KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The loss of four key players helped Tennessee come together as a team. Now No. 1 Kansas is looking to do the same after failing to survive the second of two close games.

Scotty Hopson had 17 points and No. 16 Tennessee, with a lineup thinned by suspensions, dismissals and injuries, handed Kansas its first loss of the season, 76-68, last night.

"It's pretty amazing what chemistry can do when guys put their minds to something and know their backs are up against the wall a little bit and they rally, and they don't quit and they believe in themselves," Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said.

Kansas' loss leaves No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Kentucky as the only unbeatens in Division I, and it was the fourth this weekend by a Top 10 team, joining No. 4 Purdue, No. 5 Duke and No. 8 West Virginia.

"The thing I will tell you is this: I don't know if Tennessee was a team until this past week. I don't know if Kansas is a team yet," Kansas coach Bill Self said.

Kansas' Tyshawn Taylor stole the ball and dished it to Brady Morningstar, who hit a 3-pointer with 1:14 left to cut Tennessee's lead to 71-68.

Skylar McBee, one of three walk-ons who saw playing time for Tennessee (12-2), answered with his own 3 as the shot clock expired.

Sherron Collins, who bailed the Jayhawks out of a near loss to Cornell on Wednesday with a career-high 33 points, couldn't help this time, missing three shots before time expired. Collins led Kansas (14-1) with 22 points.

It was the Vols' first game after Pearl dismissed Tyler Smith on Friday, a week after the senior was arrested on misdemeanor gun and drug charges. Tennessee was also playing without Cameron Tatum, Melvin Goins and Brian Williams, who were arrested Jan. 1 with Smith.

Tennessee had already lost two players before the season started.

No. 7 Syracuse 82, South Florida 65: Wes Johnson had 19 points and 13 rebounds, his seventh double-double of the season, to lead host Syracuse (15-1, 2-1 Big East) over South Florida (10-5, 0-3).

Syracuse used a 16-4 first-half spurt to take control and outscored the Bulls 17-8 over the first 6:09 of the second half.

No. 9 North Carolina 78, Virginia Tech 64: Ed Davis had 20 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots, and host North Carolina (12-4, 1-0 ACC) overcame a big game from Malcolm Delaney to beat Virginia Tech (12-2, 0-1).

Delaney returned from an ankle injury to score 20 of his 26 points in the first half, and almost single-handedly willed the Hokies to their second victory in Chapel Hill since joining the league in 2004.

Maryland 77, No. 18 Florida St. 68: Greivis Vasquez scored 22 points and Eric Hayes had 17 as host Maryland (10-4, 1-0 ACC) snapped Florida State's seven-game winning streak.

The Terrapins let a 16-point lead dwindle to 48-45 against Florida State (13-3, 1-1) before Vasquez scored nine points in a 14-4 surge that made it 62-49 with 9 minutes left.

No. 21 Temple 68, Rhode Island 64: Juan Fernandez scored 18 points, including a big 3-pointer in overtime, and host Temple (13-3, 2-0 A-10) snapped Rhode Island's eight-game winning streak.

Fernandez gave the Owls a 65-61 lead over Rhode Island (12-2, 0-1) with a 3 with 28 seconds left in overtime.

Arizona 87, No. 24 Washington 70: Jamelle Horne scored a career-high 22 points and host Arizona (8-8, 2-2 Pac-10) handed Washington (10-5, 1-3) its worst loss of the season.

Washington lost, 67-51, to Arizona State on Friday night, the first time the Huskies were swept on the Arizona trip since 2003.

WOMEN'S TOP 25

No. 2 Stanford 65, UCLA 61: Rosalyn Gold-Onwude scoreda career-high 18 points, including two free throws with four seconds left, to help visiting Stanford (13-1, 3-0 Pac-10) beat UCLA (10-5, 3-1).

Gold-Onwude made a season-high four 3-pointers to give Stanford its sixth straight win against UCLA.

No. 4 Tennessee 75, Mississippi State 48: Glory Johnson had a double-double by halftime and finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds to lead visiting Tennessee (14-1, 2-0 SEC) over Mississippi State (11-5, 1-1).

It was the fifth straight win for the Volunteers, who also got 16 points from Angie Bjorklund. Tennessee is 31-0 all-time against Mississippi State.

No. 8 Georgia 61, Florida 52: Jasmine James scored 17 points, and Angel Robinson added 12 points and 14 rebounds to help host Georgia (16-0, 3-0 SEC) remain unbeaten with a victory over Florida (9-7, 2-1).

The Lady Dogs are off to the best start in school history and are one of five remaining unbeaten teams in Division I basketball.

No. 9 Duke 65, Wake Forest 51: Bridgette Mitchell scored 20 points and Jasmine Thomas added 13 as host Duke (14-2, 2-0 ACC) beat Wake Forest (10-6, 1-1).

The Blue Devils went on a 19-0 run late in the first half and led 35-15 at the break.

Auburn 64, No. 11 LSU 62: Morgan Toles and KeKe Carrier each had 17 points and visiting Auburn (10-6, 1-2 SEC) upset LSU (13-2, 2-1) in overtime.

Auburn trailed 57-50 with just under two minutes left in regulation, but closed with a 9-2 run to force overtime. Alli Smalley hit a 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds left to tie the score at 59.

Miami 78, No. 13 Florida State 70: Riquna Williams scored 27 points to lead host Miami (13-2, 1-0 ACC) over Florida State (14-3, 0-1).

The Hurricanes withstood a late Florida State rally for their first win over a top-15 team since beating No. 10 Purdue in Dec. 19, 1991.

No. 16 Xavier 82, Temple 69: Amber Harris scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead host Xavier (11-3, 1-0 A-10) over Temple (10-5, 0-1).

Tyeasha Moss added a career-high 20 points, making all five of her 3-pointers, and Ta'Shia Phillips had 17 points and nine rebounds for Xavier.

Kentucky 63, No. 17 Vanderbilt 53: Amber Smith scored a career-high 20 points, and Amani Franklin had 11 points and 11 rebounds to help host Kentucky (13-2, 1-1 SEC) beat Vanderbilt (12-4, 1-2) for the first time in 11 years.

Smith scored 17 of her points in the second half and sparked a 21-7 run that erased a 10-point deficit.