Illinois derails Michigan’s drive to Big Ten title
Andre Curbelo scored 11 of his 17 points in the first half, and No. 4 Illinois dismantled No. 2 Michigan with a smothering defensive performance, routing the Wolverines 76-53 on Tuesday night in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Playing again without injured star Ayo Dosunmu, the Illini (19-6, 15-4) kept Michigan from clinching the Big Ten title and boosted their own chances at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Trent Frazier led Illinois with 22 points, and Kofi Cockburn added 12.
Eli Brooks scored 11 points and was the only player in double figures for Michigan (18-2, 13-2).
NO. 3 BAYLOR 94, NO. 6 WEST VIRGINIA 89 (OT) >> Jared Butler scored 25 points before fouling out, Davion Mitchell hit the go-ahead basket in overtime and the Bears (19-1, 11-1 Big 12) clinched their first Big 12 regular season championship with a victory over the Mountaineers (17-7, 10-5) in Morgantown, W.Va. Baylor bounced back in a big way from its only loss of the season at No. 13 Kansas on Saturday. Baylor struggled in its two previous games coming off a nearly threeweek layoff because of COVID-19 issues in the program. Mitchell scored four of Baylor’s 13 points in overtime and finished with 20.
NO. 5 ALABAMA 70, AUBURN 58 >> Jaden Shackelford scored 23 points, made five 3-pointers and helped the Crimson Tide (20-6, 15-2 SEC) hold off the Tigers (1214, 6-11) in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
NO. 12 ARKANSAS 101, SOUTH CAROLINA 73 >> Moses Moody tied his career high with 28 points and the Razorbacks (20-5, 12-4 SEC) won their 10th straight in the Southeastern Conference with a victory over the host Gamecocks (6-13, 4-11).
NO. 15 TEXAS 81, IOWA STATE 67 >> Kai Jones came off the bench to score a season-high 17 points and lead four Texas scorers in double figures, and the Longhorns (15-7, 9-6 Big 12) beat the Cyclones (2-19, 0-16) in Ames, Iowa.
NO. 18 TEXAS TECH 68, TCU 49 >> Kyler Edwards scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half to lift the Red Raiders (16-8, 8-7 Big 12) over the Horned Frogs (12-11, 5-9) in Lubbock, Texas.
GONZAGA DOMINATES WCC HONORS >> Gonzaga AllAmerican forward Corey Kispert was named West Coast Conference player of the year, leading four major individual honors for the top-ranked and unbeaten (24-0) Zags. Mark Few earned coach of the year honors, Andrew Nembhard captured the inaugural sixth man of the year while Jalen Suggs collected newcomer of the year.
Gonzaga led the way with four All-WCC firstteam selections: Kispert, Suggs, Drew Timme and Joel Ayayi.
USF senior guard Jamaree Bouyea cracked the first team, as did Santa Clara senior Josip Vrankic.
Second-team honors went to Logan Johnson of Saint Mary’s and USF’s Khalil Shabazz.
Women
STANFORD FAVORED IN PAC12 TOURNAMENT >> Stanford (22-2) has long been one of the country’s dominant programs but this is the first time in seven seasons the Cardinal enters the Pac-12 Tournament as the top seed. Stanford has a bye into the quarterfinals Thursday.
Tara VanDerveer’s team is favored to win this week’s tournament in Las Vegas after the fourth-ranked Cardinal won its 24th regular-season conference title. Stanford — which has won 13 of the 19 Pac-12 women’s tournaments — is 13-1 in road or neutral site games this season.
Cal (1-15), the 12th seed, kicks off the tournament today (11 a.m.) with fifth seed Oregon State (9-6). The Bears and Beavers did not meet in the regular season. BYU’S GONZALES, GONZAGA’S WIRTH SHARE TOP WCC HONORS >> BYU sophomore Shaylee Gonzales and Gonzaga senior Jenn Wirth were co-players of the year in WCC while Gonzales’ coach Jeff Judkins earned coach of the year honors.
USF freshman Ioanna Krimili was named newcomer of the year and made first-team all-WCC.
USF’s Lucie Hoskova and Santa Clara’s Lindsey VanAllen and Merle Wiehl earned second-team selections. Ellie Croco of Saint Mary’s and Ashley Hiraki of Santa Clara joined Krimili as all-freshman picks.