Desperation 60-footer lifts Sun Devils past rival

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ARIZONA STATE 89, NO. 7 ARIZONA 88

TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona State’s latest rivalry loss appeared imminent even after a late rally, with a desperate heave all that was left.

Desmond Cambridge Jr. cashed it in, swishing a McKale miracle to keep the Sun Devils’ NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

Cambridge Jr. hit a 60-foot shot at the buzzer and Arizona State rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat No. 7 Arizona 89-88 on Saturday.

“I did not think that shot was going in,” said Cambridge, who finished with 19 points. “I just wanted to have a nice miss and everyone in the crowd go, ‘ohhh!’ Once it went in, I literally could only scream because I couldn’t make sense of it.”

The Wildcats (24-5, 13-5) led by 10 before going more than six minutes without a field goal as Arizona State pulled ahead by one.

The Sun Devils (20-9, 117) went up 86-85 on Warren Washington’s layup with just a minute left, but Pelle Larsson put Arizona back up on a layup with 29 seconds left.

Arizona State’s DJ Horne missed a jumper with four seconds left and the Sun Devils had a final shot after Oumar Ballo hit 1 of 2 free throws.

Catching the ball with 2.4 seconds left, Cambridge left the fans at McKale Center stunned, launching a shot from beyond half-court that sent his teammates charging onto the floor in celebration.

Cedric Henderson Jr. led Arizona with 19 points and Azuoulas Tubelis added 17.

NO. 3 KANSAS 76, WEST VIRGINIA 74

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Dajuan Harris was one point shy of a career high, scoring 17 points to help lift No. 3 Kansas over West Virginia.

The stifling Jayhawk defense kept West Virginia from attempting a shot in the final 20 seconds. Harris led Kansas (245, 12-4) with 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and had six assists and six steals.

NORTH CAROLINA 71, NO. 6 VIRGINIA 63

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Pete Nance scored 22 points as the North Carolina Tar Heels secured an important win, defeating No. 6 Virginia.

For UNC (18-11, 10-8) the win is a much-needed boost to its NCAA Tournament resume as it counts as a Quadrant 1 win, the first of the season for the Tar Heels.

In its second consecutive defeat, Virginia (21-6, 13-5) was powered by Jayden Gardner’s 19 points and 12 rebounds.

NO. 9 BAYLOR 81, NO. 8 TEXAS 72

WACO, Texas — Jalen Bridges had 17 points for ninth-ranked Baylor, which overcame a huge deficit with an impressive run right after freshman standout Keyonte George left injured early and beat Big 12 co-leader Texas.

Adam Flagler had 14 points for the Bears (21-8, 10-6). Dylan Disu had a season-high 24 points for Texas (22-7, 11-5).

NO. 11 TENNESSEE 85, SOUTH CAROLINA 45

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Josiah-Jordan James came back from missing four games with an injury to score 18 points to lead No. 11 Tennessee to a victory over South Carolina.

James, who suffered an ankle injury against Vanderbilt on Feb. 8, hit 4 of 7 three-pointers for the Volunteers (218, 10-6). Jahmai Mashack scored 14 points, Zakai Zeigler had 13 points and 11 assists, and Olivier Nkamhoua and Uros Plavsic scored 10 each.

Hayden Brown led the Gamecocks (1019, 3-13) with 18 points.

FLORIDA STATE 85, NO. 13 MIAMI 84

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Matthew Cleveland’s three-pointer as time expired capped Florida State’s comeback from a 25-point second-half deficit and the Seminoles stunned No. 13 Miami.

Jordan Miller had given Miami the lead on a three-pointer with 4.9 seconds left. But Cleveland let fly from about 25 feet and the ball swished to give the Seminoles (9-20, 7-11) their best moment of the season.

Cleveland and Darin Green Jr. each had 20 points for Florida State.

NO. 18 UCONN 95, ST. JOHN’S 86

NEW YORK — Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points, Adama Sanogo added 18 points and nine rebounds, and UConn beat St. John’s.

Andre Jackson Jr. had 15 points, Joey Calcaterra also scored 15 to lead a strong effort by Connecticut’s bench and the resurgent Huskies (22-7, 11-7) avenged an 11-point loss to St. John’s at home last month.

AJ Storr had 20 points and Posh Alexander added 18 for the Red Storm (17-13, 7-12).

NO. 14 KANSAS STATE 73, OKLAHOMA STATE 68

STILLWATER, Okla. — Markquis Nowell had 22 points, 8 assists and 4 steals in Kansas State’s third consecutive win, beating Oklahoma State.

Keyontae Johnson added 17 points for the Wildcats (22-7, 10-6), who swept the regular-season series.

Kalib Boone scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half for Oklahoma State (16-13, 7-9).

VILLANOVA 79, NO. 19 CREIGHTON 67

PHILADELPHIA — Eric Dixon scored 18 of his career-high 31 points in the first half, Cam Whitmore added 17 and Villanova defeated Creighton.

Dixon also set a career high with six three-pointers for Villanova (15-14, 9-9). Arthur Kaluma scored 19 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner had 18 for Creighton (18-11, 12-6).

OKLAHOMA 61, NO. 23 IOWA STATE 50

AMES, Iowa — Jacob Groves led Oklahoma with 16 points as the Sooners knocked off Iowa State.

The Sooners (14-15, 4-12) had lost nine of their previous 11 games but erased an early 11- point deficit and seized control with a 17-2 run in the second half.

Gabe Kalscheur led Iowa State (17-11, 8-8) with 12 points.

NO. 24 TCU 83, TEXAS TECH 82

LUBBOCK, Texas — JaKobe Coles made two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining, and TCU beat Texas Tech despite blowing a 12-point lead in the final eight minutes.

After De’Vion Harmon’s steal and layup put the Red Raiders in front by one with 12 seconds remaining, Coles caught a pass from Emanuel Miller in the lane and was fouled by Fardaws Aimaq going up for the shot. The Horned Frogs (19-10, 8-8) weren’t in the bonus.

Harmon’s desperation three-pointer as the buzzer sounded wasn’t close, ending a four-game winning streak Texas Tech (16-13, 5-11).

Mike Miles Jr. scored 24 points for TCU.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 69, NO. 25 TEXAS A&M 62

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Tolu Smith had 17 points and Shakeel Moore had 14 as Mississippi State knocked off No. 25 Texas A&M.

Cameron Matthews had 11 points for the Bulldogs (19-10, 7-9), who held the Aggies to one field goal in the final 14 minutes and outscored them 34-18 during the same time period.

Wade Taylor IV led Texas A&M (21-9, 13-3) with 21 points.