Clark hit 3 to lift No. 22 Virginia past No. 10 Louisville
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. » Kihei Clark is making a habit of late-game heroics for No. 22 Virginia, and it couldn’t have come at a better time with the postseason looming next.
Clark scored 18 points, including a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left, and No. 22 Virginia recovered after blowing a 14-point second half lead to beat No. 10 Louisville 57-54 on Saturday.
“I’m always confident. My teammates allow me to be confident and I know they trust me to make the play whether it’s a pass or a shot,” Clark said after his second clutch 3-pointer in the closing seconds in the past four games. He also hit one at Virginia Tech, giving the Cavaliers a 56-53 victory on Feb. 26.
Coach Tony Bennett continues to be impressed by his 5-foot-9 sophomore.
“He’s done it and he continues to do it and he made the big shot,” Bennett said. “... I can’t say enough about what he’s going going on inside here.”
Virginia (23-7, 15-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), the reigning national champion that lost four of five in one stretch this year, tied with the Cardinals for second in the league when No. 7 Florida State beat Boston College 80-62.
No one, it seems, is playing better than the Cavaliers, who won for the 10th time in 11 games with six of the last seven by three or fewer.
KOPP SCORES 21, NORTHWESTERN STUNS NO. 20 PENN STATE 80-69 » Miller
Kopp scored 21 points, and struggling Northwestern beat No. 20 Penn State 8069 on Saturday.
Penn State (21-10, 11-9) came in looking to head into the Big Ten Tournament on a winning note, only to stumble against one of the worst teams in the conference and lose for the fifth time in six games. Northwestern (8-22, 3-17) beat a ranked team for the first time since knocking off No. 20 Michigan on Feb. 6, 2018.
The Wildcats went on a 17-2 run down the stretch to bump their lead to 16 and came away with the win after losing 13 of 14. They moved a half-game ahead of last-place Nebraska.
Kopp made five 3-pointers. Boo Buie scored 13 points, and Northwestern regrouped after blowing an early 14-point lead.
Lamar Stevens continued to close in on Penn State’s all-time scoring record, finishing with 18 points. That gave him 2,207 in four seasons, six shy of the mark set by Talor Battle from 2007-11.
NO. 24 BADGERS CLINCH SHARE OF BIG 10 TITLE, BEAT INDIANA » Nate Reuvers scored 17 points and No. 24 Wisconsin held Indiana to just one basket over the final 10 minutes, rallying for a 60-56 victory Saturday and clinching at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.
Micah Potter added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Wisconsin (21-10, 146), which has won eight straight. Now the Badgers must wait until Sunday to see if No. 9 Maryland and No. 15 Michigan State remain tied atop the conference standings.
Devonte Green scored all 16 of his points in the first half to lead Indiana (19-12, 9-11), which has lost three of four.
Indiana appeared to be in control when it went on a 13-5 run to take a 47-39 lead with 8:52 left in the game.
But Wisconsin fought back, scoring 12 straight points. The Badgers tied the score on Potter’s threepoint play before taking the lead for good on Brad Davison’s 3-pointer with 4:05 to go.
NO. 1 KANSAS OUTRIGHT BIG 12 CHAMP AFTER 66-62 WIN AT TECH » No. 1 Kansas wrapped up its outright Big 12 Conference regular-season title Saturday, beating Texas Tech 66-62 behind Udoka Azubuike’s 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Devon Dotson had 17 points and Ochai Agbaji had 12 for the Jayhawks (28-3, 17-1), the Big 12’s first champion in decade with only one loss in league play. Kansas was 15-1 in 2009-10, two seasons before the Big 12 expanded to an 18-game schedule.
Texas Tech (18-13, 9-9), last year’s national runnerup after sharing the Big 12 title with Kansas State, had a chance to tie the game with 2.8 seconds left. But Davide Moretti, who made a 3-pointer only seconds earlier, missed another one from long range. The Red Raiders guard fell to floor after contact with Marcus Garrett, but was no foul called.
Moretti had 18 points, while TJ Hoyfield had 11 points for Texas Tech, which lost its fourth game in a row when trying to get back into the NCAA Tournament.
Kansas had already clinched at least a share of its 19th Big 12 title, the 15th in 16 seasons, with a win Wednesday night over TCU. The Jayhawks were outright champions by halftime Saturday, when second-place and No. 4 Baylor (26-4, 15-3) lost 76-64 at West Virginia.
NO. 11 CREIGHTON TOPS SETON HALL FOR SHARE OF BIG EAST TITLE » This wasn’t the year anyone, including Creighton’s coaches and players, would have expected a Big East championship banner hung at CHI Health Center.
They were picked seventh in the conference, and they lost two projected starters to injuries before the season opener.
Yet there the No. 11 Bluejays were Saturday, the players mobbed by courtstorming students after a 77-60 victory over No. 8 Seton Hall. Moments later, the banner was unfurled from the rafters on the north end of the arena.
“Did we think it was possible? We knew it was going to be hard. Did we know the league was going to be this good? Probably not at that time,” coach Greg McDermott said. “So to be sitting in this situation is incredible. When a group of people come together and they believe in each other and they have each other’s back, and when they don’t care who gets the credit, there are a lot of things that are possible.”
Marcus Zegarowski made all five of his 3-pointers and finished with 23 points as the Bluejays (247, 13-5) claimed all or part of their first conference title since winning the Missouri Valley outright in 2012-13. They joined the Big East the next season.
Creighton, Seton Hall and Villanova all went 13-5 in the conference. The Bluejays have won 11 of their last 13 games and, because they swept the season series against the Pirates, will be the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament in New York City next week.
NO. 7 FLORIDA STATE TOPS BOSTON COLLEGE TO CLINCH ACC TITLE » Balsa Koprivica scored 15 points, and No. 7 Florida State won its first Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title in school history with an 8062 victory over Boston College on Saturday.
Dominik Olejniczak added a season-high 14 points as the Seminoles (265, 16-4) had a banner ready to celebrate their accomplishment, which was secured with Virginia’s victory over No. 10 Louisville. FSU will be the No. 1 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament and looks to claim its first championship since 2012.