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No. 900 looked like a waltz for 35 minutes. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim had little reason to leave his seat on the bench he has occupied for 37 seasons. Sure, he stood and paced a bit, even shouted directions to players now and then but another historic moment for the 68-year-old seemed all but certain

The Orange led Detroit by double digits most of the night, but Detroit found some confidence down the stretch and managed to slash what had been a 22-point deficit at one point to a one-possession game in the final minute.

Detroit went on a 19-3 run to cut the lead to three points with less than 28 seconds remaining, but Michael Carter-Williams made five of six free throws for Syracuse to make sure Boeheim could celebrate another milestone instead of having to wait for another game on a different night.

Syracuse 72, Detroit 68.

[Related: Jim Boeheim pleads for gun control reforms after victory]

(AP)

Players and coaches from UConn and Maryland Eastern Shore paid tribute to victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shootings prior to tonight's game at the XL Center in Hartford. The UConn women's team plans a similar pregame tribute prior to its game Wednesday against Oakland in the same venue

Both UConn teams will wear patches on their uniforms for the rest of the season honoring the victims of the mass shooting last Friday. The patches are mostly green with a black outline and white letters "SH." The school colors of Sandy Hook elementary are green and white.

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Indiana and Eastern Kentucky suffered their first losses over the weekend, leaving just eight teams remaining with unblemished records.

Duke (9-0) Cincinnati (10-0), Syracuse (9-0), Illinois (12-0), Michigan (11-0), New Mexico (11-0), Wyoming (10-0) and Arizona (8-0) are perfect midway through December.

Who will be next to lose?

Three of the eight face tests in rivalry games this week. They are the most likely candidates considering the nature of the those games.

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What a day for Arizona. First the football team finishes Rich Rodriguez's initial season in Tucson by scoring two touchdowns in the final minute of the New Mexico Bowl to beat Nevada.

[Related: Arizona makes miracle comeback in final minute to beat Nevada]

Then the basketball Wildcats followed up with a gutsy comeback in the final minute to beat No. 5 Florida 65-64 at the McKale Center in the first battle of top-10 teams at Arizona in nine years.

Wildcats fans might skip Sunday services believing their prayers already have been answered.

(AP)

Florida hadn't been tested all season. Heck, the Gators hadn't been under any pressure late in a game prior to traveling to Tucson to face No. 8 Arizona in a battle of top-10 teams.

The fifth-ranked Gators, who had won each of their games by at least 13 points, fell apart down the stretch and suffered their first loss of the season 65-64 thanks to three turnovers in their end of the court in the final minute.

Mark Lyons hit a running one-hander with 7 seconds left to give Arizona the victory.

After watching his team commit three turnovers in less than a minute against the Arizona full-court pressure, Florida coach Billy Donovan inexplicably failed to use his final timeout after Lyons' shot fell through the nylon and the McKale Center crowd went nuts.

The Gators managed only a desperate and wild 3-point attempt that missed badly at the buzzer.

Senior guard Kenny Boynton had an uncharacteristically tough outing, making just two of 10 field goal attempts, including 1-for-7 behind the

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Coach Brad Stevens has led Butler to two national title games in the past three years, but on Saturday the Bulldogs provided fans probably their greatest regular-season thrill with an 88-86 win over Indiana.

Butler knocked off the top-ranked team in the nation for the first time in school history and did it in quintessential Butler fashion with the game-winning shot coming in overtime from a walk-on role player who scored two points all of last season and 12 in the Bulldogs' first nine games this season.

[More NCAA basketball: Catholic Seven officially part with Big East leaving wake of uncertainty]

Alex Barlow's short jumper found its way just as the Butler program has under Stevens' leadership. It wasn't pretty but it got the job done in the Crossroad Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Stevens built Butler with the guts and hard work of dozens of overlooked and under-appreciated players such as Barlow who seem to rise to the moment time after time.

(AP)

The non-FBS football members of the Big East Conference — the Catholic Seven — officially announced today they are leaving to form a new league rooted on the hardwood.

DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall and Villanova now must decide what other schools they might invite to join them. Butler, Dayton, Saint Louis and Xavier are all likely candidates depending on how big the league wants to be. A 10 or 12-team configuration would make the most sense simply for scheduling purposes.

Presidents of the seven schools issued a joint statement regarding their unanimous decision.

"Earlier today we voted unanimously to pursue an orderly evolution to a foundation of basketball schools that honors the history and tradition on which the Big East was established," the presidents said in the statement. "Under the current context of conference realignment, we believe pursuing a new basketball framework that builds on this tradition of excellence and competition is the

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Miami has been to the NCAA tournament just once since joining the ACC in 2004, but the Hurricanes are looking more than capable of getting there this season after wins over Michigan State and Charlotte in two of the last three games.

Yes, it's early and the entire ACC slate awaits the Hurricanes, but this team is playing well on the defensive end and looks confident and hungry.

Seven Miami players blocked at least one shot as the Hurricanes walloped Charlotte 77-46. The 49ers were the only undefeated team remaining in the A-10 entering Friday's games and were off to the best start in school history. Miami hadn't played a game in 13 days but it showed no rust.