McNeese sews up NCAA tourney berth

Shahada Wells scored 27 points and McNeese beat Nicholls 92-76 on Wednesday to win the Southern Conference Tournament in Lake Charles, La., and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002 with its 30th victory this season.

Wells, the conference player of the year, had a three 3-pointers and was 12 of 13 from the line for the topseeded Cowboys (30-3), who won their 11th straight game and finished 18-0 on their home court. Wells also scored 27 points in a 76-57 semifinal win over Lamar.

DJ Richards Jr., with four from the arc, added 16 points, including 12 in the first half when he combined with Wells for 29 points and McNeese took a 48-32 lead. Javohn Garcia scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half. Christian Shumate added 11 points including a couple of thunderous second-half dunks.

Diante Smith scored a career-high 33 points on 11-of-20 shooting, including five 3-pointers, to lead the third-seeded Colonels (20-14).

NO 20 BYU 87, UCF 73 >> Fousseyni Traore had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Richie Saunders scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half and the Cougars (23-9) squandered a big early lead before pulling away late over the Knights (1715) in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. The fifth-seeded Cougars advance to play fourth-seeded and No. 25 Texas Tech in the quarterfinals today.

CINCINNATI 72, NO. 16 KANSAS 52 >> Dan Skillings Jr. scored 25 points, Cincinnati took advantage of the Jayhawks (22-10) playing without injured stars Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr., and the Bearcats (20-13) rolled in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. John Newman III added 12 points and Simas Lukosius had 10 for the No. 11 seed Bearcats, who knew they had to keep winning to have a shot at the NCAA Tournament. Now, they will get another opportunity to pick up a marquee win today, when they face No. 14 Baylor in the quarterfinal round. Dickinson missed the game after dislocating his shoulder in a 30-point loss to Houston last weekend, while McCullar has been dealing with a knee injury.

Women

Jacinta Buckley had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Eastern Washington's record-breaking season continues with the school's second NCAA berth after a 73-64 win over Northern Arizona in the Big Sky Conference Tournament championship game in Boise, Idaho. The Eagles (29-5), who are riding a program record 13-game winning streak and set a record for most wins earlier, last made the Big Dance in 1987.

RICE 61, EAST CAROLINA 41 >> Sussy Ngulefac scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Emily Klaczek added 14 points and the 10th-seeded Owls (1914) defeated the ninth-seeded Pirates in an improbable America Athletic Conference championship game in Fort Worth, Texas, for the Owls' fourth NCAA Tournament berth. Rice, which last went to the Big Dance in 2019, had to win four straight games.

Note

Louisville fired coach Kenny Payne after going 12-52 in two seasons that marked the worst consecutive finishes in the storied program's history, saying “a change is needed” to reach expectations.Louisville finished 8-24 (3-17 ACC) in a season expected to start a climb back after a 4-28 campaign. The loss total was a program record.