Category: NCAA Basketball

Florida International Panthers (11-18, 7-11 CUSA) vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (22-8, 13-5 CUSA) Huntsville, Alabama; Thursday, 3 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Western Kentucky and Florida International meet in the CUSA Tournament. The Hilltoppers are 13-5 against CUSA opponents and 9-3 in non-conference play.

Chicago State Cougars (7-25, 7-10 NEC) at Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (27-3, 17-0 NEC) Teaneck, New Jersey; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Fairleigh Dickinson and Chicago State play in the NEC Tournament. The Knights have gone 17-0 against NEC teams, with a 10-3 record in non-conference play.

Kai Johnson scored six of his 23 points late to help No. seed Montana pull away and beat top-seeded Northern Colorado 91-83 in the Big Sky Championship title game on Wednesday night. Montana lead by as many as 14 points early in the second half, but Northern Colorado later used an 18-9 surge to pull within 74-73 with 3:35 remaining.

JaKobe Coles scored 24 points to lead six Grand Canyon players in double figures and the Lopes beat UT Arlington 98-75 in a WAC Tournament quarterfinal on Wednesday night. The second-seeded Lopes (24-7) advance to a Friday semifinal matchup to take on the winner Thursday's game between third-seeded California Baptist and No. Tarleton State.

Eric Dixon scored all 19 of his points in the second half to help sixth-seeded Villanova beat No. seed Seton Hall 67-55 on Wednesday night in the first round of the Big East Conference Tournament. Villanova (19-13) will face No.

It's still fairly early in the major conference tournaments, so for bubble teams, Wednesday was more about avoiding bad losses than earning significant wins. For Ohio State, the next few days should be stressful after the Buckeyes lost 77-70 to Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament. Ohio State has plenty of company in its own state, with Xavier on the bubble as well.

Desmond Claude scored 28 points, including 10 in the overtime periods, and USC defeated Rutgers 97-89 in double overtime on Wednesday night to advance to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Jeremiah Fears scored 29 points to lead No. seed Oklahoma to an 81-75 victory over 11th-seeded Georgia on Wednesday night in a first-round game of the SEC Tournament. Jalon Moore hit a 3-pointer during a 10-0 run that gave the Sooners a 74-64 lead with 2:55 remaining.

J.J. Starling scored 16 points and Jyare Davis 14 for Syracuse (14-19). The Mustangs' win was in stark contrast to their March 4 home win over Syracuse when they led for only 1:28 and needed a tip-in from Ambrose-Hylton with 2.9 seconds left to seal a 77-75 win. On Wednesday, SMU started the second half with a 7-0-run and recorded its first double-digit lead to make it 38-28 when Harris hit a jumper with 16:20 left.

Hunter Dickinson had 23 points and 13 rebounds, Zeke Mayo poured in 24 points, and sixth-seeded Kansas rallied to force overtime before holding off No. 14 seed UCF 98-94 on Wednesday night in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament. AJ Storr scored a season-high 19 points before fouling out in the closing seconds of OT, and KJ Adams had 15 points and seven boards for the Jayhawks (21-11), who narrowly avoided dropping their conference tourney opener for a second straight year. Instead, they will face third-seeded Arizona on Thursday night in a rematch of a game Kansas won last weekend.

Desmond Claude scored 28 points, including 10 in the overtime periods, and USC defeated Rutgers 97-89 in double overtime on Wednesday night to advance to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. USC, the No. 14 seed, plays sixth-seeded Purdue in the second round on Thursday. Four points from Claude plus 3-pointers by Rashaun Agee and Wesley Yates III helped the Trojans build a 91-83 lead with 1:25 left in the second extra period.

Villanova stayed alive in the Big East Tournament by taking down Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden.

Kyle Neptune discusses what he liked from Villanova in a win over Seton Hall to open the Big East Tournament.

Luke Kennard scored 30 points and Ja Morant had 28, helping the Memphis Grizzlies top the Utah Jazz 122-115 on Wednesday night. Kennard went 7 for 9 from 3-point range, and Morant was 4 for 7 from deep. Desmond Bane added 17 points as Memphis posted its fourth straight win.

NJ Benson helped lead DePaul over Georgetown on Wednesday night with 18 points off of the bench in a 71-67 win in the Big East Tournament.