Aggies top Tigers
Josh Nebo scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, and Texas A&M survived a frenetic last-minute rally attempt to upset No. 17 Auburn 78-75 on Wednesday night. Wendell Mitchell added 14 points and a key three-pointer to help the Aggies pick up their fifth league road victory.
TEXAS A&M 78, NO. 17 AUBURN 75
AUBURN, Ala. — Josh Nebo scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and Texas A&M survived a frenetic last-minute rally attempt to upset No. 17 Auburn 78-75 on Wednesday night.
Wendell Mitchell added 14 points and a key three-pointer to help the Aggies (15-14, 9-8 SEC) pick up their fifth league road win.
Samir Doughty scored 25 points for the Tigers (25-5, 12-5), who wiped out most of a nine-point deficit over the final 46 seconds as Texas A&M struggled at the freethrow line.
J’Von McCormick buried a contested three-pointer with 7.4 seconds left to make it 77-75. Savion Flagg made the second of two free throws before Danjel Purifoy’s potential tying three-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the rim.
Texas A&M missed two free throws over the final 16 seconds, but otherwise did enough.
Auburn was trying to finish the season unbeaten at home for the first time since 1998-99. The Tigers have already secured a double bye in next week’s SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.
Nebo made 9 of 12 shots before fouling out with 1:42 remaining in the game. Jay Jay Chandler and Flagg scored 14 apiece for the Aggies, while Mitchell had seven rebounds and four assists.
Doughty made five three-pointers and was 10 of 11 on free throws for Auburn. Austin Wiley scored 15 points before fouling out and Isaac Okoro also had 15.
Mitchell worked off most of the shot clock before burying a contested three-pointer from the top of the key for a 75-67 lead with 1:13 left. Flagg made 1 of 2 free throws with 46 seconds left to push the lead to nine.
Purifoy then made a three-pointer and stole the inbound pass to keep Auburn alive. Doughty cut it to 76-72 on two free throws with 20 seconds left.
NO. 1 KANSAS 75, TCU 66
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Udoka Azubuike scored a career-high 31 points with 14 rebounds, leading top-ranked Kansas to a victory over TCU to clinch at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title.
Azubuike was 13 of 14 from the floor and also had five blocks just four days after hurting his ankle in a victory over Kansas State. Devon Dotson added 18 points and he also gave Coach Bill Self and about 16,000 fans a scare when he left briefly midway through the second half with what appeared to be an ankle injury of his own.
Dotson returned a few minutes later, allowing Kansas (27-3, 16-1) to begin the celebrations on Senior Night.
The victory was No. 500 for Self at Kansas, ranking second at the school behind only building namesake Phog Allen.
Desmond Bane had 24 points for TCU (16-14, 7-10). Edric Dennis Jr. hit six three-pointers and finished with 18 points.
NO. 3 DAYTON 84, RHODE ISLAND 57
KINGSTON, R.I. — Obi Toppin scored 20 points and Trey Landers had 14 points and 14 rebounds for No. 3 Dayton to lead the Flyers to their 19th consecutive victory.
Dayton (28-2, 17-0 Atlantic 10) matched its 1951-52 team for the school record in wins, and with a victory over George Washington on Saturday it would finish unbeaten in conference play for the first time in program history.
Jeff Dowtin scored 16 points for Rhode Island (20-9, 12-5).
NO. 7 FLORIDA STATE 73, NOTRE DAME 71
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Trent Forrest’s putback with 3.8 seconds left capped a ferocious late charge as No. 7 Florida State beat Notre Dame to move closer to an ACC title.
Forrest’s basket gave the Seminoles (25-5, 15-4) just their second lead all night, the other coming at 5-4 in the opening minutes.
M.J. Walker scored 16 of his 21 points over the final 8:40 as FSU charged back from a 61-48 deficit.
Prentiss Hubb’s half-court heave for the Fighting Irish as time expired kissed off the back iron. Hubb led Notre Dame (18-12, 9-10) with 24 points, 19 in the first half.
NO. 14 VILLANOVA 79,
NO. 8 SETON HALL 77
NEWARK, N.J. — Saddiq Bey scored 20 points and No. 14 Villanova overcame some late free-throw shooting woes to prevent No. 8 Seton Hall from clinching the Big East regular-season title
Justin Moore and Jermaine Samuels added 19 points apiece and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had nine points and 11 rebounds as the Wildcats (23-8, 12-5) opened the possibility of the league having a three-way tie for first place.
Collin Gillespie added 12 points for Villanova, which kept the game close by missing seven free throws in the final 1:03.
Sandro Mamukelashvili led Seton Hall (21-8, 13-4) with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
NO. 11 CREIGHTON 91, GEORGETOWN 76
OMAHA, Neb. — Mitch Ballock made a season-high six three-pointers and finished with 20 points, and Creighton rode one of its best shooting games of the season to a win over Georgetown.
The Bluejays (23-7, 12-5 Big East) hit a season-high 17 three-pointers on 36 attempts after making only 4 of 27 in a 20-point loss at St. John’s on Sunday.
Marcus Zegarowski had 20 points and eight assists, Ty-Shon Alexander had 18 points and Denzel Mahoney added 14.
Georgetown (15-15, 5-12) lost its fifth in a row. Jahvon Blair led the Hoyas with 22 points.
NO. 22 VIRGINIA 46, MIAMI 44
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Kihei Clark made both ends of a one-and-one with eight seconds left to provide the winning margin and No. 22 Virginia beat Miami for its seventh victory in a row.
Junior Jay Huff led Virginia with 17 points — and they were the Cavaliers’ first 17 points of the game. Mamadi Diakite had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Virginia (22-7, 14-5 ACC) hasn’t lost since Feb. 8 against Louisville. Miami (14-15, 6-13) lost its third game in a row.
NO. 24 WISCONSIN 63, NORTHWESTERN 48
MADISON, Wis. — Nate Reuvers scored 11 points as No. 24 Wisconsin struggled through a poor offensive performance in a victory over Northwestern.
The victory moved the Badgers (2010, 13-6 Big Ten) into a three-way for first place in the Big Ten.
SEC MEN FLORIDA 66, GEORGIA 54
ATHENS, Ga. — Noah Locke sank back-to-back three-pointers during Florida’s decisive run of 10 unanswered points in the second half and the Gators strengthened their NCAA Tournament hopes by beating Georgia.
Keyontae Johnson had 18 points for Florida (19-11, 11-6), which had to recover after trailing by 13 points early in the game. The Gators had good reason for confidence. They overcame a 22-point deficit in their win over the Bulldogs last month.
Locke had 17 points. Anthony Edwards had 14 points in what is expected to be his final home game for Georgia.
Rayshaun Hammonds had 12 points for Georgia (15-15, 5-12).
MISSISSIPPI 75, MISSOURI 67
OXFORD, Miss. — Breein Tyree scored 19 points and led a decisive surge in the final 13 minutes and Mississippi defeated Missouri.
Tyree sparked a 10-2 run midway through the second half to give the Rebels a 63-55 lead with 8:18 left. Missouri never got closer than four points again, failing to score in the final two minutes. Tyree, in his final home appearance as a senior, added five assists and four rebounds.
Blake Hinson had 19 points, all in the first half, for Ole Miss (15-15, 6-11). KJ Buffen scored 13 points with a gamehigh 10 rebounds and Khadim Sy added 12 points.
Xavier Pinson scored 16 points for Missouri (15-15, 6-11).