No. 2 Michigan State wraps up Big Ten title in trying season
MADISON, Wis. (AP) Cassius Winston scored 20 points and went 6 for 6 from the 3-point line, and No. 2 Michigan State held off Wisconsin 68-63 on Sunday to earn the outright regular-season Big Ten title.
Winston hit two 3s during an 11-2 run in the second half - the second with a defender in his face from well beyond the arc - to lead the Spartans (28-3, 16-2).
Brad Davison finished with 30 points for Wisconsin (14-17, 7-11), including a 3 with 4.7 seconds left that had hometown fans holding out hope for an upset.
Miles Bridges wrapped up the Spartans' 12th straight win with two foul shots. The star forward had 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting in his first game since getting cleared by the NCAA following a Yahoo! Sports article on Friday that identified him as one of many players who may have received improper benefits.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Dakota Mathias matched his career high with 25 points and left to a standing ovation in his final home game as Purdue blew out Minnesota.
Carsen Edwards had 18 points for the Boilermakers (26-5, 15-3 Big Ten), who won their third straight after a three-game skid.
Minnesota (15-16, 4-14) was led by Nate Mason with 18 points and Jordan Murphy who had 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Golden Gophers have lost 10 of their last 11.
For Mathias and his teammates, it was almost a perfect ending to one of the best seasons in school history. The one glaring omission: a championship celebration. Their slim hopes slipped away when No. 2 Michigan State beat Wisconsin earlier in the day.
NO. 11 CINCINNATI 82, TULSA 74
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (AP) - Gary Clark led a 24-4 run that put Cincinnati ahead to stay early in the second half, and the Bearcats held on to beat Tulsa and preserve their one-game lead in the American Athletic Conference heading into the final week.
Cincinnati (25-4, 14-2) stayed ahead of No. 13 Wichita State (23-5, 13-3) in the race for the regular-season title. The Shockers won on Cincinnati's home court 76-72 a week ago.
Wichita State plays at UCF on Thursday and hosts Cincinnati next Sunday in a potential showdown game. The Bearcats play at Tulane on Thursday before heading to Wichita State.
Tulsa (17-11, 10-7) led by eight points early in the second before Clark scored during the decisive run. Junior Etou scored 21 for Tulsa, which had its six-game winning streak snapped.
NO. 20 NEVADA 92, COLORADO STATE 83
RENO, Nev. (AP) - Caleb Martin scored 25 points, Jordan Caroline had 21 points and 14 rebounds and Nevada beat Colorado State to earn the No. 1 seed in the Mountain West Tournament.
Cody Martin, Caleb's twin brother, had 17 points and 10 assists for the Wolf Pack (25-5, 14-2 Mountain West), who clinched at least a share of the regular-season championship for the second consecutive year. Nevada has road games against UNLV and San Diego State remaining, but has a two-game lead over second-place Boise State and holds the tiebreaker over the Broncos.
Prentiss Nixon had 27 points and 10 rebounds for Colorado State (11-19, 4-13). Anthony Bonner added 19 points and Nico Carvarcho had 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Rams, who kept the game tight until the waning moments.
NO. 23 HOUSTON 109, EAST CAROLINA 58
HOUSTON (AP) - Rob Gray had 19 points and 11 assists, and Houston used a huge first half to rout East Carolina.
Armoni Brooks added 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting from 3-point range for the Cougars (22-6, 12-4 American), who shot 67 percent from the field. Corey Davis Jr. chipped in with 16 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
Houston had runs of 22-0 and 11-0, then closed the half on a 14-1 run to build a 62-13 lead.
East Carolina (10-17, 4-12), which has lost three straight, shot 22 percent and committed 10 turnovers in the first half. B.J. Tyson finished with 24 points to lead the Pirates.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE 92, NO. 25 FLORIDA STATE 72
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Allerik Freeman scored 25 points to help North Carolina State beat Florida State.
Torin Dorn added 19 points and Sam Hunt had 14 for the Wolfpack (20-9, 10-6 Atlantic Coast Conference), who opened the game with a 9-2 spurt and never trailed.
N.C. State won its fourth consecutive ACC regular-season game in the same season for the first time since 2006.
Omer Yurtseven scored 13 points and Markell Johnson had 12 for the Wolfpack, who led by as many as 28 points in the second half.
Trent Forrest led Florida State (19-9, 8-8) with 16 points.