AMES, Iowa (AP) — Donovan Atwell scored 18 points to lead No. 16 Texas Tech to an 82-73 victory over No. 4 Iowa State on Saturday that sent the Cyclones to their first home loss of the season.
Iowa State (24-5, 11-5 Big 12) was 15-0 at Hilton Coliseum before the Red Raiders (22-7, 12-4) came in and ended the streak, building a 20-point first-half run and fighting off a second-half surge by the Cyclones.
Texas Tech, playing the rest of the season without JT Toppin, the reigning Big 12 player of the year, stayed in a second-place tie with Houston, two games behind leader Arizona, heading into the final week of the regular season. Iowa State dropped into a tie for fourth with Kansas.
Atwell, who ranks second nationally in 3-pointers per game and third in 3-pointers made, was 6 of 10 from behind the arc.
Atwell was one of six Red Raiders who scored in double figures. Christian Anderson had 14 points, Luke Bamgboye had 13 points, Jaylen Petty had 12 and Tyeree Bryan and Josiah Moseley each had 10.
Joshua Jefferson led the Cyclones with 22 points. Milan Momcilovic had 20 points and Tamin Lipsey added 13.
NO. 1 DUKE 77, NO. 11 VIRGINIA 51
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Isaiah Evans scored 19 points to help Duke beat Virginia, clinching the top seed for the upcoming Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
The sophomore hit five 3-pointers, three coming in the opening 4-plus minutes as the Blue Devils quickly found their long-distance range. Duke made 8 of 13 3s in the opening half and finished 12 for 24 — seven Blue Devils made at least one 3 — while shooting 49.1% overall.
Star freshman Cameron Boozer finished with 18 points despite going just 3 for 9 from the field. But the 6-foot-9, 250-pound top NBA prospect nonetheless made a huge impact by commanding double teams, passing out to set up teammates and drawing fouls.
Boozer finished with nine rebounds and four assists. He also made 11 of 12 free throws, all by halftime. And that helped the Blue Devils take a 41-26 halftime lead with a margin that would only grow.
As a result, the Blue Devils (27-2, 15-1) have at least a two-game lead on every ACC team and must win one of their last two games to clinch the outright regular-season title.
NO. 2 ARIZONA 84, NO. 14 KANSAS 61
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Brayden Burries had 20 points and 12 rebounds, Motiejus Krivas added 13 points and Arizona clinched a share of the Big 12 regular-season title with a win over Kansas.
The Wildcats (27-2, 14-2 Big 12) used a 19-0 run to build an 18-point lead, allowed Kansas to whittle it to two midway through the second half, then pulled away with another big run to earn a share of the Big 12 title in their second season in the league.
Jaden Bradley scored eight straight points during the decisive 19-2 second-half run and Koa Peat had 12 points after missing the previous three games with a lower-leg injury.
The Jayhawks (21-8, 11-5) handed Arizona its first loss of the season on Feb. 9 and rallied behind star freshman Darryn Peterson after being overwhelmed early in the rematch.
Peterson finished with 24 points, but Kansas had no answer during the Wildcats’ big run and lost for the third time in five games.
NO. 5 HOUSTON 102, COLORADO, 62
HOUSTON (AP) — Milos Uzan had 26 points and six assists, Joseph Tugler scored 14 and Houston snapped its three-game losing streak with a win over Colorado.
Uzan had 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first half as the Cougars (24-5, 12-4 Big 12) built a 55-29 lead at the break. Houston shot 56%, including 6 of 11 on 3-pointers, in the first half.
Chris Cenac Jr. scored 12 points, Kingston Flemings had 11 points, six rebound and eight assists and Chase McCarty, Emanuel Sharp and Mercy Miller finished with 10 points each for Houston, which shot 60% for the game and 10 of 17 on 3-pointers.
The Cougars forced Colorado into 15 turnovers and converted them into 21 points. They outrebounded the Buffaloes 34-22.
NO. 6 UCONN 71, SETON HALL 67
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Alex Karaban scored 23 points after being added to the Huskies of Honor before his final home game, and UConn rallied for a victory over Seton Hall.
Solo Ball had 12 of his 14 points in the second half for UConn (27-3, 17-2 Big East). Karaban and Ball combined to go 7 for 8 from the foul line in the final minute.
Karaban became the first active UConn men’s basketball player to join the Huskies of Honor in a pregame ceremony at Gampel Pavilion. The two-time national champion who is the men’s career leader in victories moved into 10th on the career scoring list with a 3-pointer during the game.
Karaban, also second in career 3-pointers, was honored along with Tarris Reed Jr., Dwayne Koroma, Alec Millender and Malachi Smith in the final home game of the season for the Huskies.
Braylon Mullins had 11 points and Reed finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Huskies, who crushed No. 15. St. John’s 72-40 on Wednesday but had to work hard to get past the Pirates.
NO. 7 FLORIDA 111, NO. 20 ARKANSAS 77
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Thomas Haugh scored 22 points, Rueben Chinyelu had his 17th double-double of the season and Florida earned at least a share of the Southeastern Conference title with a win over Arkansas.
It tied the worst loss of Arkansas coach John Calipari’s career, a 34-pointer against Duke in 2018. Calipari was with Kentucky at the time.
The Gators (23-6, 14-2 SEC) closed out an unbeaten February with their ninth consecutive win and locked up their first regular-season championship since 2014. They remained two games ahead of No. 17 Alabama with two to play and can wrap up the outright title Tuesday night at home.
But they didn’t wait to celebrate.
With a sold-out crowd and ESPN’s College GameDay on hand, Florida turned Billy Donovan Court into a party spot. Coach Todd Golden was front and center as the team doled out hats and T-shirts and cut down nets. It wasn’t Golden’s first time in the spotlight Saturday night, either.
Golden and Calipari got double technicals early in the second half after screaming at each other near midcourt. Calipari’s assistants pulled him away. Golden turned and riled up the 11,000-plus in attendance.
It was one of the few highlights in a game that was pretty much over early.
NO. 12 NEBRASKA 84, SOUTHERN CAL 67
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pryce Sandfort scored 32 points — one off his career high — and Nebraska pulled away in the second half to beat Southern California for its school-record 14th Big Ten victory and third straight overall.
The Cornhuskers (25-4, 14-4) improved to 7-2 on the road in league play with one away game remaining. They began the season 20-0 and are 5-4 since then.
Sanfort hit five 3-pointers, leaving him five away from equaling Shawn Respert’s Big Ten single-season record of 80.
Braden Frager added 17 points and tied his career high with eight rebounds for the Huskers, who got plenty of support in Galen Center. Their fans chanted “Go Big Red!” during a decisive 15-0 run midway through the second half. Sandfort had seven points and Frager seven as Nebraska extended its lead to 66-46.
The Trojans (18-11, 7-11) further damaged their NCAA Tournament hopes with their fifth straight loss and 10th in 16 games.
NO. 15 ST. JOHN'S 89, VILLANOVA 57
NEW YORK (AP) — Zuby Ejiofor had 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double, and St. John’s bounced back from an embarrassing loss by blitzing Villanova at Madison Square Garden.
Ian Jackson added 19 points and a career-high five steals off the bench for the Red Storm (23-6, 16-2 Big East), who sprinted out to a 30-point lead in the first half and remained a half-game behind No. 6 UConn atop the conference standings.
Oziyah Sellers scored 14 in the Johnnies’ most lopsided victory over Villanova, their most frequent opponent. St. John’s leads 68-67 in a series that dates to the 1909-1910 season.
Ejiofor, who also blocked three shots, delivered the fourth known triple-double in school history and second in the past 26 years, after Kadary Richmond had one in the regular-season finale last year against Marquette.
NO. 17 ALABAMA 71, NO. 22 TENNESSEE 69
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Labaron Philon Jr. hit a jumper with 22.8 seconds left to lead Alabama to a win over No. 22 Tennessee on Saturday night.
Latrell Wrightsell scored 25 points to lead the Crimson Tide (22-7, 12-4 Southeastern Conference), and Philon came off the bench to score 15 of his 23 points in the second half. Aden Holloway added 12.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 26 points and had eight steals and seven assists to lead the Volunteers (20-9, 10-6), who lost their fourth SEC game after having a double-digit first-half lead.
J.P. Estrella had 12 points and Jaylen Carey had 10 points and nine rebounds.
The Vols missed three shots within five feet of the basket in the final seconds.
NO. 18 NORTH CAROLINA 89, VIRGINIA TECH 82
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Henri Veesaar matched a season-high with 26 points, Seth Trimble scored 20 points, and North Carolina pulled away in the second half to beat Virginia Tech.
Jonathan Powell got 15 points off the bench, 13 of which came before halftime.
The Tar Heels (23-6, 11-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) opened their first double-digit lead at 73-63 with 6:59 left on a hook shot by Veesaar, who added seven rebounds and was 11 of 20 from the floor. It was his third time with 26 points this season, most recently in a 95-90 loss to Stanford on Jan. 14.
The Hokies pulled within five with 2:45 remaining, but North Carolina closed it out despite making just one field goal over the final 6:22.
Neoklis Avdalas finished with 19 points for the Hokies (18-11, 7-9), who lost for the third time in four games. Tobi Lawal and Ben Hammond had 16 points apiece.
WEST VIRGINIA 79, NO. 19 BYU 71
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Honor Huff scored 19 points, Brenen Lorient added 18 and West Virginia led the entire second half and beat BYU .
DJ Thomas added 13 points and Jasper Floyd and Chance Moore had 11 apiece for the Mountaineers (17-12, 8-8 Big 12).
Robert Wright III scored 23 points and AJ Dybantsa added 20 for BYU (20-9, 8-8), which couldn’t make up a double-digit halftime deficit for the second straight game. The Cougars have lost two straight and eight of 12.
Keba Keita’s steal and layup brought BYU to 74-71 with 1:11 left. But the Cougars didn’t score again. BYU had two chances to tie it following steals, but turned the ball over on consecutive possessions.
West Virginia made 5 of 6 free throws the final 26 seconds. The Mountaineers broke a three-game losing streak and improved to 2-4 against AP Top 25 opponents.
West Virginia forced nine BYU turnovers in the first half and used a 20-5 run, including 11 points from Moore, to take a 40-26 halftime lead.
NO. 23 SAINT LOUIS 91, DUQUESNE 76
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Robbie Avila scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half, Quentin Jones added 17 and Saint Louis beat Duquesne.
Trey Green had 14 points, and Paul Otieno added 13 points off the bench to help Saint Louis (26-3, 14-2 Atlantic 10) win its 21st consecutive home game.
Tarence Guinyard scored 27 points, and Jimmie Williams had 16 for Duquesne (16-13, 8-8). It has lost three in a row after winning five straight contests.
Saint Louis converted 27 of 50 shots from the field and hit 16 of 28 shots from 3-point range.
Duquesne went on a 7-0 run after Avila picked up his fourth personal foul with 5:52 remaining to cut Saint Louis’ lead to 76-74, but Green answered by scoring eight straight points for the Billikens. They closed with a 15-2 run.
CLEMSON 80, NO. 24 LOUISVILLE 75
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Jestin Porter scored all 16 of his points in the second half as Clemson snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory over Louisville.
The Tigers, once comfortably in the NCAA Tournament field with 10 wins in their first 11 Atlantic Coast Conference games, had raised questions the past two weeks with their late-season slide. But Clemson (21-8, 11-5 ACC) held off the Cardinals (20-9, 9-7) with defense and Porter’s timely baskets.
Up 55-49, Porter drove through the right side of Louisville’s defense for a basket off the glass. Moments later, Nick Davidson stole the ball from Adrian Wooley, fed a perfect pass to a wide-open Porter who hit a 3-pointer for a double-digit lead.
The Tigers led by 15 with 1:08 to play when Louisville used a 17-6 run for the final score.
KENTUCKY 91, NO. 25 VANDERBILT 77
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Collin Chandler scored a career-high 23 points to lead Kentucky to a win over Vanderbilt.
Otega Oweh also had 23 points for Kentucky (19-10, 10-6 Southeastern Conference), which split the regular-season series after losing to the Commodores 80-55 on Jan. 27 in Nashville. The Wildcats notched their second straight victory after dropping three straight to Florida, Georgia and Auburn earlier this month.
Tyler Tanner led the Commodores (22-9, 9-7) with 19 points, followed by Jalen Washington with 16. Tyler Nickel had 13, AK Okereke scored 12 and Duke Miles had 11.
Chandler tied a career high with six 3-pointers and Kentucky which finished with 11 in the game. He had five of the Wildcats’ seven in the first half for 15 points.
Chandler connected on back-to-back 3s and scored six of the first eight points for the Wildcats. Kentucky used a 7-0 run to build a double-digit lead, which it maintained throughout the game.
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