Texas downs Kansas for Big 12 title
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dylan Disu overcame early foul trouble to score 18 points, Marcus Carr and Sir’Jabari Rice added 17 apiece, and seventh-ranked Texas silenced a heavily pro-Kansas crowd with a 76-56 romp over the third-ranked Jayhawks in the Big 12 Tournament title game Saturday night.
After going more than two decades without a Big 12 tourney championship, the Longhorns (26-8) have won two of the past three.
With interim coach Rodney Terry leading the way, the Longhorns built a 39-33 lead by halftime, extended it to 20 down the stretch and coasted toward a shower of confetti during a net-cutting celebration.
Jalen Wilson scored 24 points and Joseph Yesufu, pressed into the starting lineup due to injuries, finished with 11 for the Jayhawks (27-7), who had won 13 of their previous 16 trips to the Big 12 finals.
Kansas was once again without Hall of Fame coach Bill Self, who went to the emergency room on the eve of its quarterfinal for an undisclosed medical procedure. Self’s longtime assistant and acting coach, Norm Roberts, called the shots.
NO. 1 HOUSTON 69, CINCINNATI 48
FORT WORTH, Texas — Jamal Shead had 16 points and nine assists as Houston advanced to its fifth straight American Athletic Conference championship game, even after losing star guard Marcus Sasser to an injury.
The Cougars (31-2) led throughout, getting two second-chance layups from J’Wan Roberts in the opening minute. He finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Sasser, the AAC player of the year, went down with an apparent groin injury with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the first half and did not return.
Landers Nolley II had 14 points for Cincinnati (21-12), which shot 25.5 percent from the field.
Houston will play Memphis today.
NO. 4 ALABAMA 72, NO. 25 MISSOURI 61
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Freshman Brandon Miller scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as
fourth-ranked Alabama advanced to the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship by beating No. 25 Missouri 72-61 on Saturday.
Alabama (28-5) will play in its 15th tournament championship against No. 18 Texas A&M, looking for an eighth title to add to its regular-season trophy. Noah Clowney added 19 points for Alabama, and Charles Bediako had 10.
No. 25 Missouri (24-9) missed a chance to play in its first SEC Tournament championship since joining the league in 2012. D’Moi Hodge led the Tigers with 21 points. DeAndre Gholston added 17 and Nick Carter had 10. Leading scorer Kobe Brown, who had been averaging 16.2 points, was held to six.
NO. 5 PURDUE 80, OHIO STATE 66
CHICAGO — Zach Edey had 32 points and 14 rebounds in Purdue’s win over Ohio State in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
The Boilermakers (28-5) started to take control late in the first half and cruised into the conference final for the second straight year. They will meet Penn State today.
Brandon Newman scored 15 and Braden Smith added 14 points for the Boilermakers, who won their fourth in a row. Roddy Gayle Jr. led Ohio State (16-19) with a career-high 20 points, 16 in the first half, and Justice Sueing added 15 points.
Leading scorer Brice Sensabaugh missed his second game in a row because of a sore knee.
NO. 18 TEXAS A&M 87, VANDERBILT 75
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Wade Taylor IV scored 25 points as Texas A&M dominated from the opening tip in routing Vanderbilt to reach its second straight Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game and third overall.
The Aggies (25-8) return to the tournament finals for the second year in a row. Texas A&M’s Tyrece Radford had 16 points and Julius Marble had 13.
Vanderbilt (20-14) reached the SEC semifinals for the first time since 2017. Tyrin Lawrence led Vanderbilt with 18 points, while Jordan Wright had 17 and Ezra Manjon 16.
Texas A&M faces No. 4 Alabama today; the Aggies beat Alabama 67-61 to wrap
the regular season.
PENN STATE 77, NO. 19 INDIANA 73
CHICAGO — Jalen Pickett scored 28 points, Seth Lundy had 16 and Penn State beat Indiana to advance to the Big Ten Tournament championship against No. 5 Purdue.
Andrew Funk added nine points as 10th-seeded Penn State (22-12) won for the eighth time in nine games. The deep Big Ten run has Penn State in position for its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2011. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for Indiana (22-11), and Tamar Bates had 14 points. The third-seeded Hoosiers shot 56 percent in the second half, but they ran out of time after making a frantic comeback in the final minutes.