnovers compared to Ohio State's five.

NO. 7 DUKE 93, NO. 24 CLEMSON 80

DURHAM, N.C. — DeMarcus Nelson scored 24 points, Kyle Singler added 17, and the Blue Devils (15-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) used a 20-5 run for a 81-65 lead with 5:48 left to turn back the Tigers (14-4, 2-2), who have lost 22 straight in the series between the two teams.

Gerald Henderson had 16 points, Nolan Smith scored 13 and Jon Scheyer finished with 12 for Duke, which was outrebounded 42-26, but forced 21 turnovers.

KANSAS STATE 75, NO. 10 TEXAS A&M 54

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Michael Beasley scored 21 points and Bill Walker added 19 as the Wildcats (12-4, 2-0 Big 12), off to their first 2-0 conference start in 15 years, rolled past the Aggies (15-3, 1-2), who made only two of their first 15 shots in the second half.

Walker and Beasley, Kansas State's standout freshmen, both played most of the second half with three fouls but led the getaway run as the Wildcats shot 52 percent against a defense that had been allowing opponents only 37 percent from the field.

NO. 12 BUTLER 78, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 69

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Matt Howard scored 20 points, Pete Campbell had 19, and the Bulldogs (17-2, 6-2 Horizon League) raced to a 40-22 halftime lead and did not allow the Penguins (7-11, 3-5) to get within eight points thereafter.

CINCINNATI 62, NO. 15 PITTSBURGH 59

CINCINNATI — Adam Hrycaniuk had two tip-ins during a 13-point run in the second half to help the Bearcats (9-9, 4-2) pull off their second Big East upset in eight days, stunning the Panthers (15-3, 3-2), already down two starters to injury, lost forward Keith Benjamin, who jammed and cut his right hand late in the first half.

NO. 16 VANDERBILT 92, LSU 76

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Alex Gordon and Shan Foster each scored 18 points and the Commodores (17-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference), trailing 24-23, finished the first half with a 20-9 run for a 43-33 lead they never lost in beating the Tigers (7-11, 0-4) to snap a two-game losing streak.

NO. 17 WISCONSIN 62, NORTHWESTERN 50

MADISON, Wis. — Marcus Landry scored 15 of his 27 points after halftime and the Badgers (15-2, 5-0 Big Ten) used a 13-2 run at the start of the second half to open up a 35-22 lead and the Wildcats (6-9, 0-5) got no closer than eight points thereafter.

AUBURN 80, NO. 18 MISSISSIPPI 77

AUBURN, Ala. — Frank Tolbert scored 29 points, DeWayne Reed had 21, Quantez Robertson's 3-pointer broke a 70-all tie with 1 minute left and the Tigers (11-5, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) made 7 of 9 free throws in the final 39 seconds to upset the Rebels (15-2, 2-2).

NO. 19 TEXAS 69, COLORADO 67

AUSTIN, Texas — D.J. Augustin scored 25 points, A.J. Abrams added 19, including 12 during a 24-6 second-half run as the Longhorns (14-3, 1-1 Big 12) rallied from a 41-28 deficit early in the second-half to beat Colorado (9-8, 1-2), which made it close on a tip-in by Levi Knutson at the buzzer following a missed 3-pointer.

NO. 20 XAVIER 74, GEORGE WASHINGTON 66

WASHINGTON — Josh Duncan made a layup with 1:09 left for a 69-66 lead, Drew Lavender converted 3 of 4 free throws in the final seconds, and both finished with 12 points to help the Muskeeters (15-4, 3-1 Atlantic 10) turn back the Colonials (5-8 1-2).

N.C. STATE 79, NO. 21 MIAMI 77

RALEIGH, N.C. — Gavin Grant, whose missed layup was tipped in by J.J. Hickson to tie the score at 77-77 with eight seconds left, stole the inbounds pass and scored with 2 seconds left in overtime to lift the Wolfpack (12-5, 1-2 ACC) over the Hurricanes (14-3, 1-2).

STANFORD 67, NO. 22 ARIZONA STATE 52

STANFORD, Calif. — Brook Lopez scored 19 points, including all 10 during a 10-0 second-half run for a 47-42 with lead they never lost with 7:45 left, as the Cardinal (15-3, 4-2) handed the Sun Devils (14-3, 4-1) their first Pac-10 defeat.

NO. 25 VILLANOVA 81, SYRACUSE 71

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Scottie Reynolds scored 25 points and Corey Fisher added 15 for the Wildcats (13-3, 3-2 Big East), who pulled away in the closing minutes as the Orange (13-6, 3-3), with only eight scholarship players available, lost leading scorer Donte Greene, who fouled out with 5:25 left.

WAC

UTAH STATE 79, IDAHO 64

LOGAN, Utah — Tai Wesley scored 23 points and Jaycee Carroll added 21 to become the school's career scoring leader with 2,147 points, leading the Aggies (14-5, 4-0 Western Athletic Conference) over the Vandals (4-13, 1-5), who trailed 45-33 at intermission and got no closer than nine thereafter.

Only three players in Utah State history have scored more than 2,000 points.

NEW MEXICO STATE 63, LOUISIANA TECH 54

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Freshman forward Herb Pope had four points and nine rebounds in his season debut after missing the first 19 games after being ruled academically ineligible, leading the Aggies (10-10, 4-1) over the Bulldogs (3-13, 0-4).

BOISE STATE 95, NEVADA 80

RENO, Nev. — Tyler Tiedeman scored 27 points to lead four teammates in double figures, and the Broncos (13-5, 4-2), trailing 52-47 with 17:10 left, used a 22-3 outburst that for a 69-55 lead and never looked back in beating the Wolf Pack (10-7, 2-2).

ELSEWHERE

George Mason 96, James Madison 75: Dre Smith made 10 3-pointers without a miss to set an NCAA record, finishing with a career-high 34 points to lead the Patriots (13-5, 5-2 Colonial Athletic Association) over the Dukes (10-7, 3-4) at Harrisonburg, Va.

San Francisco 60, Portland 59: Dior Lowhorn had 19 points and seven rebounds and coach Eddie Sutton got his 799th career victory as the Dons (5-12, 1-1 West Coast Conference) beat the Pilots (6-12, 2-1) at Portland, Ore.