Alabama, LSU reach SEC championship

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Herbert Jones scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half and No. 6 Alabama rallied from a big deficit in the final 17 minutes to beat Tennessee 73-68 Saturday in the SEC tournament semifinals.

Jahvon Quinerly added 19 points, including two free throws with 15.5 seconds left, to help the Crimson Tide hang on.

Top-seeded Alabama (23-6) faces LSU in Sunday’s championship in search of its first SEC Tournament title since 1991.

In the other semifinal Cameron Thomas scored 21 points and LSU upset eighth-ranked Arkansas 78-71 to reach the SEC championship for the first time since 1993.

BIG TEN

Ohio State guard Duane Washington Jr. scored 24 points, grabbed six rebounds and had four assists, helping the ninthranked Buckeyes fend off a frantic finish by fourthranked Michigan for a 68-67 victory and a trip to the Big Ten tournament title game at Indianapolis.

The Buckeyes (21-8) play No. 3 Illinois on Sunday.

The Illini got by No. 5 Iowa 82-71 as Kofi Cockburn scored 26 points.

The Fighting Illini (22-6) have won six straight, with three against top-10 foes.

ATLANTIC COAST

Michael Devoe scored 20 points and Georgia Tech shot 52 percent after halftime to beat No. 15 Florida State 80-75 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game.

League player of the year Moses Wright added 15 points and eight rebounds for the fourth-seeded Yellow Jackets (17-8), who secured an automatic

NCAA Tournament berth to end an 11-year drought.

Scottie Barnes had 21 points for Florida State, which shot 56 percent but committed 25 turnovers that led to 31 points for the Yellow Jackets.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC

Mason Madsen had a team-high 10 points for short-handed Cincinnati, which overcame missing its last three free-throw attempts and held on to beat top-seeded Wichita State 60-59 at Fort Worth to advance to its fourth consecutive AAC tournament championship game.

BIG EAST

Patrick Ewing is taking Georgetown back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 after the eighth-seeded Hoyas completed a surprising run to a Big East championship with a stunning 73-48 rout of No. 17 Creighton at Madison Square Garden.

The Hoyas won their record eighth Big East tournament title and first since 2007.

PAC-12

Maurice Calloo gave Oregon State an unexpected lift with 15 points and the Beavers won their first conference tournament title, holding off No. 23 Colorado 70-68 in the Pac-12 championship game at Las Vegas.

BIG SKY

Jacob Groves had 15 points, Tanner Groves added 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Eastern Washington earned its third NCAA Tournament bid in program history and first since 2015 with a 65-55 win over Montana State at Boise, Idaho.

CONFERENCE USA

Javion Hamlet scored six of his 20 points after regulation, including the goahead basket with 13.9 seconds left, and North Texas beat Western Kentucky 61-57 in overtime to win the Conference USA tournament title game at Frisco.

METRO ATLANTIC

Asante Gist scored 18 points and Rick Pitino is taking his fifth school to the NCAA Tournament with Iona’s 60-51 victory over Fairfield in the championship at Atlantic City.

The 68-year-old Pitino was already the first coach to win national titles at two schools (Kentucky, Louisville) and is the first to take three programs (Providence) to the Final Four.

MID-AMERICAN

Jason Preston scored 22 points and Ohio dominated from the start to win its first Mid-American Conference tournament championship since 2012, an 84-69 victory on Saturday night over Buffalo at Cleveland

The Bobcats (16-7) are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012.

MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC

Joe Bryant scored 17 points as Norfolk State defeated Morgan State

71-63 in the tournament championship game at Norfolk, Va., to earn its first NCAA Tournament bid in nine years.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Matt Mitchell scored 14 points to lead No. 19 San Diego State to a 68-57 victory over Utah State in the championship game at Las Vegas.

WESTERN ATHLETIC

Jovan Blacksher Jr. had 19 points and Grand Canyon earned its first bid to the NCAA Tournament with a 74-56 win over New Mexico State in the Western Athletic Conference tournament championship.