Berry’s burst boosts North Carolina past Duke
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Joel Berry II scored 28 points — including a critical late-game burst of seven straight for his team — to help No. 5 North Carolina hold off No. 17 Duke 90-83 on Saturday night. Isaiah Hicks added 21 points for the Tar Heels, who battled through a nearly shot-for-shot fight with their fiercest rival to finish unbeaten at home. The game featured 24 lead changes and 14 ties before UNC (26-6, 14-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) finally pushed ahead for good in the final six minutes, with its final margin the biggest lead for either team all night.
Berry shot 9 of 14 and made all five of his 3-pointers to offset a tougher shooting night for leading scorer and ACC player of the year candidate Justin Jackson.
Luke Kennard, another league player of the year contender, finished with 28 points to lead the Blue Devils (23-8, 11-7).
NO. 1 KANSAS 90, OKLAHOMA STATE 85
In Stillwater, Okla., Frank Mason III scored 27 points to help top-ranked Kansas hold off Oklahoma State.
Mason, the Big 12’s leading scorer, also had nine assists and eight rebounds. Josh Jackson had 17 points and nine rebounds, and Devonte’ Graham added 13 points for the Jayhawks, who won their eighth straight overall and snapped a three-game skid in Stillwater.
Kansas had already clinched its 13th consecutive Big 12 title, but the Jayhawks (28-3, 16-2) remained focused and shot 56 percent against one of the hottest teams in the league.
NO. 2 VILLANOVA 81, GEORGETOWN 55
In Washington, Josh Hart scored 21 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers with seven minutes left that put the game out of reach, as Villanova pulled away to beat Georgetown.
Hart finished 8 of 15 from the field with six rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead the Wildcats (28-3, 15-3 Big East) to their fifth consecutive victory over the Hoyas (14-17, 5-13) — tying the longest streak in the history of the rivalry.
Kris Jenkins scored 19 points and Jalen Brunson had 17 for Villanova.
NO. 6 OREGON 80, OREGON STATE 59
In Corvallis, Ore., Dillon Brooks had 25 points and Oregon earned a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title with a victory over Oregon State.
Jordan Bell added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Oregon (27-4, 16-2). It was the second straight season that the Ducks finished atop the league, and sixth time overall.
Oregon tied for first place with No. 7 Arizona, which also went 16-2 in conference play after a 73-60 victory over Arizona State on Saturday. Because the Ducks routed the Wildcats 85-58 on Feb. 4 at home, Oregon gets the top seed at the Pac-12 Tournament next week.
Oregon’s 16 conference victories represent the most in school history. Following last year’s run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament, the Ducks were picked to finish first in the preseason conference poll.
NO. 7 ARIZONA 73, ARIZONA STATE 60
In Tempe, Ariz., Allonzo Trier scored 19 points, guard Rawle Alkins grabbed 15 rebounds and Arizona pulled away in the second half to win a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title.
Arizona (27-4, 16-2) was out of sorts at both ends in the first half, clinging to a one-point lead. The Wildcats jumped on the Sun Devils to start the second half and shut them down defensively to sweep the season series.
NO. 8 LOUISVILLE 71, NO. 19 NOTRE DAME 64
In Louisville, Ky., Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points, including four free throws in the final 22 seconds, and Deng Adel made a big 3-pointer for Louisville.
Quentin Snider added 17 points, including four second-half 3-pointers that gave the Cardinals the edge in a back-and-forth game with the Fighting Irish, who trailed 62-60 with 50 seconds remaining. Adel followed with the pivotal 3 13 seconds later before Mitchell sealed Louisville’s hard-earned victory at the foul line.
Mangok Mathiang came off the bench to score a career-best 18 points with 11 rebounds in his home finale as Louisville (24-7, 12-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) avoided its first losing streak this season.
Bonzie Colson had 20 points and V.J. Beachem added 17 with eight rebounds for Notre Dame (23-8, 12-6), which had won six straight.
NO. 9 KENTUCKY 71, TEXAS A&M 63
In College Station, Texas, De’Aaron Fox scored 19 points and Kentucky overcame an early 15-point deficit to claim the Southeastern Conference regularseason title outright.
Kentucky won its fifth regular-season SEC championship in eight seasons under coach John Calipari.
The Aggies (16-14, 8-10) leaped to a 19-4 lead 8 minutes into the game, as the Wildcats (26-5, 16-2) missed nine of their first 10 shots. Kentucky closed the first half with a 28-9 run.
NO. 11 BAYLOR 75, TEXAS 64
In Austin, Texas, Johnathan Motley had 17 points and 17 rebounds for Baylor.
The 6-foot-10 Motley also had a big game in a victory against Texas earlier in the season with 32 points, 20 rebounds and three blocks.
Jake Lindsey added 16 points as Baylor (25-6, 12-6) matched school records for total victories and Big 12 wins.
Jarrett Allen had 20 points and nine rebounds for Texas (10-21, 4-14), which has lost seven straight games.
VANDERBILT 73, NO. 12 FLORIDA 71
In Nashville, Tenn., Riley LaChance’s layup with 1:35 left gave Vanderbilt the lead for good as the Commodores rallied from a 12-point deficit to sweep Florida.
With the win, Vanderbilt (17-14, 10-8 Southeastern Conference) has won five of six overall and polished up its resume for the NCAA Tournament.
Florida (24-7, 14-4) goes into the SEC Tournament having lost two of its last three.
The Gators led 54-42 with 12:06 left, then went cold down the stretch.
SETON HALL 70, NO. 13 BUTLER 64
In Indianapolis, Desi Rodriguez scored 21 points, and Angel Delgado added 20 points and 16 rebounds for Seton Hall.
The Pirates (20-10, 10-8 Big East) scored the game’s final seven points, taking a 65-64 lead on Khadeen Carrington’s basket with 1:24 remaining. Myles Powell’s 3-pointer with 35.3 seconds left stretched the lead to 68-64.
Carrington, who finished with 17 points, iced it with two free throws with 12 seconds to go, extending the Pirates’ winning streak to four.
Butler (23-7, 12-6) got 19 points from Kelan Martin but had its four-game winning streak snapped.
NO. 14 SMU 103, MEMPHIS 62
In Dallas, Sterling Brown had 26 points and 10 rebounds SMU, which and clinched the outright American Athletic Conference title.
Brown, one of three seniors playing their Moody Coliseum finale, was part of his school-record 106th victory as the Mustangs (27-4, 17-1) won their second conference title in three seasons.
NO. 15 FLORIDA ST. 66, NO. 25 MIAMI 57
In Tallahassee, Fla., Dwayne Bacon scored 23 points and Florida State clinched a double bye in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
The Seminoles (24-7, 12-6) will be the second seed for the tournament, which begins Tuesday at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York. It is their highest seeding since they were second in 1993.
The win gives Florida State its first unbeaten home season since 1977-76. It is 18-0 at the Tucker Center and has won 21 straight dating to last season.
NO. 21 WICHITA STATE 78, MISSOURI STATE 63
In St. Louis, Shaquille Morris scored 21 points, Conner Frankamp added 18 and Wichita State beat Missouri State in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
Markis McDuffie added 15 points for the secondseeded Shockers (29-4), who advanced to the championship game for the fourth time in eight seasons. They will play top-seeded Illinois State for the title on Sunday.
Wichita State last won the MVC Tournament in 2014. Sixth-seeded Missouri State (17-16), which upset No. 3 seed Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals, got 20 points from Jarred Dixon and 16 from Alize Johnson.
NO. 23 VIRGINIA 67, PITTSBURGH 42
In Charlottesville, Va., London Perrantes scored 22 points in his final home game for Virginia.
Freshman Ty Jerome, the likely replacement as Virginia’s starting point guard next season, added 13 points as the Cavaliers (21-9, 11-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their third straight. They also avenged an 88-76 loss in overtime at Pittsburgh in January.