No. 1 Kansas beats Texas Tech to wrap up Big 12 title

Texas Tech's TJ Holyfield (22) defends against Kansas' Udoka Azubuike (35) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, March 7, 2020, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Brad Tollefson)
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LUBBOCK, Texas — 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.

NO. 3 DAYTON 76, GEORGE WASHINGTON 51

COLUMBUS, Ohio — 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.

WEST VIRGINIA 76, NO. 4 BAYLOR 64

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — 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, SAN DIEGO STATE 56

LAS VEGAS — 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.

NO. 6 KENTUCKY 71, FLORIDA 70

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — 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.

NO. 7 FLORIDA STATE 80, BOSTON COLLEGE 62

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — 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.

NO. 11 CREIGHTON 77, NO. 8 SETON HALL 60

OMAHA, Neb. — 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.

NO. 12 DUKE 89, NORTH CAROLINA 76

DURHAM, N.C. — 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.

NO. 22 VIRGINIA 57, NO. 10 LOUISVILLE 54

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — 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.

NO. 14 VILLANOVA 70, GEORGETOWN 69

WASHINGTON — 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.

NO. 17 AUBURN 85, TENNESSEE 63

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — 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.

NORTHWESTERN 80, NO. 20 PENN STATE 69

EVANSTON, Ill. — 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.

NO. 24 WISCONSIN 60, INDIANA 56

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. —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.