Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Sterling Gibbs hit a step-back jumper at the buzzer as Seton Hall stunned third-ranked Villanova, 64-63, in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. Seton Hall called a timeout with 3.7 seconds remaining after Darrun Hilliard spun in the lane and hit a floater to give Villanova, which won its first regular-season conference title in eight years, a 63-62 lead. Gibbs handled the inbounds pass and shook a defender before nailing the game-winning shot from near the top of the key. Big man Eugene Teague netted a season-high 19 points to go with a game-best 12 rebounds as the eighth-seeded Pirates (17-16) withstood a huge second-half run by Villanova. Patrik Auda scored 13 points and Gibbs finished with 10 points and six assists for Seton Hall, which will play fourth-seeded Providence in a Friday semifinal. The Pirates were coming off a one-point victory over ninth-seeded Butler Wednesday night. Josh Hart paced the top- seeded Wildcats (28-4) with 18 points. The loss snapped Villanova’s six- game winning streak and very likely spoiled its hopes of securing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Final Score: (4) Arizona 71, Utah 39

Las Vegas, NV (SportsNetwork.com) – Nick Johnson collected 14 points as No. 4 Arizona advanced with a 71-39 takedown of Utah in Pac-12 quarterfinal action. T.J. McConnell added 13 and Aaron Gordon contributed 11 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (29-3), winners in six of their last seven heading into the semifinals against either Colorado or California. Dallin Bachynski picked up nine points, while Dakarai Tucker and Princeton Onwas each totaled seven points for the Utes (21-11), who topped Washington in the first round but have dropped two of their last three.

Final Score: (5) Louisville 92, Rutgers 31

Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Chris Jones supplied 18 points and six steals as fifth-ranked Louisville embarrassed Rutgers, 92-31, to reach the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. Russ Smith netted 16 points with five assists, Terry Rozier had 14 points off the bench while Luke Hancock and Montrezl Harrel scored 13 apiece. Louisville (27-5) forced 26 turnovers which led to 44 points in the romp. The Cardinals will take on Houston, which was a surprise winner over No. 25 SMU earlier, in the semis. Myles Mack scored eight points and Kadeem Jack had seven with six rebounds for Rutgers (12-21), which led 7-6 early on before Louisville closed out the first half on a 52-9 run.

Final Score: (8) San Diego State 73, Utah State 39

Las Vegas, NV (SportsNetwork.com) – Xavier Thames totaled 15 points and seven assists to lead eighth-ranked San Diego State to a 73-39 win over Utah State in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament. Winston Shepard added 13 points and Josh Davis contributed eight points, 13 rebounds and six steals for the top-seeded Aztecs (28-3), who will face fourth- seed UNLV on Friday in the semifinals. Jarred Shaw scored 14 points for the Aggies, who had won their previous three games on the heels of four straight losses.

Final Score: (10) Kansas 77, Oklahoma State 70 (OT)

Kansas City, MO (SportsNetwork.com) – Andrew Wiggins had 30 points, eight rebounds and three steals and the 10th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks needed overtime to sneak past the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 77-70, in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Wayne Selden Jr. added 14 points for the Jayhawks (24-8), who will play Iowa State in the semifinals on Friday. Le’Bryan Nash ended with 19 points and seven boards for the Cowboys (21-12), who failed to build off an 80-62 victory over Texas Tech in the first round on Wednesday. Phil Forte III and Marcus Smart donated 16 and 14 points, respectively.

Final Score: (13) Cincinnati 61, UCF 58

Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Sean Kilpatrick scored 21 points with nine rebounds as No. 13 Cincinnati held off upset-minded Central Florida, 61-58, in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. Justin Jackson netted 12 of his 14 points in the first half to go along with eight rebounds and four blocks for the Bearcats (27-5), who will play the winner of Memphis and UConn in the semifinals. Isaiah Sykes paced the Knights (13-18) with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Kasey Wilson and Calvin Newell scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, in defeat. Central Florida reached the quarters with a 94-90 double-overtime win over Temple on Wednesday.

Final Score: (14) Creighton 84, DePaul 62

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Doug McDermott put on a show at Madison Square Garden in Creighton’s Big East Tournament debut, pouring in 35 points as the 14th-ranked Bluejays rolled to an 84-62 quarterfinal victory over DePaul. McDermott led a shooting clinic by Creighton from the perimeter, draining 7-of-10 attempts from 3-point range in his 32 minutes of time. The Bluejays finished a sizzling 14-of-22 as a team from beyond the arc, with Jahenns Manigat accounting for four of those makes in a 14-point effort. The win propels the second-seeded Bluejays (25-6), a first-year member of the realigned Big East, into Friday’s semis against the winner of Thursday’s final quarterfinal between Xavier and Marquette. DePaul (12-21), the tournament’s 10th seed coming off an opening-round upset of Georgetown, was paced by Brandon Young’s 22 points and eight rebounds.

Final Score: (16) Iowa State 91, Kansas State 85

Kansas City, MO (SportsNetwork.com) – Melvin Ejim had 24 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in the 16th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones’ 91-85 victory over the Kansas State Wildcats in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Dustin Hogue added 19 points, 10 boards and two steals for the Cyclones (24-7), who will face 10th-ranked Kansas in the semifinals on Friday. Georges Niang tallied 18 points and seven rebounds. Marcus Foster ended with 21 points for the Wildcats (20-12). Shane Southwell donated 19 points and seven boards and Nigel Johnson added 17 points.

Final Score: Baylor 78, (17) Oklahoma 73

Kansas City, MO (SportsNetwork.com) – Baylor revived its NCAA Tournament hopes with a late-season surge and has carried that momentum into the first two days of the Big 12 Tournament. Isaiah Austin had 18 points and five blocks and the Bears led wire-to-wire in a 78-73 triumph over No. 17 Oklahoma in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Baylor raced out to a 10-0 start and withstood a late Sooners charge at the end. The red-hot Bears had dropped 7-of-8 games and were 2-8 in conference following an 88-72 loss at Oklahoma on Feb 8, but they have responded by winning 9-of-10. Cory Jefferson tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Royce O’Neale added 12 points and 10 boards for seventh-seeded Baylor (23-10), which defeated TCU in the first round and will play the winner of the Texas/West Virginia quarterfinal in Friday’s semifinals. Cameron Clark netted 19 points and Buddy Hield supplied 15 points and seven rebounds for the second-seeded Sooners (23-9), who won three straight to close the regular season.

Final Score: (21) Connecticut 72, (19) Memphis 53

Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Niels Giffey scored a career-high 24 points on 6-of-8 shooting from 3-point range to lead 21st-ranked Connecticut to a 72-53 win over No. 19 Memphis in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. DeAndre Daniels tallied 13 points, while Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright each netted 11 for the Huskies (25-7), who will face Cincinnati in the semifinals on Friday. UConn swept the regular season series against Memphis before taking care of the Tigers again on their home floor on Thursday. Joe Jackson and Chris Crawford were the only Tigers (23-9) in double figures with 10 points apiece in the setback.

Final Score: (20) New Mexico 93, Fresno State 77

Las Vegas, NV (SportsNetwork.com) – Cameron Bairstow poured in 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead 20th-ranked New Mexico to a 93-77 win over Fresno State in the quarterfinal round of the Mountain West Tournament. Alex Kirk also scored 21 points and Kendall Williams added 17 points, nine assists and six rebounds for the Lobos (25-6), who will face the winner of Nevada/Boise State in the semifinals on Friday. Allen Huddelton scored 18 points, Alex Davis added 17 and Paul Watson chipped in with 16 for the Bulldogs (17-16), who shot just 39.7 percent from the field.

Final Score: (24) Ohio State 63, Purdue 61

Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) – LaQuinton Ross had 19 points and 15 rebounds as the 24th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes held off the Purdue Boilermakers, 63-61, in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Aaron Craft added 16 points and five assists for the Buckeyes (24-8), who have won six straight against Purdue. Lenzelle Smith Jr. tallied nine points to surpass 1,000 for his career. Ohio State will play Nebraska in the quarterfinals on Friday. A.J. Hammons ended with 15 points and nine boards for the Boilermakers (15-17), who have lost seven in a row to end their season. Ronnie Johnson donated 12 points, while Terone Johnson and Kendall Stephens each added 10 points.

Final Score: Houston 68, (25) SMU 64

Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Jherrod Stiggers netted 19 points and the Houston Cougars upset 25th-ranked SMU, 68-64, in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Thursday. L.J. Rose and TaShawn Thomas donated 16 and 14 points, respectively, in the triumph, with Thomas also contributing nine rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots. Danuel House scored 11 in Houston’s (17-15) fifth win in its last six games. The Cougars will take on Louisville in the semis. Cannen Cunningham had 14 points in a reserve role for SMU (23-9), which has lost three in a row for the first time all season. Markus Kennedy finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Nick Russell added 10 points. Nic Moore shot 0-for-9 from the floor but handed out a game-high eight assists in the setback.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball