College roundup: No. 3 Purdue opens Big Ten tourney play with 67-62 win over Michigan State
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Zach Edey had 29 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks, as No. 3 Purdue recovered from a blown 12-point lead to beat the Spartans 67-62 in a hard-nosed quarterfinal game in the Big Ten Tournament on Friday.
Lance Jones added 10 points for the Boilermakers (29-3), who advanced to play Wisconsin in the semifinals on Saturday.
Tyson Walker had 15 points, Malik Hall pitched in 12 points and Tre Holloman scored 10 points for the Spartans (19-14), who had an 18-0 edge in fast-break points and made a spirited rally to tie the game late before falling short in head coach Tom Izzo’s 1,000th game on the bench.
Walker, the fifth-year guard, stepped up down the stretch to lead the surge.
He knocked down a mid-range jumper for the tie with 1:41 left, the closest the Spartans came since a 3-2 lead, but Fletcher Loyer answered with a 3-pointer from the corner on the other end for Purdue. Loyer pressed his index finger to his lips as he trotted up the court and appeared to shout something at the Michigan State bench as the teams dispersed for a timeout.
NO. 1 HOUSTON 82, NO. 25 TEXAS TECH 59
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — L.J. Cryer hit six 3-pointers and scored 20 points as top-ranked Houston, playing most of the way without injured big man J’Wan Roberts, used a big second half to rout No. 25 Texas Tech in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
Roberts played only a few minutes in each half after hurting his right leg, but the rest of the short-handed Cougars covered for him. Emanuel Sharp scored 17 points and conference player of the year Jamal Shead had 12, helping Houston (30-3) outscore its old Southwest Conference rival 50-30 in the second half to reach the title game in its first year in its new conference.
The Cougars will play seventh-ranked Iowa State for the Big 12 Tournament championship Saturday night.
Chance McMillian scored 15 points and Joe Toussaint had 10 for Texas Tech (23-10), which closed to 40-38 with 16 1/2 minutes to go before Houston ripped off a 17-0 run over the next five minutes to turn a close game into a laugher.
Pop Isaacs, the Red Raiders’ leading scorer, was held to six points on 2-for-13 shooting.
NO. 2 UCONN 95, ST JOHN’S 90
NEW YORK (AP) — Tristen Newton had 25 points and nine assists as UConn advanced to the Big East championship game with a victory over the St. John.
Cam Spencer added 20 points and nine assists for the top-seeded Huskies (30-3), who will face 10th-ranked Marquette on Saturday night.
It’s the 11th appearance in the Big East final for Connecticut and first since Kemba Walker carried the team to its most recent title in 2011. UConn had been 0-3 in conference semifinals since rejoining the league for the 2020-21 season.
Fifth-seeded St. John’s (20-13) fell behind by 14 with 12:28 left and couldn’t climb all the way back. The Johnnies stayed in the game for much of the way against the reigning national champions, but they couldn’t quite keep up.
St. John’s point guard Daniss Jenkins poured in 27 points.
NO. 4 NORTH CAROLINA 72, PITT 65
WASHINGTON (AP) — RJ Davis took over the game with 25 points, Armando Bacot scored 19 while grabbing 11 rebounds and No. 4 North Carolina beat Pittsburgh 72-65 to advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament final.
The Tar Heels’ eighth consecutive victory coupled with other results around the country put them in the driver’s seat for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That path cleared earlier in the day when fifth-ranked Tennessee lost 73-56 to Mississippi State in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
UNC (27-6, 17-3) still had to take care of business against Pitt (22-11, 12-8), an opponent firmly on the NCAA bubble playing to shore up its spot in the field. The Panthers led by as many as nine in the first half and kept punching back until late, tying it at 62 with about four minutes left until Davis hit just his second 3-pointer to put the Tar Heels ahead.
After seven lead changes throughout, they never trailed again, with Davis grabbing a crucial rebound and hitting a long 3 in the final minutes to help put it away. North Carolina plays NC State for the championship Saturday.
MISSISSIPPI ST. 73, N0. 5 TENNESSEE 56
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Cameron Matthews and Josh Hubbard each scored 18 points as the Bulldogs dominated the Volunteers in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
This victory should push the Bulldogs (21-12) firmly off the NCAA Tournament bubble with their second win over No. 1 seed Tennessee this season. They will play No. 12 Auburn in the semifinals Saturday, their first semifinal since winning this event in 2009.
Mississippi State, which ended the regular season on a four-game skid, never trailed against the SEC’s top seed with the Vols managing one tie at 2-2. The Bulldogs also held Dalton Knecht, the AP SEC Player of the Year who averaged 25.5 points in league play, to 14 points.
Tennessee (24-8) hurt its hopes for the first No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament in program history with a second straight loss.
The regular season champions came in looking to add a tournament title for the first time since 1942-43. They leave as losers in the quarterfinals for a second straight year after winning this tournament in 2022.
OREGON 67, NO. 6 ARIZONA 59
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jackson Shelstad scored 21 points, Jermaine Couisnard had 20 and Oregon shut down No. 6 Arizona for a victory in the Pac-12 Tournaments semifinals.
The fourth-seeded Ducks (22-11) will play No. 22 Washington State or Colorado in Saturday’s championship game.
Arizona (25-8) will learn its seed and destination in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. The Wildcats, who were 11 1/2-point favorites according to FanDuel Sportsbook, were attempting to become the first team to three-peat as Pac-12 champions since they won four straight in 1988-90 and 2002. There were no conference tournaments between 1991-2001.
N’Faly Dante had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Oregon, overcoming a tough early fall.
Oumar Ballo had 14 points and 12 rebounds for top-seeded Arizona. It was his 18th double-double this season. Pelle Larsson added 11 points, but Pac-12 Player of the Year Caleb Love was held to six points on 2-of-11 shooting.
NO. 7 IOWA ST. 76, NO. 14 BAYLOR 62
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Keshon Gilbert had 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and No. 7 Iowa State used a big second-half run to beat No. 14 Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
Curtis Jones added 13 points and Tamin Lipsey and Hason Ward had 10 apiece for the Cyclones (26-7), who advanced to play top-ranked Houston on Saturday night for their fifth championship in the last 10 completed tournaments.
Iowa State went on a 17-3 run to start the second half and led by as many as 22 points before keeping the Bears at distance the rest of the way. It was the second straight year that the Cyclones knocked Baylor out of a tournament it has never won.
Jalen Bridges had 20 points and 12 rebounds while Yves Missi had 14 points and 11 boards for the Bears (23-10), who had won seven of their last 10 against the Cyclones.
N’Faly Dante had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Oregon, overcoming a tough early fall.
TEXAS A&M 97, NO. 9 KENTUCKY 87
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Wade Taylor IV scored 32 points as Texas A&M upset ninth-ranked Kentucky for the second biggest upset of the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
The seventh-seeded Aggies won their fifth straight to reach Saturday’s semifinals for the third time since joining the SEC and second in three seasons. The Aggies, who lost the final in 2016 and 2022, will play Florida.
Texas A&M lost the 2022 title game to Tennessee, the regular season champs who were ousted in Friday’s first game by Mississippi State.
Tyrece Radford added 23 points, Manny Obaseki had 17 and Solomon Washington 11 for Texas A&M (20-13). The Aggies beat Kentucky for the second time after needing overtime on Jan. 13.
The loss snapped Kentucky’s five-game winning streak that had been the SEC’s longest coming into this tournament.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 79, PROVIDENCE 68
NEW YORK (AP) — Kam Jones scored 23 points and Oso Ighodaro had 20 as No. 10 Marquette beat seventh-seeded Providence withstanding a second-half surge by Devin Carter and advancing to the Big East Tournament championship game for the second straight year.
The third-seeded Golden Eagles (25-8) will face top seed and defending national champion UConn — and no doubt a Huskies heavy crowd — on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
