Boston College finally loses; Illinois remains undefeated

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Boston College joined the likes of UCLA, DePaul and San Francisco as teams that arrived at Notre Dame with a long unbeaten streak and left with a loss.\nColin Falls matched his career high with 23 points and Chris Thomas added 19 points and nine assists as the Irish ended the fourth-ranked Eagles' 20-game winning streak and handed them their first loss of the season, 68-65 Tuesday night.\nThe Eagles (20-1, 9-1 Big East), playing their first game this season on national TV, and top-ranked Illinois (24-0) were the only unbeaten teams left in Division I. The Illini are alone now, surviving a scare before beating Michigan 57-51 Tuesday night.\nThe Irish, who squandered an 11-point lead in the final 6 minutes at No. 8 Syracuse on Saturday before losing 60-57, led BC 62-54 with 4:06 left when Sean Williams was called for goaltending on a layup by Thomas. The Eagles closed to 62-59 as Jared Dudley made two free throws and then converted on a three-point play.\nBut Thomas ensured the Irish (14-6, 6-4) didn't have another meltdown, making two free throws with 1:11 left to give Notre Dame a 66-59 lead. After Dudley scored inside with 30 seconds left, the Eagles forced an Irish turnover and had a chance to cut the lead to two points. But Dudley drove the lane and as he passed to Craig Smith, he ran into Falls and was called for the offensive foul.\nIllinois (24-0, 10-0 Big Ten) overcame a total collapse on offense -- going nearly 12 minutes without a field goal -- and an eight-point deficit early in the second half to become the nation's only undefeated team. Previously unbeaten Boston College lost 68-65 at Notre Dame just minutes before the Illini finished off the Wolverines.\nBrown turned three straight steals into baskets, including the go-ahead three-point play, and scored 16 points to keep the top-ranked Illini undefeated with a 57-51 victory over Michigan on Tuesday night.\nDion Harris had 21 points and seven rebounds for Michigan, while Courtney Sims scored 15 points and Chris Hunter had 10. The Wolverines (12-12, 3-7) have lost seven straight, their longest losing streak since the 1999-2000 season.\nLuther Head scored 14 points for Illinois and James Augustine had 10.\nBrown took over the game when Michigan was clinging to a 39-35 lead midway through the first half.\nHis three steals in just over a minute led to three baskets, including a three-point play that gave Illinois the lead for good with 7:54 left.