Cavs come out on top vs. Irish
Devon Hall scored 17 points in his final game at John Paul Jones Arena and No. 1 Virginia outlasted Notre Dame, 62-57, yesterday in Charlottesville, Va.
Ty Jerome added 13 points for the Cavaliers (28-2, 17-1 ACC), who won their fifth in a row and will be the top seed in the conference tournament.
New Bedford’s Bonzie Colson, playing in just his second game since missing 15 with a broken foot, had 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Irish (18-13, 8-10). Martinas Geben added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Michigan 75, Michigan St. 64 — Mo Wagner scored 14 of his 15 points after a dreadful first half and the No. 15 Wolverines (27-7) moved within a game of its second straight Big Ten tournament title by upending the No. 2 Spartans (29-4).
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Zavier Simpson also had 15 for Michigan, which was also the last team to beat Michigan State. The Spartans won 13 straight between the setbacks against their instate rivals.
Miles Bridges had 17 points to lead Michigan State before fouling out late.
Xavier 65, DePaul 62 — In Chicago, Trevon Bluiett scored 22 points, and the No. 3 Musketeers (27-4, 15-3 Big East) set a school record for regular-season wins while clinching the top seed in the conference with the win against the Blue Demons (11-19, 4-14).
Xavier hung on after DePaul’s Eli Cain and Max Strus missed 3’s in the final seconds. The Musketeers ended No. 4 Villanova’s four-year run as regularseason Big East champion.
Villanova 97, Georgetown 73 — Coach Jay Wright moved into a tie with Al Severance on the career wins list with the program with his 413th, and the No. 4 Wildcats (27-4, 14-4 Big East) got 24 points from Mikal Bridges, and 16 with seven assists from Jalen Brunson, to beat the Hoyas (15-14, 5-13).
Duke 74, N. Carolina 64 — In Durham, N.C., Marvin Bagley III had 18 of his 21 points in the second half along with 15 rebounds, and the No. 5 Blue Devils (25-6, 13-5 ACC) rallied past the No. 9 Tar Heels (22-9, 11-7) to claim the second seed, behind top-ranked Virginia, in the conference tournament.
Oklahoma St. 82, Kansas 64 — In Stillwater, Okla., Kendall Smith scored a career-high 25 points and Mitchell Solomon had 16 points as the Cowboys (1813, 8-10 Big 12) knocked off the No. 6 Jayhawks (247, 13-5), who had already wrapped up first place in the conference.
Purdue 78, Penn State 70 — In New York, Carsen Edwards’s 27 points aided the No. 8 Boilermakers (28-5) as they pulled away from the Nittany Lions (2112) in the second half to win a Big Ten tournament semifinal and earn a shot at No. 15 Michigan in the championship game.
Texas Tech 79, TCU 75 — In Lubbock, Texas, Keenan Evans scored 23 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field and a 10-for-10 from the line, and the No. 12 Red Raiders (23-8, 11-7) stopped a four-game losing streak with the win against the Horned Frogs (21-10, 9-9).
Auburn 79, S. Carolina 70 — In Auburn, Ala., Bryce Brown scored 29 points, making eight 3-pointers, and the No. 14 Tigers (25-6, 13-5 SEC) claimed a share of the conference title with Tennessee with the comeback win against the Gamecocks (16-15, 7-11).
Tennessee 66, Georgia 61 — In Knoxville, Tenn., Admiral Schofield put up 23 points and paced a second-half comeback as the No. 16 Volunteers (23-7, 13-5 SEC) earned a share of first place by beating the Bulldogs (16-14, 7-11).
Syracuse 55, Clemson 52 — Oshae Brissett and Tyus Battle each scored 17 points and the host Orange (19-12, 8-10 ACC) rallied past the No. 18 Tigers (228) to remain in the hunt for a postseason berth.
Arizona 66, California 54 — In Tucson, Ariz., Deandre Ayton had 26 points and 20 rebounds, leading the No. 19 Wildcats (24-7, 14-4 Pac-12) by the Bears (8-23, 2-16) to clinch first place in the conference.
Texas 87, W. Virginia 79 — In Austin, Texas, Matt Coleman and Kerwin Roach III eached put up 22 points for the Longhorns (18-13, 8-10) in the overtime win against the No. 2 Mountainers (22-9, 11-7).
Florida 80, Kentucky 67 — In Gainesville, Fla., Jalen Hudson scored 22 points and the Gators (2011, 11-7 SEC) completed the season sweep with the win against the No. 23 Wildcats (21-10, 10-8).
Marshall 76, Middle Tenn. 67 — In Murfreesboro, Tenn., Jon Elmore’s 23 points helped the Thundering Herd (21-10, 12-6 C-USA) finish a season sweep of the No. 24 Blue Raiders (24-6, 16-2).