College basketball highlights: All the top plays from Thursday's games

Thursday was filled with a stacked slate of men's college basketball action as the major conference tournaments — including the Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 — kick into high gear.

The day began with an enticing matchup between two bubble teams, Rutgers and Michigan. The Wolverines came up short in Chicago after beating the Scarlet Knights just two weeks ago.

[Big Ten takeaways: Ohio State keeps rolling, Michigan watches wheels fall off]

But that was just the start! Several high-profile teams that had byes during Wednesday's action, including UCLA, UConn and defending national champion Kansas were among the teams that took the court Thursday.

[Big East takeaways: Marquette turns to its star, advances to semis]

Here are the top moments!

Arizona State 77, USC 72 (Pac-12)

I'll take that!

Alonzo Gaffney stayed back to get the steal and the easy dunk to help Arizona State take control in the first half.

Dishing it out

Playmaking helped Arizona State get open looks beyond the 3-point lead to hold a 15-point lead in the first half. 

Big plays on each end

Devan Cambridge made the 3-pointer on one end and Warren Washington made the block on the other to help Arizona State hold a 15-point lead in the second half. 

Making it close

Reese Dixon-Waters made the 3-pointer to help USC cut the Arizona State lead to single-digits in the second half. 

Reese to the rack!

Dixon-Waters threw down the slam plus the foul to keep USC alive.

The winning slam!

Cambridge threw it down in the final minute to help seal Arizona State's upset win over USC and advance to the semifinal. 

TCU 80, Kansas State 67 (Big 12)

Block to start

Desi Sills chased down his man and had an impressive block, which set the tone early for the Wildcats.

Block party!

After recording a block to open the game, Sills recorded three more in the first half. Not bad for a guard!

Miles on the money

Mike Miles showed out in the first half, scoring 12 points to give TCU a 37-32 lead at the break.

Cleaning hard

Emanuel Miller threw down a hard slam on the put-back to give TCU momentum early in the second half.

O'step back

Chuck O'Bannon hit the step-back jumper as part of his game-high 22 points, which helped TCU win. 

Creighton 87, Villanova 74 (Big East)

Trey with the treys

Trey Alexander was making it rain from deep early, hitting three 3-pointers to give Creighton a 28-16 lead with just under seven minutes left in the first.

Moore makin' it easy

Justin Moore somehow made the up-and-under to keep Villanova in the game in the first half. 

Teamwork!

The block on one end helped set up the 3-pointer on the other end for Creighton. 

Crafty bucket!

Ryan Kalkbrenner made the awkward alley-oop to extend Creighton's lead in the second half. 

Exclamation point!

The backward hammer from Arthur Kaluma put the emphasis on Creighton's win to advance to the semifinal.

Maryland 70, Minnesota 54 (Big Ten)

Donta time

Donta Scott had Maryland rolling early, scoring 16 points in the first half to help give the Terrapins a 31-24 lead.

Leaving them in awe

Patrick Emilien's second-half dunk helped Maryland pull away from Minnesota, and drew some nice reviews from the bench.

Arizona 95, Stanford 84 (Pac-12)

On a swivel

Arizona kept passing the ball until it found Oumar Ballo down low for the open layup to help extend its first-half lead.

Beating the buzzer!

Stanford's ball movement helped it get a 3-pointer right at the first-half buzzer, cutting Arizona's lead to 47-43.

Upset alert?

Stanford continued to shoot lights out from deep in the early minutes of the second half, allowing it to take a lead at one point in its long-shot quest for a NCAA Tournament bid.

Ramey rainin'

Courtney Ramey nailed the 3-pointer from deep in the middle of the second half prior to Arizona going on an 11-0 that helped the Wildcats start to pull away from Stanford.

Xavier 89, DePaul 84 (Big East)

Red-hot

DePaul shot a combined 9-of-11 right out of the gate, as the Blue Demons held an edge over Xavier early in the first half.

Xavier pushes back

DePaul continued to extend their its lead 39-26, but Xavier's Souley Boom answered back in decisive fashion with a 3-pointer to cut it to a 10-point deficit.

Blue Demons rolling

DePaul started the second half strong with a pair of baskets, extending its lead to 53-40.

Soaring, flying

Nick Ongeda capitalized on an emphatic alley-oop to give DePaul a 10-point lead.

Hustle culture

The score stays tight, but DePaul hustled to stay ahead, earning points through all-out effort.

Battling for the lead and the win!

Xavier found its groove late in the second half, going on a 25-13 run in the final nine minutes of the game to avoid the upset and advance to the semifinal.

Texas 60, Oklahoma State 47 (Big 12)

This is March!

Texas was first on the board against Oklahoma State after a little trickery on the way to the basket.

Horns hold lead

Texas held on to its lead throughout the first half, with Dylan Disu cleaning up the offensive glass. The first half concluded with the Longhorns holding onto a 35-26 lead.

Squeaky clean

Tyrese Hunter launched a beautiful shot from outside to extend the Longhorns' lead to 46-30.

Penn State 79, Illinois 76 (Big Ten)

Go time!

Penn State guard Camren Wynter and the Nittany Lions were a force to be reckoned with early against Illinois, getting it done on both sides of the floor.

See-saw score

Luke Goode jumped and turned in midair to nail a basket and put the Illini ahead 39-38 in a furious back-and-forth battle.

Keeping it close

Illinois stayed hot thanks to big man Dain Dainja, who celebrated with a head butt of his opponent.

Funk on fire

Penn State laid down the law as Andrew Funk showed incredible accuracy with five 3-pointers just past the midpoint of the game, and Penn State took the lead 67-59.

Fanning the flames

Penn State earns their earned its largest lead of the night with yet another 3-pointer from Funk. The Nittany Lions held a 72-60 lead going into the final minutes of the game.

Kings of the jungle

Illinois fought back ferociously but could not close the gap, and the Nittany Lions move on with a 79-76 victory.

Oregon 75, Washington State 70 (Pac-12)

Viva Las Vegas!

WSU's TJ Bamba was hitting his stride early in Thursday's tilt against Oregon, as both teams traded buckets to start.

Coming through!

Oregon returned the favor with a big-time 3-pointer of its own, courtesy of center Kel'el Ware.

The Ducks jumped out to a 10-point lead, 21-11, midway through the first half.

Team effort

Fueled by six points from Keeshawn Barthelemy, Oregon put together an 11-2 run to extend its lead to 19-11 at the second media timeout of the first half. The Ducks continued to command the court, widening their lead at the break, 38-30.

Fancy footwork

WSU forward DJ Rodman nailed a 3-pointer to keep the Cougars hot as the second half got underway. Meanwhile, Mouhamed Gueye showed off some fancy footwork en route to the basket, as the Ducks' lead dwindled.

Tip the scales

The Cougars chipped away at Oregon's 19-point lead, and TJ Bamba's 3-pointer put them back in the lead!

What a block!

DJ Rodman came in flying on defense to shut down Rivaldo Soares, who thought he had an open net.

Kansas 78, West Virginia 61 (Big 12)

Style points

Kansas started off on a 5-0 run, but WVU put up a fight right out of the gate, taking the lead after Emmitt Matthews Jr.'s big-time dunk.

From downtown

Kansas picked things up over the next few minutes, building a small lead over the Mountaineers. The Jayhawks carried an eight-point lead into the break despite shooting just 39.4% (13 of 33) in the first half.

Slam!

Kansas forward KJ Adams Jr. brought fans to their feet with a massive dunk in the second half …

Angry run

… which he followed up with another huge bucket on a monster pass from Jayhawks teammate Dajuan Harris Jr.

Kansas went on to control the rest of the game and cruise to a double-digit win.

UCLA 80, Colorado 69 (Pac-12)

Hot start

Colorado went on a 6-0 run right out of the gate against UCLA, which picked up its first points thanks to Tyger Campbell's smooth jumper early in the frame.

Making moves

Both squads went all-out as the first half continued, passing the lead back and forth as halftime approached. 

At the break, Colorado had a one-point edge, 38-37.

Too tough

The Bruins ran the court in the second half, extending their lead as the minutes ticked down en route to a double-digit win.

UConn 73, Providence 66 (Big East)

Coast to coast

UConn guard Andre Jackson Jr. couldn't be stopped on the fast break, as he threw down a wild dunk in the first half of Thursday's tilt against Providence.

The Huskies were quick to build their lead out to double digits in the opening frame and held a 35-19 lead at the break.

Lift off!

The Huskies continued to apply the pressure on the Friars, thanks to an impressive jam from Jackson in the second half.

Securing the win

The Huskies picked things up in the second half and advanced to the Big East semifinal game with their win, thanks in large part to guard Jordan Hawkins, who scored a game-high 19 points in the 77-63 win.

Ohio State 73, Iowa 69 (Big Ten)

Making a statement

Ohio State's Brice Sensabaugh threw down a vicious one-handed dunk early against Iowa, which struggled to keep any lead it got over the Buckeyes. 

Ohio State held a one-point advantage, 29-28, at the half after a big first half from both squads.

All gas, no brakes

The Hawkeyes put the Buckeyes under pressure and vice versa as the second half got underway, with both teams coming up with one clutch bucket after the next to keep the other within arm's reach.

Madness!

It was a two-point game, 69-67, with one minute to go. The Buckeyes led with 20.8 seconds left when a back-and-forth, full-court scramble for a loose ball ensued.

In the end, it was Ohio State that held possession of the ball and went on to secure the win after a hard-fought battle.

Iowa State 78, Baylor 72 (Big 12)

Quick start

Iowa State was the first to strike in this one, but Baylor quickly regained the lead with big plays like this one:

Heating up

The Cyclones bounced back in the opening half after losing the lead momentarily, settling into a rhythm and getting one much-needed basket after another to put space between them and the Bears.

Nothing but net!

Things were neck and neck the entire first half, but it was Baylor that had the last word, thanks to Adam Flagler's 3-point buzzer-beater. Baylor carried a 41-38 lead into halftime.

Securing the W

Iowa State turned up the heat late in the second half, cruising to a big-time win over No. 10 Baylor, 78-72.

Marquette 72, St. John's 70 OT (Big East)

Denied!

St. John's took its first lead of the game, 17-16, at the midway-mark in the first half. The Red Storm settled into a rhythm and went on a 10-0 run to extend its lead as the frame winded down. St. John's had a 36-26 edge at halftime.

Back and forth

The Golden Eagles opened the second-half scoring, but Marquette had a few tricks up its sleeve as well.

Down to the wire

After an intense battle, things were tied at the end of regulation, and the action headed to overtime in New York.

In the end, the sixth-ranked Golden Eagles were able to hang on to the lead and secure the win in overtime, 72-70.

Rutgers 62, Michigan 50 (Big Ten)

Battling early

Michigan went on a 7-0 run to set the tone early, capped off by Jett Howard's big-time 3-pointer.

As the frame continued, Michigan was getting it done on both ends of the floor. Wolverines star Hunter Dickinson came up with one clutch bucket after another to keep Michigan out front for the majority of the opening half.

Anyone's game!

Rutgers' Oskar Palmquist drained two free throws to knot things up 23-all before Antwone Woolfolk's steal and subsequent basket gave the Scarlet Knights its first lead of the game, 25-23, with 1:25 to play before the break.

Then, Michigan's Joey Baker hit a 3-point buzzer-beater to end the half and take a three-point lead into halftime, 28-25.

Follow the leader

Rutgers took the lead, 29-28, early in the second frame when guard Derek Simpson caught the Wolverines' defenders sleeping and made the bucket off his own rebound.

On a roll

Rutgers went on a 12-0 scoring run to extend its lead over Michigan to double digits, capped off with a beautiful dunk by Simpson. The Scarlet Knights continued to pour it on as the second half came to a close, securing a big-time win, 62-50.

Read more:

• Pac-12 takeaways: Arizona advances, but Kerr Kriisa dealing with injury
• Big Ten takeaways: Ohio State keeps rolling, Michigan watches wheels falls off
• Big 12 takeaways: Iowa State beats Baylor again, Kansas crushes West Virginia
• Big East takeaways: Marquette turns to its star, advances to semis