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Kyle Guy and No. 1 Virginia looked like healthy favorites in their postseason debut, beating Louisville 75-58 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament at The Barclays Center in New York. Guy scored 19 points in his speedy return from a sprained left knee and the top-seeded Cavaliers (29-2) weathered a second-half charge. The ninth-seeded Cardinals (20-13) will sweat out Selection Sunday hoping for an at-large bid.
Mikal Bridges hit four 3s and scored 25 points and Big East player of the year Jalen Brunson scored 21 as the Wildcats (28-4) made 15 of 29 3s in the quarterfinal victory at Madison Square Garden. Markus Howard scored 23 points and Andrew Rowsey had 22 for Marquette (19-13).
Trevon Bluiett scored 27 points, Kaiser Gates had 16 and Xavier looked every bit the top seed in the Big East. The teams scuffled on the postgame handshake line and had to be separated as the crowd stood for the unexpected fracas. The Musketeers (28-4) dominated in the second half. Marvin Clark II led St. John’s (16-17) with 18 points.
Marvin Bagley III had 33 points and 17 rebounds and Grayson Allen made his first five 3-pointers as Duke rolled in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. Allen finished with 23 points and the second-seeded Blue Devils (26-6). Bonzie Colson had 18 points and nine rebounds for
Malik Newman scored a career-high 30 points, Svi Mykhailiuk added 13 and Kansas reached the Big 12 semifinals in Kansas City. Devonte Graham added 10 points, four rebounds and nine assists for the top-seeded Jayhawks (257), who were swept by the Cowboys (19-14) in the regular season but broke through when it mattered.
Keenan Evans scored 25 points, including a fadeaway jumper in the closing minutes, and Texas Tech held off hot-shooting Jacob Young and Texas in the Big 12 quarterfinals. Jarrett Culver added 13 points for the Red Raiders (24-8), who had lost four of their last five in the regular season. Young had a career-high 29 points for the Longhorns (19-14).
Allonzo Trier scored 22 points, Dusan Ristic had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Arizona used a big second-half run to roll in the Pac-12 quarterfinals in Las Vegas. Arizona (25-7) wasn’t exactly crisp on offense and Pac-12 player of the year Deandre Ayton had a rare quiet day. The Wildcats made up for it with scrappiness, earning a spot in the semifinals.
Gabe DeVoe scored 25 points and Shelton Mitchell had 21 as Clemson advanced to the ACC semifinals for the first time since 2011. The fourth-seeded Tigers (23-8) will face top-seeded and Virginia. The Eagles’ excellent backcourt of Jerome Robinson (20 points) and Ky Bowman (23 points) combined to shoot 10 for 32 from the field, a day after the pair scored 50 points to carry BC (19-15).