TOURNEY TIME: DUKE ON ROLL
Duke has spent weeks building consistency and cohesion on the offensive end. That has the 21st-ranked Blue Devils making extra passes, getting better looks and knocking down outside shots.
No. 21 No. 14 Duke 85, Miami 78
It also has this freshmanladen bunch within a win of an ACC Tournament championship under first-year coach Jon Scheyer.
Kyle Filipowski had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Jeremy Roach hit a huge 3-pointer at the 1:32 mark and Duke held off No. 14 Miami 85-78 in the ACC semifinals on Friday night at Greensboro, N.C.
Roach’s 3 from the left wing over Isaiah Wong with the shot clock going down gave Duke a 78-71 lead that Miami couldn’t overcome in a well-played matchup that often resembled a secondweekend NCAA Tournament game.
“I thought it was as high of a level of game as we’ve played,” Scheyer said.
And the fourth-seeded Blue Devils (25-8) did enough late to stay in control, earning a Saturday meeting with either Clemson or Virginia.
Tyrese Proctor hit two free throws with 9.8 seconds left, and Filipowski rebounded Wong’s last-ditch 3-pointer to start Duke’s celebration. Proctor raised his arms and motioned to the home-state crowd for more noise as Duke won its eighth straight game and earned its 17th trip to the title game in the past 25 tournaments.
More ACC
Jayden Gardner had 23 points and 12 rebounds and No. 13 Virginia beat Clemson 76-56, sending coach Tony Bennett’s team to the ACC Tournament title game for the first time since 2018, when the Cavaliers won it all.
Pac-12
At Las Vegas, Tyger Campbell scored a careerhigh 28 points, including all seven during a key secondhalf run, and No. 2 UCLA beat Oregon 75-56 in the semifinals. The Bruins (29-4) will play No. 8 Arizona or Arizona State in today’s title game. UCLA has won 12 straight and 26 of 28, and one more victory likely would secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Big Ten
At Chicago, Bruce Thornton had 21 points and six assists, freshman Roddy Gayle Jr. scored seven of his seasonhigh 15 points in the final five minutes and short-handed Ohio State beat fourthseeded Michigan State 68-58. ... Seth Lundy scored 16 points, Jalen Pickett had 15 points and nine rebounds and No. 10 seed Penn State beat second-seeded Northwestern 67-65 in overtime to advance to the semifinals . ... Mason Gillis had 20 points on 7for-8 shooting, and No. 5 Purdue held off Rutgers for a rugged 70-65 victory . ... Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 24 points, Jalen Hood-Schifino added 19 points, and No. 19 Indiana beat Maryland 7060.
Big 12
At Kansas City, Mo., Jalen Wilson had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Gradey Dick made a couple of crucial baskets during a second-half run that gave Kansas control, and the third-ranked Jayhawks went on to beat Iowa State 71-58 to reach the Big 12 Tournament title game . ... Dylan Disu and Christian Bishop scored 15 points apiece, Tyrese Hunter made two free throws in the closing seconds, and seventhranked Texas held off No. 22 TCU 66-60.
SEC
At Nashville, Tenn., Brandon Miller had 18 points and nine rebounds and No. 4 Alabama never trailed in posting a 72-49 victory over Mississippi State in the quarterfinals . ... Nick Honor hit a 3pointer with 1:45 left to put Missouri ahead to stay, and the 25th-ranked Tigers beat No. 17 Tennessee 79-71 to reach the semifinals for the first time since joining the league . ... Wade Taylor scored 18 points and No. 18 Texas A&M rallied from a 13-point deficit early in the second half to beat Arkansas 67-61 . ... Ezra Manjon scored 25 points and Vanderbilt jolted No. 23 Kentucky, rallying from an early 10-point deficit to beat the Wildcats 80-73.
Big East
At New York, Tyler Kolek and David Joplin each scored 17 points, and No. 6 Marquette moved into the Big East championship game for the first time by holding off No. 11 UConn 70-68 . ... Souley Boum scored 23 points, Jack Nunge added 17 and No. 15 Xavier cruised into the title game with an 82-60 victory against No. 24 Creighton.
AAC
At Fort Worth, Texas, Marcus Sasser scored 30 points and top-ranked Houston got its 30th win of the season with a 60-46 victory over
East Carolina in the quarterfinals . ... DeAndre Williams’ 35 points led Memphis over
UCF 81-76 . ... Landers Nolley II scored 22 points, Mika Adams-Woods and Dan Skillings Jr. each had 20, and fourth-seeded Cincinnati overwhelmed Temple 84-54. ... Kevin Cross had 24 points in
Tulane‘s 82-76 win over
Wichita State.