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Battle Every Night

North Carolina knows that as the nation's top-ranked team it's likely to get the best effort from every opponent it faces. But its next opponent might have a little extra motivation.

The Tar Heels (16-0, 1-0 ACC) look to remain one of five unbeaten teams in the nation on Saturday when they open their conference home schedule against North Carolina State.

Bruins Top Huskies

UCLA's backup point guard and its fifth-leading scorer came up big on a night when the fifth-ranked Bruins endured some bruises.

Russell Westbrook scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half and UCLA shot 52 percent from the field to beat Washington 69-55 on Thursday night.

No Issue in Southern Cal

Daven Harmeling wasn't about a let a broken thumb on his shooting hand get in the way in No. 4 Washington State's biggest test of the season to date.

The 6-foot-7 junior came off the bench to score 14 of his season-high 19 points in the first half, Aron Baynes had 18 points and nine rebounds, and the undefeated Cougars beat Southern California 73-58 on Thursday night to give them their best start in 91 years.

Impressive Start

Washington State is one of only five unbeaten programs in the country, and coach Tony Bennett knows his team must play at its highest level if it expects to come out of its trip to Los Angeles still undefeated.

The fourth-ranked Cougars look to continue their impressive start and open with 14 wins for the first time in 91 years as they visit Southern California and highly touted freshman O.J. Mayo on Thursday.

Continued Success

After winning twice on the road to open Pac-10 play, UCLA looks for similar success when it returns home.

The fifth-ranked Bruins look for a season high eighth consecutive victory when they face Washington on Thursday night in their conference home opener.