Wisconsin's first game as the nation's top-ranked team didn't exactly live up to the moment. Michigan State's Drew Neitzel scored 28 points and Michigan State (20-8, 7-6 Big Ten) posted a 64-55 win in East Lansing, Mich.

Neitzel's 3-pointer with 3:51 left gave Michigan State a 51-49 lead, and the Spartans held on for the victory, giving their NCAA tournament hopes a boost before their home crowd and taking some of the luster off Wisconsin's game vs. No. 2 Ohio State Sunday.

The Buckeyes now have a half-game lead over Wisconsin (26-3, 12-2) in the conference race. Ohio State plays host to Penn State tonight.

The sellout crowd at Breslin Center serenaded the Badgers with a chant of "overrated" as the clock wound down. Students stormed the court at the final horn.

"If you start to chant 'overrated,' I'm leaving," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan joked before addressing the media in his postgame news conference.

Ryan said he didn't think the pressure of playing with the No. 1 ranking affected his team's performance.

"I don't think that had anything to do with it," Ryan said. "Michigan State played better."

Marcus Landry had 18 points and Alando Tucker 16 for Wisconsin.

Travis Walton added 13 points for Michigan State and Raymar Morgan added 12.

Other men's highlights

Weyinmi Efejuku scored 24 points to go with seven and Providence took advantage of West Virginia's 32 missed 3-point attempts for a 64-61 Big East victory against the 22nd-ranked Mountaineers in Providence, R.I. Providence (17-9, 7-6) improved to 16-2 at home and 3-3 against ranked teams as it tries to move off the NCAA tournament bubble. Darris Nichols and Frank Young scored 14 apiece for West Virginia (20-7, 8-6), which is still looking for a road win against a quality opponent. The Mountaineers were 9 for 41 from 3-point range. ... Colin Falls scored all of his 19 points in the first half as Notre Dame (21-6, 9-5) avenged a Big East loss to DePaul two weeks ago with a 78-54 win at home against the Blue Demons (16-12, 7-7).

Women's highlights

Tina Charles scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead No. 3 Connecticut (25-2, 14-0 Big East) to its 11th consecutive victory, 81-67, against South Florida (18-9, 8-6) in Tampa, Fla. Charde Houston added 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Huskies clinched their first outright Big East regular-season title in three years. ... Matee Ajavon had 23 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists to lead No. 21 Rutgers (18-7, 11-3) to a 69-34 Big East victory against visiting Providence (13-14, 3-11). Epiphanny Prince snapped out of a minor slump with 14 points for Rutgers. ...No. 18 Bowling Green (25-2, 14-0 Mid-American Conference) won its 18th consecutive game, an 89-66 win against Kent State in Kent, Ohio. Reserve Amber Flynn scored 21 points to lead six Bowling Green players in double figures.

District men's highlights

Dominique Watson (32) and Kenny Taylor (30) combined for 62 points as CCAC South (2-20) won for only the second time, defeating host West Virginia Northern C.C., 96-82. ... No. 4 seed Grove City (14-12) defeated Waynesburg, 89-60, in the Presidents' Athletic Conference quarterfinals as Mark Smith led five players in double figures with 14 points. ... Washington & Jefferson (13-13) won its PAC opener with a convincing 67-49 victory against Thomas More (3-23) behind Jon Koch's 17 points. ... Allegheny (12-13) lost at home in the first round of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament, 87-84, to Wabash. Andrew Zimmer led Wabash with 21 points and Aaron Brock added 20. Jimmy Savage and Bill Babe led the Gators with 16 points apiece.

District women's highlights

Second-seeded Westminster (21-5) tied a school record for wins in a season, defeating Grove City, 67-46, in the Presidents' Athletic Conference quarterfinals. Desiree Sterling had 17 points to lead Westminster into the semifinals vs. Washington & Jefferson. ... No. 3 seed W&J (19-7) defeated Thiel, 73-48, in another PAC quarterfinal behind Emily Hays' 16 points and eight rebounds. ... Allegheny (18-7) won its North Coast Athletic Conference tournament opener, defeating Wooster, 59-42. Jennifer Latronica had 14 points for the Gators, who advance to the NCAC semifinals Friday.

Notes

Illinois player Jamar Smith was charged yesterday with drunk driving and leaving the scene of an accident in an incident that also seriously injured teammate Brian Carlwell, a passenger in the car. Smith, whose blood-alcohol level was .176, apparently believed Carlwell was dead after his 1996 Lexus struck a tree in heavy snow Feb. 12. ... Suspended Gonzaga center Josh Heytvelt is being charged with felony possession of a controlled substance after his Feb. 9 arrest, when police said they found 33.2 grams -- just over an ounce -- of hallucinogenic mushrooms in his car.