LOS ANGELES — Washington State couldn't make a dent against UCLA's defensive pressure most of the game. When the Bruins let up, the Cougars unleashed a stunning barrage of 3-pointers and still lost.

The fifth-ranked Bruins knocked the No. 4 Cougars from the unbeaten ranks yesterday with an 81-74 victory led by freshman Kevin Love's eighth double-double of the season.

"I'd never seen anything like that," Love said about the Cougars' seven 3s in the final 1 1/2 minutes.

"Wow," marveled teammate Darren Collison.

Love had a career-high 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while Collison added 18 points and the Bruins (16-1, 4-0 Pac-10) won their ninth in a row and seventh straight over the Cougars.

"For college, it's probably my best game overall," Love said.

'Iolani alum Derrick Low scored 24 points after getting nothing in the first half for Washington State, which saw its best start in 91 years end. The Cougars committed 13 turnovers, nine in the first half.

"Once you get in a little hole against a team as high-caliber as them, it's going to be tough," Low said. "They're what a championship team is. That's how we want to play."

The Cougars (14-1, 2-1) still have just one victory in 51 games at UCLA. They had lost the previous three meetings in Westwood by a combined eight points.

"We could not get stops," Washington State coach Tony Bennett said. "We pride ourselves in trying to get people to work for their shots and they got so many easy looks."

The Cougars made it close at the end with nine 3-pointers — five by Low — over the final 5:48. Most of the 3s were contested, but the Cougars' accuracy shocked the crowd of 12,590 and the Bruins.

"We were doing what we had to do in a situation that we didn't want to be in," said Taylor Rochestie, who had 13 points. "That's not how good teams win."

The Cougars called timeouts during their shooting spree.

Washington State's 13 3s and 62 percent shooting from 3-point range were season highs. The 13 tied the school record for 3s in a Pac-10 game.

The Bruins held the Cougars off from the free-throw line, where they were 17 of 21.

"As soon as you let up a little bit, the dam can break," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "Fortunately, our free-throw shooting was tremendous."

NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA 93, N.C. STATE 62

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Deon Thompson and Ty Lawson each scored 16 points and the host Tar Heels (17-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) scored 25 straight points en route to a 41-13 halftime lead in routing the Wolfpack (11-4, 0-1), who got no closer than 26 points in the second half.

NO. 2 MEMPHIS 68, MARSHALL 45

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Freshman Derrick Rose scored 20 points and Robert Dozier had 14 of his 18 points after the break, including six straight to open up a 39-28 lead with 17 minutes left to play as the Tigers (15-0, 2-0 Conference USA) pulled away from the Thundering Herd (9-5, 1-1).

NO. 3 KANSAS 79, NEBRASKA 58

LINCOLN, Neb. — Brandon Rush scored 16 of his season-high 19 points in the first half as the three-time defending Big 12 champion Jayhawks (16-0, 1-0) beat the Cornhuskers (11-3, 0-1) to win their 17th straight conference opener.

IOWA 43, NO. 6 MICHIGAN STATE 36

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Tony Freeman scored 22 points, helping the Hawkeyes (8-9, 1-3 Big Ten) upset the Spartans (14-2, 2-1 Big Ten), who shot 16 of 52 from the field, hit just one free throw, committed 18 turnovers and had just 18 points over the final 28:52.

NO. 7 GEORGETOWN 72, CONNECTICUT 69

WASHINGTON — Roy Hibbert's uncontested 3-pointer with 4 seconds left capped his 20-point, eight-rebound performance, lifting the Hoyas (13-1, 3-0 Big East) over the Huskies (11-4, 2-2).

NO. 8 TENNESSEE 80, SOUTH CAROLINA 56

COLUMBIA, S.C. — JaJuan Smith scored 15 points and the Vols (14-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) raced to an 11-0 lead and put the game away with a 23-5 run to build its lead to 66-40 with 11 minutes left in rolling past the Gamecocks (8-8, 0-2) for their best start since 1999.

NO. 11 TEXAS A&M 86, COLORADO 69

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Dominique Kirk scored 15 points, freshman DeAndre Jordan added 14 and the Aggies (15-1, 1-0 Big 12) rolled to a 42-27 halftime lead en route to an easy victory over the Buffaloes (8-7, 0-1) for their eighth straight win by at least 15 points.

MISSOURI 97, NO. 12 TEXAS 84

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Reserve Keon Lawrence scored a season-high 18 points to lead five teammates in double figures as the Tigers (11-5) beat the Longhorns (13-3) in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

KENTUCKY 79, NO. 13 VANDERBILT 73

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Freshman Patrick Patterson had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Joe Crawford added 17, including a layup for a 74-73 lead with 3:33 left in the second overtime to help the Wildcats (7-7, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) beat the Commodores (16-1, 1-1).

NO. 14 BUTLER 72, WIS.-MILWAUKEE 56

INDIANAPOLIS — Freshman Matt Howard scored nine of his 17 points during a 14-0 first-half run that carried the Bulldogs (16-1, 5-1 Horizon League) to a 37-19 halftime lead, which never dipped below 12 thereafter in beating the Panthers (9-8, 4-3).

NO. 15 MARQUETTE 92, NOTRE DAME 66

MILWAUKEE — Jerel McNeal scored 18 points, Lazar Hayward added 17 points and 11 rebounds, and the Golden Eagles (13-2, 3-1 Big East) beat thr Fighting Irish (12-3, 2-1).

NO. 16 MISSISSIPPI 74, LSU 71

OXFORD, Miss. — Eniel Polynice and Chris Warren each scored 15 points and the Rebels (14-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) beat the Tigers (7-9, 0-2).

NO. 17 DAYTON 68, ST. LOUIS 57

ST. LOUIS — Brian Roberts scored 30 points and Charles Little added 16, including four during a 6-0 run to start overtime as the Flyers (14-1, 2-0 Atlantic 10) beat the Billikens (9-7, 0-2) for their 13th straight victory.

NO. 18 CLEMSON 97, FLORIDA STATE 85

CLEMSON, s.c. — Freshman Terrence Oglesby hit three of his six 3-pointers in the second overtime, finishing with 19 points, and the Tigers (13-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) needed buzzer-beaters to tie the game in regulation and the first extra period to beat the Seminoles (12-5, 1-1) at Clemson, S.C.

CINCINNATI 69, NO. 19 VILLANOVA 66

CINCINNATI — Rashad Bishop's 3-pointer with 22 seconds to play — the freshman forward's only basket of the game — lifted the Bearcats (8-8, 3-1 Big East) over the Wildcats (11-3, 1-2) when Scottie Reynolds, who scored a season-high 32 points for Villanova, missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

NO. 20 PITTSBURGH 84, SETON HALL 70

PITTSBURGH — Sam Young scored 28 points and freshman DeJuan Blair had 20 points and 14 rebounds, as the Panthers (14-2, 2-1 Big East) beat the Pirates (10-6, 0-3).

NO. 24 XAVIER 68, FORDHAM 50

CINCINNATI — B.J. Raymond made his first five 3-point shots and finished with 20 points, and the host Musketeers (14-3, 2-0 Atlantic 10) took control by opening the second half with a 16-4 run and held the Rams (6-8, 0-2) to a season-low point total.

NO. 25 MIAMI 78, GEORGIA TECH 68

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Sophomore James Dews scored 18 points, Jimmy Graham added 13 and the Hurricanes (14-1, 1-0 Big East) beat the Yellow Jackets (7-8, 0-2).

WAC

Utah State 74, New Mexico State 62: Gary Wilkinson scored 18 points, Jaycee Carroll added 15, and the Utah State (12-5, 2-0 Western Athletic Conference) closed the game with a 14-2 run to beat New Mexico State (9-10, 3-1 WAC) at Logan, Utah, for coach Stew Morrill's 225th win.

Boise State 81, Louisiana Tech 66: Reggie Larry had 25 points and 15 rebounds, Matt Nelson added 22 points as the Broncos (12-4, 3-1) beat the Bulldogs (3-12, 0-3) at Boise, Idaho.

Fresno State 69, Idaho 53: Eddie Miller hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 27 points, as the Bulldogs (9-8, 2-1) beat the Vandals (4-11, 1-3) at Fresno, Calif.

DIVISION II

UH-HILO 82, HAWAI'I PACIFIC 76: Vince Alvarado scored 14 points and hit a free throw to send the game into overtime, then sank two in the extra period to lead the Vulcans (2-1, 6-4) over the Sea Warriors (1-4, 4-10) in a Pacific West Conference game at the Neal Blaisdell Center. John Smith hit a 3-pointer in overtime to put the Vulcans up, 78-76. Alvarado then hit two free throws and Jay De Maestri followed with two more to seal the victory.