No. 1 Kansas beats Texas Tech to wrap up Big 12 title
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — No. 1 Kansas wrapped up its outright Big 12 regular-season title Saturday, beating Texas Tech 66-62 behind Udoka Azubuike's 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Devon Dotson had 17 points and Ochai Agbaji had 12 for the Jayhawks (28-3, 17-1), the Big 12's first champion in a decade with only one loss in league play. Kansas was 15-1 in 2009-10, two seasons before the Big 12 expanded to an 18-game schedule.
Texas Tech (18-13, 9-9 Big 12), last year's national runner-up after sharing the Big 12 title with Kansas State, had a chance to tie the game with 2.8 seconds left. But Davide Moretti, who made a 3-pointer only seconds earlier, missed from long range. The Red Raiders guard fell to floor after contact with Marcus Garrett but was no foul called.
Moretti had 18 points, while TJ Hoyfield had 11 points for Texas Tech, which lost its fourth game in a row when trying to get back into the NCAA Tournament.
NO. 3 DAYTON 76, GEORGE WASHINGTON 51
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Obi Toppin had 27 points and No. 3 Dayton rolled past George Washington to finish the regular season with its school-record 29th victory.
The Flyers (29-2, 18-0 Atlantic 10 Conference) won their 20th consecutive game to tie a record set by the 1951-52 team. They went unbeaten at home and in true road games. Their only losses were at neutral sites.
Jalen Crutcher added 21 points on 5-for-8 shooting from 3-point range for Dayton, which will begin play as the No. 1 seed in the A-10 tournament that starts Wednesday in Brooklyn, New York. Trey Landers had 10 rebounds.
Jamison Battle led George Washington (12-19, 6-12) with 16 points and seven rebounds.
The Colonials were in the game at halftime, thanks mostly to 6-of-16 3-point shooting. Despite missing its last seven shots of the half, Dayton held a 26-25 lead at the break and wore down the Colonials in the second half with 23-4 run.
WEST VIRGINIA 76, NO. 4 BAYLOR 64
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Emmitt Matthews scored a season-high 18 points and freshman Oscar Tshiebwe had 16 points and 12 rebounds as the Mountaineers used a big second-half run to deny the Bears the chance to earn a tie for the Big 12 regular-season championship.
Baylor (26-4, 15-3 Big 12) went more than eight minutes without a field goal midway through the second half to take themselves out of contention and hand the championship to top-ranked Kansas.
Instead, it was West Virginia (21-10, 9-9) celebrating. The sellout crowd stormed the court after the Mountaineers' second straight win and just the third in nine games.
UTAH STATE 59, No. 5 SAN DIEGO STATE 56
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sam Merrill scored 17 of his 27 points in the second half, including a contested 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left to lift Utah State to the victory in the Mountain West Tournament championship.
The Aggies (26-8) rallied from a 16-point, first-half deficit to win their second straight Mountain West Tournament title and earn the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
San Diego State’s Malachi Flynn, the Mountain West’s Player of the Year, had a chance to send the game into overtime, but his 3-point shot from just beyond half court rattled in and out at the buzzer.
It was just the second loss of the season for the Aztecs (30-2) and the second straight year they fell to Utah State in the tournament championship game.
Neemias Queta scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half for Utah State, which trailed 27-11 in the first half and at one point went nearly 13 minutes without making a field goal.
Flynn led the Aztecs with 16 points, including 14 in the second half, while Yanni Mitchell recorded a double-double (12 points, 13 rebounds).
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Nick Richards scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half as No. 6 Kentucky rallied from 18 points down.
The shorthanded Wildcats (25-6, 15-3 Southeastern Conference) needed the comeback to avoid losing consecutive games for the first time in nearly three months.
Richards, Keion Brooks Jr. and EJ Montgomery led the shocker in Gainesville. Brooks hit a floater in the lane with 59 second remaining to cut the lead to 70-69. Florida followed with a shot-clock violation on the other end, giving the Wildcats a chance to take their first lead of the game.
Brooks missed a driving layup, and Montgomery's tip-in was initially waived off as a cylinder violation. Officials reviewed it and gave Montgomery the basket for a 71-70 lead.
Richards missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving Florida a final chance to win it. But Andrew Nembhard's 3-pointer bounced twice off the rim before missing, setting off Kentucky's raucous celebration.
Scottie Lewis scored a career-high 19 for Florida (19-12, 11-7), which led by 18 points with 11:48 left in the game.
Kentucky played without point guard Ashton Hagans, who didn’t make the trip three days after arguing with coach John Calipari on the bench during a home loss to Tennessee.
NO. 7 FLORIDA STATE 80, BOSTON COLLEGE 62
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Balsa Koprivica scored 15 points, and No. 7 Florida State won its first Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title in school history.
Dominik Olejniczak added a season-high 14 points as the Seminoles (26-5, 16-4) had a banner ready to celebrate their accomplishment, which was secured with Virginia’s victory over No. 10 Louisville.
FSU will be the No. 1 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament and looks to claim its first championship since 2012.
Koprivicia matched his season high in points as both of FSU’s 7-footers scored in double figures for the first time in ACC play. Patrick Williams had 10 points and six rebounds.
Derryck Thornton scored 13 points for Boston College (13-18, 7-13), which has lost five consecutive games.
Payton Pritchard scored 29 points Oregon won the Pac-12 regular season title by closing out a perfect home record with a victory over Stanford.
Payton Pritchard led Oregon (24-7, 13-5) with 29 points and fellow senior Anthony Mathis added 14 as the Ducks finished 17-0 at home this season. Will Richardson added 12 points for Oregon, which shot 56.9% from the field. Oregon made 10 of 19 3-pointers, four each by Pritchard and Mathis.
Oscar Da Silva led the Cardinal (20-11, 9-9) with 18 points and Spencer Jones added 15. Daejon Davis had 13 points and Bryce Willis 10.
The Ducks had clinched a share of the title earlier Saturday when UCLA lost to USC, falling to 12-6. It is Oregon’s seventh conference title, dating back to 1919, with three in the past five years.
NO. 11 CREIGHTON 77, NO. 8 SETON HALL 60
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Marcus Zegarowski made all five of his 3-pointers and finished with 23 points as No. 11 Creighton earned a share of the Big East Conference regular-season title.
The Bluejays (24-7, 13-5) claimed all or part of their first conference title since winning the Missouri Valley outright in 2012-13. They joined the Big East the next season.
Creighton has won 11 of its last 13 games and, because it swept the season series against the Pirates, will be the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament in New York next week.
The Bluejays finished the game on a 21-6 run, with the sellout crowd of more than 18,000 at CHI Health Center growing louder as the clock wound down. Students stormed the court after the final buzzer, and a Big East banner was unfurled from the rafters moments later.
Seton Hall (21-9, 13-5) lost its last two games and will be the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.
NO. 12 DUKE 89, NORTH CAROLINA 76
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Vernon Carey Jr. had 25 points and 10 rebounds, while graduate reserve Justin Robinson offered a huge spark for 12th-ranked Duke.
Robinson, son of retired NBA great David Robinson, matched career highs with 13 points and six rebounds to go with a career-best four blocks for the Blue Devils (25-6, 15-5 Atlantic Coast Conference). They never trailed in this one but didn’t put away the Tar Heels until the final six minutes.
Point guard Tre Jones added 21 points for Duke in the rematch of last month's overtime classic won by the Blue Devils after two buzzer-beating shots.
This one didn’t have the same highlight-reel drama, but still was a tough rivalry fight. The Blue Devils led by 10 late in the first half, but the Tar Heels hung around and played much of the second half within one to three possessions.
Garrison Brooks had 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Tar Heels (13-18, 6-14), while freshman big man Armando Bacot had 13 points and 12 rebounds. Star point guard Cole Anthony finished with just nine points on 4-for-14 shooting.
NO. 22 VIRGINIA 57, NO. 10 LOUISVILLE 54
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Kihei Clark scored 18 points, including a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left, and No. 22 Virginia recovered after blowing a 14-point, second-half lead.
The Cavaliers (23-7, 15-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) won for the 10th time in 11 games and moved into a tie with the Cardinals for second place in the league standings.
Mamadi Diakite added 17 points and eight rebounds for Virginia in his final game at John Paul Jones Arena. Jay Huff scored 11 points and blocked a shot from in close by Steven Enoch with 51 seconds and grabbed the rebound.
Jordan Nwora had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Enoch scored 11 points for the Cardinals (24-7, 15-5), who lost for the second time in three games.
The Cavaliers used a 27-8 run spanning halftime to open a 40-28 lead with just under 15 minutes to play, but the Nwora scored the first 10 points in a 16-6 burst that pulled them even at 51 with 5:11 left. Ryan McMahon and Darius Perry hit 3-pointers to end the burst, the latter Perry's only field goal of the game.
NO. 14 VILLANOVA 70, GEORGETOWN 69
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jermaine Samuels had a three-point play with 5.6 seconds left as No. 14 Villanova survived a late scare to clinch a share of the Big East regular-season title.
Samuels was fouled on a drive by Georgetown’s Jamorko Pickett and Qudus Wahab blocked the shot. After a video review, the basket counted and Samuels made the subsequent free throw to put the Wildcats up by one.
Georgetown's Terrell Allen got up a shot at the buzzer, but it clanged off the backboard.
Saddiq Bey led Villanova (24-7, 13-5 Big East) with 18 points and Samuels and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl each had 13.
Pickett led Georgetown (15-16, 5-13) with 20 points as the Hoyas lost their sixth straight game and fell under .500 for the first time in coach Patrick Ewing’s three season in charge. Jagan Mosely added 13 points.
NO. 17 AUBURN 85, TENNESSEE 63
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Samir Doughty made 8 of 13 3-pointers and finished with 32 points as No. 17 Auburn snapped a two-game skid.
Auburn (25-6, 12-6) now heads to Nashville to defend its Southeastern Conference Tournament championship. The Tigers have a double-bye to the quarterfinals.
Doughty gave Auburn the opening lead with a 3 a minute into the game, and the Tigers never trailed on their way to a second straight victory over the Volunteers in Knoxville for the first time in program history.
J'Von McCormick scored 13 points for Auburn, and Isaac Okoro finished with 11.
John Fulkerson led the Vols (17-14, 9-9) with 19 points before fouling out late. Jordan Bowden added 17 on Senior Day, and Santiago Vescovi had 13.
NORTHWESTERN 80, NO. 20 PENN STATE 69
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Miller Kopp scored 21 points to lead Northwestern as the Nittany Lions lost for the fifth time in six games.
Penn State (21-10, 11-9) came in looking to head into the Big Ten Tournament on a winning note, only to stumble against one of the worst teams in the conference. Northwestern (8-22, 3-17) beat a ranked team for the first time since knocking off No. 20 Michigan two years ago.
The Wildcats went on a 17-2 run down the stretch to bump their lead to 16 and came away with the win after losing 13 of 14. They moved a half-game ahead of last-place Nebraska.
Boo Buie scored 13 points, and Northwestern regrouped after blowing an early 14-point lead.
Lamar Stevens continued to close in on Penn State's all-time scoring record, finishing with 18 points. That gave him 2,207 in four seasons, six shy of the mark set by Talor Battle from 2007-11.
NO. 24 WISCONSIN 60, INDIANA 56
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) —Nate Reuvers scored 17 points and No. 24 Wisconsin held Indiana to just one basket over the final 10 minutes to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.
Micah Potter added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Wisconsin (21-10, 14-6), which has won eight straight.
Devonte Green scored all 16 of his points in the first half to lead Indiana (19-12, 9-11), which has lost three of four.
The Badgers scored tied the score on Potter's three-point play before taking the lead for good on Brad Davison's 3-pointer with 4:05 to go.