No. 1 Kansas clinches share of Big 12
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Udoka Azubuike walked gingerly into Allen Fieldhouse on his sore ankle and proceeded to score a career-high 31 points with 14 rebounds, leading top-ranked Kansas to a 75-66 victory over TCU on Wednesday night to clinch at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title.
Azubuike was 13 of 14 from the field and also had five blocks just four days after hurting his ankle in a win over Kansas State. Devon Dotson added 18 points and he also gave coach Bill Self and about 16,000 fans a scare when he left briefly midway through the second with what appeared to be an ankle injury of his own.
Dotson returned a few minutes later, allowing Kansas (27-3, 16-1 Big 12) to begin the celebrations on Senior Night.
It was the 62nd regular-season conference title for the Jayhawks, and it came one year after a third-place finish ended a run of 14 straight crowns. They can win outright with a win at Texas Tech on Saturday or with a Baylor loss at West Virginia.
The win was No. 500 for Self at Kansas, ranking second at the school behind only building namesake Phog Allen.
NO. 3 DAYTON 84, RHODE ISLAND 57
In Kingston, R.I., Obi Toppin scored 20 points and Trey Landers had 14 points and 14 rebounds for Dayton to lead the Flyers past Rhode Island for their 19th straight win.
Dayton (28-2, 17-0 Atlantic 10) matched its 1951-52 team for the school record in wins, and with a victory over George Washington on Saturday, it would finish unbeaten in conference play for the first time in program history.
Jeff Dowtin scored 16 points for Rhode Island (20-9, 12-5), which has lost four of six after running off a 10-game winning streak.
NO. 7 FLORIDA STATE 73, NOTRE DAME 71
In South Bend, Ind., Trent Forrest’s putback with 3.8 seconds left capped a ferocious late charge as Florida State beat Notre Dame to move closer to an Atlantic Coast Conference title.
Forrest’s basket gave the Seminoles (25-5, 15-4) just their second lead all night.
M.J. Walker scored 16 of his 21 points over the final 8:40 as FSU charged back from a 61-48 deficit.
Forrest added 15 points and Devin Vassell scored 13 for the Seminoles.
Prentiss Hubb led Notre Dame (18-12, 9-10) with 24 points, 19 in the first half.
NO. 14 VILLANOVA 79, NO. 8 SETON HALL 77
In Newark, N.J., Saddiq Bey scored 20 points and Villanova overcame some late free-throw shooting woes to prevent Seton Hall from clinching the Big East regular-season title.
Justin Moore and Jermaine Samuels added 19 points apiece and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had nine points and 11 rebounds as the Wildcats (23-7, 12-5) opened the possibility of the league having a three-way tie for first place.
Collin Gillespie added 12 points for Villanova, which kept the game close by missing seven free throws in the final 1:03.
Sandro Mamukelashvili led Seton Hall (21-8, 13-4) with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Quincy McKnight added 16 points, six rebounds and seven assists and Myles Powell had 14 points and eight assists in their final home game.
NO. 11 CREIGHTON 91, GEORGETOWN 76
In Omaha, Neb., Mitch Ballock made a season-high six 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, and Creighton rode one of its best shooting games of the season to a win over Georgetown.
The Bluejays (23-7, 12-5 Big East) hit a season-high 17 3s on 36 attempts after making only 4 of 27 in a 20-point loss at St. John’s on Sunday.
Marcus Zegarowski had 20 points and eight assists, Ty-Shon Alexander had 18 points and Denzel Mahoney added 14.
Georgetown (15-15, 5-12) lost its fifth straight. Jahvon Blair led the Hoyas with 22 points, Jamorko Pickett had 17, and freshman Qudus Wahab had his first double-double with season highs of 14 points and 12 rebounds.
TEXAS A&M 78, NO. 17 AUBURN 75
In Auburn, Ala., Josh Nebo scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and Texas A&M survived a frenetic last-minute rally attempt to upset Auburn.
Wendell Mitchell added 14 points and a key 3-pointer to help the Aggies (15-14, 9-8 Southeastern Conference) pick up their fifth league road win.
Samir Doughty scored 25 points for the Tigers (25-5, 12-5 Southeastern Conference), who wiped out most of a nine-point deficit over the final 46 seconds as Texas A&M struggled at the free-throw line.
NO. 22 VIRGINIA 46, MIAMI 44
In Coral Gables, Fla., Kihei Clark made both ends of a one-and-one with 8 seconds left and Virginia beat Miami for its seventh victory in a row.
Six of the Cavaliers’ victories during the streak have been by a total of 13 points.
Jay Huff led Virginia with 17 points — and they were the Cavaliers’ first 17 points of the game. Mamadi Diakite had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Virginia (22-7, 14-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) hasn’t lost since Feb. 8 against Louisville.
NO. 24 WISCONSIN 63, NORTHWESTERN 48
In Madison, Wis., Nate Reuvers scored 11 points as Wisconsin struggled through a poor offensive performance to beat Northwestern.
The win moved the Badgers (2010, 13-6 Big Ten) into a three-way for first place in the conference.
Pete Nance led Northwestern (7-22, 2-17) with 14 points.
Wisconsin was not effective with the ball against a team that has the 12th-worst defense in the league.