MEN’S TOP 25

No. 1 Houston 69, Cincinnati 48

Jamal Shead had 16 points and nine assists as top-ranked Houston advanced to its fifth American Athletic Conference championship game in a row with a 69-48 win over Cincinnati on Saturday, 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).

No. 4 Alabama 72, No. 25 Missouri 61

Freshman Brandon Miller scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as fourth-ranked Alabama advanced to the Southeastern Conference championship by beating No. 25 Missouri.

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 St. 66

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 on Sunday.

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 (1619) with a career-high 20 points.

No. 18 Texas A&M 87, Vanderbilt 75

Wade Taylor IV scored 25 points as Texas A&M dominated from the opening tip in routing Vanderbilt to reach its second straight SEC Tournament championship.

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.

Penn St. 77, No. 19 Indiana 73

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).