Virginia tops Clemson to advance to ACC final
NEW YORK — Kyle Guy scored 15 points and No. 1-ranked Virginia advanced to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with a 64-58 victory over No. 19 Clemson on Friday night.
The top-seeded Cavaliers (30-2) got several crucial plays from role player Jack Salt down the stretch and will face fifth-ranked and second-seeded Duke or 12th-ranked and sixthseeded North Carolina for the tournament title Saturday night in Brooklyn.
PROVIDENCE 75, No. 3 XAVIER 72, OT
Alpha Diallo hit a go-ahead jumper with 2:22 left in overtime and fifth-seeded Providence rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit and stunned top-seeded Xavier in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament.
Kyron Cartwright hit a clutch jumper with 55 seconds to go and took an offensive foul on a layup attempt by J.P. Macura with eight seconds to play as the Friars (21-12) beat the Musketeers (28-5) for the second time in three games this season.
No. 8 CINCINNATI 61, SMU 51
ORLANDO, Fla. — Kyle Washington scored 15 points and Gary Clark added 12 points and 11 rebounds Friday to help Cincinnati beat SMU in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Bearcats also got 13 points from Cane Broome and rallied from a six-point second-half deficit to move on to the semifinals.
No. 11 WICHITA STATE 89, TEMPLE 81
Landry Shamet scored 24 points, Rashard Kelly had 16 and Wichita State beat Temple in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament.
The Shockers (25-6) also got a strong performance from their reserves, including 13 points from Austin Reaves.
No. 13 TENNESSEE 62, MISSISSIPPI STATE 59
ST. LOUIS — Lamonte Turner scored 15 points and Tennessee locked down on defense to beat Mississippi State in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
The second-seeded Volunteers (24-7) led nearly the entire game, but the Bulldogs (22-11) had an opportunity to take the lead in the final 10 seconds. Down 61-59, Xavian Stapleton missed a 3-pointer that would have put the Bulldogs ahead.
ALABAMA 81, No. 16 AUBURN 63
Collin Sexton scored 31 points and Alabama used a strong second half to defeat Auburn in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
The Crimson Tide trailed 41-31 at halftime but started the second half on a 28-3 run.
The stretch was keyed by three consecutive 3s by Sexton. Alabama's surge put the Tigers away early in the half, and the Crimson Tide (19-14) outscored Auburn 50-22 after the break.
No. 25 RHODE ISLAND 76, VCU 67
WASHINGTON — Jeff Dowtin scored 18 points, Jared Terrell added 16 points and Rhode Island survived a challenge from VCU in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
Top-seeded Rhode Island (24-6) snapped a two-game slide as it began its tournament defense.
Justin Tillman had 23 points and 15 rebounds for eighth-seeded VCU (1815), which lost to Rhode Island in the conference tournament for the second consecutive season.