Michael Carter-Williams shot just 3-of-17 from the floor as Temple focused its entire defense on turning the 6-foot-6 point guard into a scorer.

“They were denying the wings and not letting me kick it out,’’ Carter-Williams said. “They were trying to force me to finish and that’s what I tried to do.’’

Carter-Williams finished with 13 points for the Orange, who struggled to find space outside and consequently shot just 2-for-12 from beyond the arc.

“They didn’t try to come off to help,’’ coach Jim Boeheim said. “He’s got to finish those. He missed some good looks. He got some good opportunities.’’

Carter-Williams won’t be surprised if more teams dare him to score.

“I think a lot of teams are going to start doing that,’’ the sophomore guard said. “They see that I pass the ball. I’ve got to get used to it.’’

Kansas and Georgetown have expressed interest in acquiring former UCLA center Joshua Smith, according to people close to the situation.

Smith is reportedly interested in transferring to Washington, but it’s unikely he’ll be able to transfer within the Pac-12 Conference.

Smith quit the UCLA basketball program on Nov. 28, citing unspecified personal reasons.

Steven Adams pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds, including 9 offensive, and also added 8 points on 4-of-9 shooting in Pittsburgh’s 66-45 win over Duquesne on Thursday.

The Panthers coaching staff has been working with Adams to improve his rebounding, stressing positioning and using two hands to grab the ball.

"Nothing changed overnight," head coach Jaime Dixon said. "He's had some very good rebounding days. He did a good job numbers-wise. I can't explain why all of a sudden he did. As a team, we rebounded better. I think everyone else blocking out was a part of it. It was better, but still not where we need to be."

Adams still struggles to convert offensive rebounds into points -- at least in comparison to former Panthers center DeJuan Blair.

"DeJuan got better at it,” Dixon said. “Let's remember DeJuan wasn't an all-Big East guy going into his sophomore year. He was not a highly ranked guy coming out of high school. It's development and getting better. I think we'll see the same with Steve. Steve is 7 foot. Those guys get ranked higher ... he's doing a great job."