Desperation shot wins it for Cavaliers
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NO. 1 VIRGINIA 67, LOUISVILLE 66
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — De’Andre Hunter’s only thought with 0.9 seconds remaining was how fast he would shoot the ball if he got it in his hands, though he wasn’t sure if his desperation heave from the left side of the three-point circle had the distance or accuracy.
Fortunately for the Virginia freshman guard, his shot had the glass to bank it through as time expired, completing a rally from 13 points down and giving the top-ranked Cavaliers an improbable 67-66 victory Thursday night over stunned Louisville.
Hunter’s big moment symbolized a huge reversal in fortune for Hunter and Virginia (27-2, 16-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Hunter was called for charging with 38 seconds left, resulting in Ryan McMahon’s free throw a few seconds later that gave Louisville a 61-58 lead. McMahon added another free throw before Ray Spalding and Darius Perry each added two at the line to make it 6662 with 5 seconds left.
Virginia didn’t wilt, answering with two free throws by Jerome with a tick left. A turnover by Mamadi Diakite put the ball in the hands of Louisville junior forward Deng Adel, who shuffled his feet while trying to inbound it on the baseline and was called for traveling.
Jerome scored 21 points, including 18 after halftime, while Devon Hall and Kyle Guy each had 10 and Hunter seven as Virginia became the first ACC team with perfect road league record since Duke (8-0) in the 201112 season.
Louisville (19-11, 9-8) meanwhile was left to digest a disappointing loss after coming close to earning the signature win it sought to boost its NCAA Tournament hopes. Missed free throws down the stretch that could have sealed the victory ultimately came back to hurt the Cardinals.
NO. 10 CINCINNATI 78, TULANE 49
had and NEW 16 No. points, ORLEANS 10 Cincinnati 7 rebounds — Kyle clinched and Washington 2 a blocks, share of the American Athletic Conference title with a victory over Tulane. Cane Broome scored 13 for the Bearcats (26-4, 15-2), whose stifling defensive play helped them build leads as large as 19 in the first half and 33 in the second. Melvin Frazier scored 13 points and Cameron Reynolds nine for Tulane (1415, 5-12), which trailed for good after Jerron Cumberland’s free throws put Cincinnati ahead 7-5 with 16:14 left in the first half.
NO. 11 WICHITA STATE 75, CENTRAL FLORIDA 71, OT
ORLANDO, Fla. — Shaquille Morris scored 19 points and Conner Frankamp added 16 as No. 11 Wichita State beat the University of Central Florida in overtime. Landry Shamet scored 14 points and had six assists for the Shockers (245, 14-3 American Athletic Conference), who have won seven consecutive. A.J. Davis led Central Florida (17-12, 8-9) with 31 points, including a desperation three-pointer with 0.7 seconds left in regulation that sent the game into overtime. B.J. Taylor scored 23 for the Knights, who lost their third consecutive.
NO. 15 MICHIGAN 77, IOWA 71
made NEW Michigan’s YORK — only Duncan field goal Robinson in overtime, a go-ahead three-pointer with 2:15 left, and the No. 15 Wolverines survived foul trouble and poor shooting to beat Iowa to advance to the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals. The fifth-seeded Wolverines (25-7) face fourth-seeded Nebraska today at Madison Square Garden. Michigan was 3 for 19 from threepoint range and Robinson made all of them. His OT three put Michigan up 72-70, and the Wolverines made just enough free throws to hold off the Hawkeyes (14-19), who got a basket from Luka Garza on their first overtime possession and not another one.
NO. 24 MIDDLE TENN. 82, WESTERN KENTUCKY 64
rebounds NASHVILLE, scored as 18 No. Tenn. points 24 Middle — and Brandon grabbed Tennessee Walters 11 clinched its second consecutive Conference USA title with a victory over second-place Western Kentucky. Nick King, the leading candidate for conference Player of the Year, scored 18 points and had nine rebounds for the Blue Raiders (24-5, 16-1), who cracked the national rankings for the first time in school history last week. Lamonte Bearden led the Hilltoppers (22-8, 14-3) with 24 points and Justin Johnson had 14.