Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules
Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Karl-Anthony Towns scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to led the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats over the Florida Gators, 64-49, in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament. Aaron Harrison added 13 points for the top-seeded Wildcats (32-0), who will look to continue their undefeated season in the semifinal round on Saturday against 13th-seeded Auburn. Jon Horford scored a game-high 15 points to lead eighth-seeded Florida (16-17), which gave Kentucky a game until a late-game run put the contest out of doubt.
Final Score: (11) Notre Dame 74, (2) Duke 64
Greensboro, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Bonzie Colson scored 17 points, Demetrius Jackson added 15 and No. 11 Notre Dame held off No. 2 Duke 74-64 to reach the final of the ACC Tournament. Duke had won 12 in a row since losing in South Bend on Jan. 28, but Notre Dame (28-5) jumped on top of the second-seeded Blue Devils early and held off a late surge to earn a title game matchup against North Carolina on Saturday. Jerian Grant totaled 13 points and seven rebounds for the third-seeded Fighting Irish (28-5), who did not make it out of the opening round of their inaugural ACC tourney a year ago. Duke (29-4), the winningest team in this event, shot just 3-of-17 from 3-point range. Jahlil Okafor led the way offensively with 28 points, while Justise Winslow added 11 points and 11 rebounds in defeat.
Final Score: (19) North Carolina 71, (3) Virginia 67
Greensboro, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Justin Jackson shot 8-of-10 from the field, made four 3-pointers and scored 22 points to lead No. 19 North Carolina to a 71-67 victory over No. 3 Virginia in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Opponents were shooting an ACC-low 35.6 percent against the Cavaliers, but the Tar Heels (24-10) came out a lit them up at a 54.8 percent clip to reach Saturday’s title game against Notre Dame. Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson added 14 and 13 points, respectively, for fifth-seeded UNC, which is seeking its first tourney title since 2008. Malcolm Brogdon carried top-seeded Virginia (29-3) with 25 points, while London Perrantes and Anthony Gill chipped in 12 apiece.
Final Score: (4) Villanova 63, Providence 61
New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Ryan Arcidiacono made two free throws after a controversial foul call with 3.1 seconds left, and No. 4 Villanova prevailed against Providence 63-61 to advance to the final of the Big East Tournament. Villanova led for most of the second half until a late turnover led to Kris Dunn’s layup that tied the score with 12.4 seconds left. Out of a timeout, Arcidiacono drove to the basket against Providence big man Ben Bentil, who was whistled for a foul despite very little contact. Arcidiacono calmly hit both free throws, and LaDontae Henton bricked a deep 3- pointer as time expired at the other end. Daniel Ochefu carried the Wildcats (31-2) for most of the night, finishing with 15 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. Josh Hart added 18 points off the bench, and Darrun Hilliard scored 12 before fouling out. Villanova will meet Xavier in Saturday’s final. Dunn’s Herculean effort wasn’t enough for the Friars (22-11). The sophomore finished with 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the loss.
Final Score: (5) Arizona 70, UCLA 64
Las Vegas, NV (SportsNetwork.com) – For the third straight season, Arizona and UCLA met in the Pac-12 tournament and for the third straight time, it went down to the wire. Brandon Ashley poured in a career-high 24 points, T.J. McConnell had a double- double and unlike the previous two seasons, No. 5 Arizona prevailed with a 70-64 win over the Bruins to advance to the finals. Ashley did most of the heavy lifting early on, but it was McConnell and Stanley Johnson who carried the Wildcats (30-3) to the finish line. McConnell, who finished with 10 points and 11 assists, iced the win with two free throws with 19 seconds left. Johnson ended up with 15 points and nine rebounds and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson pulled down 12 boards in the win. Arizona will take on Oregon, which knocked off Utah on Joseph Young’s game-winning 3- pointer, in Saturday’s final. Norman Powell had 21 points and Parker netted 15 for UCLA (20-13).
Final Score: (6) Wisconsin 71, Michigan 60
Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – Frank Kaminsky scored just 16 points, but he sparked a key second half run that gave sixth-ranked Wisconsin a 71-60 win over Michigan in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament. Sam Dekker added 17 points, six rebounds and six assists for the top-seeded Badgers (28-3), who will face fourth-seeded Purdue in the semifinal round on Saturday. The Boilermakers beat 13th-seeded Penn State, 64-59, on Friday. Kaminsky hit 6-of-12 shots from the floor and added 12 rebounds for Wisconsin, which has won four straight and 14 of 15 games overall. Zak Irvin scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead ninth-seeded Michigan (16-15), which gave the Badgers a run before falling apart late.
Final Score: (8) Maryland 75, Indiana 69
Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – Dez Wells had 22 points and six rebounds to lead No. 8 Maryland to a 75-69 victory over Indiana in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament. Melo Trimble scored 17 points, Jake Layman added 10 points and nine rebounds and Jared Nickens scored 10 for the Terrapins (27-5), who will play Michigan State in the semifinals on Saturday. Kevin Yogi Ferrell had 18 points, Troy Williams gave 17 with nine boards and Robert Johnson scored 10 for the Hoosiers (20-13), who had defeated Northwestern on Thursday to advance to the quarters.
Final Score: (9) Kansas 62, (16) Baylor 52
Kansas City, MO (SportsNetwork.com) – Wayne Selden Jr. had 20 points and eight rebounds, helping ninth-ranked Kansas beat No. 16 Baylor 62-52 in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament on Friday. Perry Ellis, Kansas’ leading scorer, returned from missing two games with a sprained right knee to chip in 11 points and six rebounds. Kelly Oubre Jr. had nine points and five boards for the top-seeded Jayhawks (26-7), who advanced to the Big 12 championship game for the 11th time. They will seek a 10th title on Saturday when they play No. 13 Iowa State. Kenny Chery netted 20 points and Rico Gathers added 11 with 13 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Bears (24-9), who were held to 32.8 percent shooting.
Final Score: (13) Iowa State 67, (15) Oklahoma 65
Kansas City, MO (SportsNetwork.com) – It appeared No. 13 Iowa State would need overtime to take down No. 15 Oklahoma and return to the Big 12 championship game. The Sooners’ Ryan Spangler went up for a game-tying layup in the dying seconds of regulation but the ball slipped out of his hand, and the Cyclones survived for a 67-65 victory on Friday. Georges Niang had 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists for second-seeded Iowa State (24-8), which beat Baylor last year to capture its second Big 12 Tournament title. Iowa State will play ninth-ranked Kansas, the Big 12 regular season champs, on Saturday. Jameel McKay scored 12 with nine rebounds and came up with two key blocks late for the Cyclones, who got 11 points from Monte Morris, the hero in the last- second quarterfinal victory over Texas. Buddy Hield netted 16 points to lead third-seeded Oklahoma (22-10) but shot 6-of-20 from the floor, including 2- of-13 from 3-point range. TaShawn Thomas had 13 points and matched Hield with 10 rebounds.
Final Score: Oregon 67, (17) Utah 64
Las Vegas, NV (SportsNetwork.com) – With time winding down in the biggest game of the season, the Pac-12 Player of the Year took matters into his own hands. Joseph Young was midway between the 3-point line and midcourt when he let his game-winner fly. It hit nothing but nylon. Young scored a game-high 25 points and the Oregon Ducks upset No. 17 Utah 67-64 to advance to the Pac-12 Tournament finals. Dillon Brooks and Elgin Cook added 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Ducks (25-8), who will take on top-seeded Arizona in Saturday’s championship. Brandon Taylor made six 3-pointers for a season- high 24 points and Delon Wright finished with 16, nine rebounds and five assists for the Utes (24-8).
Final Score: (20) SMU 74, East Carolina 68
Hartford, CT (SportsNetwork.com) – Nic Moore scored 20 points and No. 20 SMU held off hot-shooting East Carolina for a 74-68 win in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday. Markus Kennedy took a bump on the head but scored 15 points for top-seeded SMU (25-6), which will play Markus Kennedy took a bump on the head but scored 15 points for top- seeded SMU (25-6), which will play Temple in one of Saturday’s semifinals. Larry Brown’s Mustangs, who had a bye into the quarterfinals, were left out of the NCAA Tournament last year but are virtually guaranteed the program’s first berth since 1993 this year after winning the regular season conference title. SMU was ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press poll before losing to Houston in the quarterfinals of last year’s AAC tournament. The Mustangs went on to make the final of the NIT, losing to Minnesota, but are hoping to take the next step this year with the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth in 22 years. Terry Whisnant and Antonio Robinson scored 18 points apiece for East Carolina (14-19), which shot 15-of-34 from 3- point range and had the game’s biggest lead at 10 points in the first half.
Final Score: (21) Arkansas 80, Tennessee 72
Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Bobby Portis posted 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 21 Arkansas in an 80-72 victory over Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Friday. Michael Qualls had 20 points while Alandise Harris gave 14 points and nine rebounds for the Razorbacks (25-7), who will play Georgia in the semifinals on Saturday. Josh Richardson scored 22 points with 10 rebounds and Kevin Punter added 13 points for the Volunteers (16-16), who defeated Vanderbilt on Thursday in the second round.
Final Score: Xavier 65, (23) Georgetown 63
New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Matt Stainbrook scored 20 points and Xavier nearly squandered a 21-point lead before holding off Georgetown 65-63 to advance to the Big East finals. Remy Abell added 10 points for Xavier (21-12), which will meet top-seeded Villanova in Saturday’s final. Jabril Trawick paced the Hoyas (21-10) with 19 points, Isaac Copeland scored 15 and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera netted 11 in defeat.
Final Score: (24) Davidson 67, La Salle 66
Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Tyler Kalinoski’s left-handed floater at the buzzer lifted No. 24 Davidson to a thrilling 67-66 win over La Salle in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Kalinoski got a kiss off the back rim on the winner, which pulled top-seeded Davidson (24-6) all the way out of an early 18-point hole and into a semifinal meeting with fifth- seeded VCU on Saturday. Jack Gibbs scored 22 points and Kalinoski had 18 for the Wildcats, who pushed their winning streak to 10 games. Steve Zack had 24 points and 15 rebounds to lead ninth-seeded La Salle (17-16), which was coming off a win over Massachusetts in Thursday’s second round.
Final Score: Wyoming 71, (25) Boise State 66 (OT)
Las Vegas, NV (SportsNetwork.com) – Wyoming is on the brink of sneaking into the NCAA Tournament as the Cowboys knocked off No. 25 Boise State in overtime 71-66 in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament. Josh Adams poured in a game-high 27 points and Larry Nance Jr. added 20 for the fourth- seeded Cowboys (24-9), who advanced to take on San Diego State in Saturday’s final. Derrick Marks and Nick Duncan contributed 17 and 11 points, respectively, for the MWC regular-season champion Broncos. Wyoming won the lone regular season meeting against Boise State on Jan. 10, and the Broncos bounced back with a 15-1 stretch heading into Friday’s rematch. That type of dominance in a competitive conference seemingly has Boise State (25-8) as a lock for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, but its fate is in the hands of the selection committee.
Categorized in: NCAA Basketball