Kansas sets record with 14th straight title
LUBBOCK, Texas — Devonte Graham scored 26 points and No. 8 Kansas set an NCAA record with its 14th straight regular-season conference championship, clinching at least a tie for the Big 12 title with a 74-72 victory against sixth-ranked Texas Tech on Saturday.
Graham hit a tiebreaking jumper with 1:30 remaining to help Kansas (23-6, 12-4) to its fourth straight win and a two-game lead over the Red Raiders, who have lost three in a row for the first time this season. The Jayhawks never trailed.
All 14 of the titles have come under coach Bill Self, who finished second in his first season at Kansas. Four of the previous 13 championships were shared. UCLA won 13 straight Pac-10 titles from 1967-79.
The current skid for the Red Raiders (22-7, 10-6) started when leading scorer Keenan Evans injured a toe in the first half of a loss to Baylor that pulled Kansas even in the Big 12 race. The senior guard scored six points in his third straight game in single digits since the injury.
Zhaire Smith scored 20 points and fellow freshman Jarrett Culver had 18 for Texas Tech, which dropped its second straight game since reaching the highest ranking in school history. The Red Raiders surpassed last week's No. 7 ranking that matched the 1995-96 team. CREIGHTON 89, NO. 3 VILLANOVA 83, OT: Marcus Foster scored 28 points, Davion Mintz gave host Creighton (20-9, 9-7 Big East) the lead for good early in overtime, and the Bluejays defeated the highest-ranked opponent in program history with an upset of Villanova (25-4, 12-4). Villanova squandered an eightpoint lead with 4½ minutes left in regulation and missed seven of its last nine shots before a meaningless layup at the end of overtime. Mintz scored on his own putback to put the Bluejays ahead 78-76, and Jacob Epperson made it a four-point game with two free throws with 1:45 left in the extra period. Jalen Brunson lost control of the ball under his basket on the Wildcats' next possession, and Phil Booth committed a flagrant-1 foul before Mitch Ballock scored for Creighton to make it 84-78.
NO. 1 VIRGINIA 66, PITTSBURGH 37: Virginia (26-2, 15-1) allowed just seven points in the first half and secured the regular-season Atlantic Coast Conference title outright with a rout of host Pittsburgh (8-22, 0-17). Freshman guard De'Andre Hunter came off the bench to lead the Cavaliers with 14 points in a game that didn't take big offensive efforts from Virginia's regulars. Of the five starters, only guard Ty Jerome exceeded his season average with 13 points.
NO. 5 DUKE 60, SYRACUSE 44: Marvin Bagley III had 19 points in his return from a sprained knee, and host Duke (24-5, 12-4 ACC) beat Syracuse (18-11, 7-9) for its fifth straight win. Wendell Carter Jr. added 16 points for the Blue Devils, who forced 17 turnovers. Bagley missed the previous four games.
NO. 6 GONZAGA 79, BYU
65: Johnathan Williams scored 16 points, and Gonzaga (27-4, 17-1) clinched the West Coast Conference championship with a victory over host BYU (22-9, 11-7). The Bulldogs have won at least a share of 18 of the past 19 regular-season conference championships.
NO. 13 WICHITA STATE 74, SMU 78: Markis McDuffie scored a season-high 26 points off the bench, including nine during the first four minutes of the second half, to lead Wichita State (23-5, 13-3 American Athletic Conference) over host SMU (16-13, 6-10). The Shockers have won six straight games and are onehalf game behind first-place Cincinnati. Wichita State will host Cincinnati on March 4 in the regular-season finale for both teams.
NO. 21 WEST VIRGINIA 85, IOWA STATE 70: Jevon Carter scored 24 points and made some history as host West Virginia (21-8, 10-6 Big 12) pulled away for a victory over Iowa State (13-15, 4-12). With 15:59 left in the first half, Carter picked up his first assist of the game to become the first major-conference player in NCAA history to record more than 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 steals in a career.
Women
NO. 1 CONNECTICUT 80, SMU 36: Katie Lou Samuelson scored 23 points and host Connecticut (28-0, 15-0) wrapped up its fifth consecutive American Athletic Conference regular-season championship, using a 43-0 first-half run to rout SMU (1018, 4-11).