UCLA dominates offensive boards to edge Arizona
TUCSON, ARIZ. >> Thomas Welsh scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and No. 5 UCLA dominated the offensive boards to beat No. 4 Arizona 77-72 in a Pac-12 showdown Saturday night.
The Bruins (26-3, 13-3) snapped Arizona’s 21-game home court winning streak and dropped the Wildcats (26-4, 15-2) into a tie with Oregon for first place in the Pac-12 heading into the final week of the regular season. The Ducks hold the tiebreaker by beating Arizona in the teams’ only meeting.
UCLA, avenging a 96-85 home loss to Arizona on Jan. 21, trailed 53-49 at the half but took control with a 19-4 second-half run.
Allonzo Trier scored a career-high 28 for the Wildcats. UCLA had 19 second-chance points to Arizona’s four. KANSAS 77, TEXAS 67 >> Josh Jackson scored 18 points and Frank Mason III added 16 to help No. 3 Kansas (263, 14-2) beat Texas (10-19, 4-12) and win its 13th consecutive Big 12 regular-season championship outright.
Devonte Graham and Dwight Coleby added points 12 apiece for the Jayhawks. OREGON 75, STANFORD 73 >> Jordan Bell scored on a putback with 14 seconds left to give No. 5 Oregon a rare Bay Area sweep.
Bell’s game-winner followed Dillon Brooks’ last-second, tiebreaking 3-pointer three nights earlier at California to give Oregon (26-4, 15-2 Pac-12) its second sweep of its conference Bay Area rivals since 1976.
Reid Travis had 27 points and 14 rebounds to lead the way for the Cardinal (14-14, 6-10). NORTH CAROLINA 85, PITTSBURGH 67 >> Justin Jackson scored 23 points, Joel Berry added 19 and No. 8 North Carolina (25-5, 13-3) continued its march to the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title.
The Tar Heels have won four straight following a loss to arch rival Duke two weeks ago. North Carolina can clinch its second straight ACC regular season crown and 31st overall with a win at No. 18 Virginia on Monday.
Michael Young and fellow senior Jamel Artis finished with 17 points each for the Panthers (15-14, 4-12). IOWA STATE 72, BAYLOR 69 >> Deonte Burton scored 22 points, including a crucial 3 with 1:17 left, and Iowa State (19-9, 11-5 Big 12) won its fifth straight, beating No. 9 Baylor (23-6, 10-6).
Monte Morris had 17 points with seven assists for the Cyclones, who have their longest winning streak in league play since a seven-game stretch in 2005. MIAMI 55, DUKE 50 >> Bruce Brown scored 25 points, and Miami (20-8, 10-6 ACC) held No. 10 Duke (22-7, 10-6) a staggering 32 points below its season average.
Brown shot 11 for 18 and had four assists, while his teammates shot just 11 for 40 with four assists combined. Yet it was enough for the Hurricanes, who dominated inside and outscored Duke 40-20 in the paint. KENTUCKY 76, FLORIDA 66>> Malik Monk scored 30 of his 33 points in the second half and Bam Adebayo added 18 points with 15 rebounds as No. 11 Kentucky (24-5, 14-2) beat No. 13 Florida (23-6, 13-3) and took over the Southeastern Conference lead.
While another week remains in SEC play for both teams, the Wildcats took an important step by twice rallying from eight points down to win the pivotal matchup. WEST VIRGINIA 61, TCU 60 >> Daxter Miles Jr. made a free throw with 4.8 seconds left for No. 12 West Virginia (23-6, 11-5) to bveat TCU (17-12, 6-10). MICHIGAN 82, PURDUE 70 >> Moe Wagner scored 22 of his 24 points in the first half for Michigan (19-10, 9-7) against No. 14 Purdue (23-6, 12-4), which had its sixgame winning streak snapped. SMU 69, UCONN 61 >> Shake Milton had 20 points and seven rebounds to lead No. 17 SMU (25-4, 15-1 American Athletic Conference), who won their 11th straight.
The Huskies (14-14, 9-7), who have dropped two straight after a four-game winning streak, were led by Kentan Facey’s 15 points. VIRGINIA 70, N.C. STATE55 >> Freshman Kyle Guy scored 19 points to help No. 18 Virginia (19-9, 9-7 ACC) end a four-game losing streak.
Freshman Dennis Smith Jr. scored 13 points for the Wolfpack (15-15, 4-13). FLORIDA STATE 76, CLEMSON 74 >> Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, including the go-ahead basket with 1:22 left, to lift No. 19 Florida State (23-6, 11-5) against Clemson (14-14, 4-12). IOWA 83, MARYLAND 69 >> Freshman Jordan Bohannon scored a career-high 24 points, hitting 8 of 10 3-pointers, to help Iowa (16-13, 8-8 Big Ten) breeze past fading No. 24 Maryland (22-7, 10-6). WICHITA ST. 86, MISSOURI ST. 67 >> Landry Shamet scored a career-best 23 points as No. 25Wichita State clinched at least a share of the Missouri Valley Conference title for a fourth straight season.