Bridges, Spartans stop Purdue
Michigan State staking claim for No. 1 seed
Miles Bridges made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left and finished with 20 points, helping Michigan State top Purdue 68-65.
The Spartans (24-3, 12-2 Big Ten) have won eight straight, improving their chances of contending for a conference championship and earning a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.
The Boilermakers (23-4, 12-2) have lost two straight after winning a school-record 19 games in a row.
VIRGINIA TECH 61, NO. 2 VIRGINIA 60 »
Kerry Blackshear Jr. scored on a putback with 5.8 seconds left and Virginia Tech spoiled No. 2 Virginia’s opportunity to climb to No. 1 with a 61-60 overtime victory Saturday night.
Blackshear rebounded a missed layup by Justin Robinson and banked it in as he was being fouled. He missed the free throw, but Ty Jerome’s 28-foot attempt at the other end missed badly and the Hokies (18-7, 7-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) had a marquee victory.
Robinson led the Hokies with 20 points and seven assists, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 12 points.
Devon Hall had 16 points for Virginia (23-2, 12-1), but the 93.3 percent free throw shooter missed twice from the line in the final 31 seconds. De’Andre Hunter added 14 points and Kyle Guy 13 for the Cavaliers, who shot just 34.4 percent, making 21 of 61 shots.
The Cavaliers seemed a likely new No. 1 after No. 1 Villanova lost this week to St. John’s.
NO. 5 XAVIER 72, CREIGHTON 71»
Quentin Goodin made two free throws with threetenths of a second left, allowing Xavier to hold off Creighton.
Goodin got fouled by Ronnie Harrell Jr. after Harrell had made three straight free throws to give the Bluejays a one-point lead with 4.6 seconds left. Goodin took an inbound pass from Naji Marshall and drove the length of the court to the basket, with Harrell making contact in the lane and sending him to the line.
NO. 8 AUBURN 78, GEORGIA 61 »
Jared Harper scored 24 points and Auburn, playing without top scorer Bryce Brown, showed impressive depth by beating Georgia.
Auburn leaned heavily on Harper early in the game. He scored 12 consecutive points for the Tigers, including back-to-back 3s for a 17-9 lead. Auburn (223, 10-2 Southeastern Conference) never relinquished the advantage.
Harper also had a gamehigh seven assists.
BAYLOR 80, NO. 10 KANSAS 64»
Manu Lecomte scored eight straight points for Baylor after Big 12 coleader Kansas had pulled within a basket, and the senior guard finished with 18 overall in the Bears’ upset victory.
The Jayhawks (19-6, 8-4 Big 12) trailed 30-20 at halftime after having more turnovers (nine) than made field goals (seven) before the break. They were down by as many as 13 points after that but got within 5856 with 7:14 left after consecutive jumpers by Lagerald Vick.
NO. 14 OHIO SATE 82, IOWA 64 »
Keita Bates-Diop had 14 points and eight rebounds, and No. 14 Ohio State beat Iowa 82-64 on Saturday for sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.
Kaleb Wesson added 18 points and C.J Jackson scored 14 for the Buckeyes (21-5, 13-1 Big Ten), who were 9 for 20 from 3-point range.
Leading scorer Tyler Cook had just eight points for the Hawkeyes (12-15, 3-11).
ALABAMA 78, NO. 15 TENNESSE 50 »
Donta Hall had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Collin Sexton scored 16 points to lead Alabama to a 78-50 victory over No. 15 Tennessee on Saturday night.
The Crimson Tide (1610, 7-5 Southeastern Conference) thoroughly dominated the Volunteers (18-6, 8-4) around the basket and cashed in on a number of fast-break chances
Hall made 8 of 10 field goals and blocked three shots. Tennessee had no answer to Sexton’s quick darts to the basket, and the freshman also had four assists.
IOWA STATE 88, NO. 17 OKLAHOMA 80 »
Iowa State freshman Lindell Wigginton upstaged Trae Young by scoring 26 points and the Cyclones upset Oklahoma, handing the Sooners their sixth consecutive road loss.
Fellow rookie Cam Lard had 19 points with 17 rebounds for the Cyclones (13-11, 4-8 Big 12).
Iowa State built and then blew a 17-point lead, but Donovan Jackson’s 3 with 1:55 left put it ahead 80-77. Wigginton then beat the shot clock with a long 3, and Jackson hit a pair of free throws to clinch the win.
Young had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Sooners (16-8, 6-6).
OKLAHOMA STATE 88, NO. 19 WEST VIRGINIA 85 »
Kendall Smith and Cameron McGriff each scored 20 points and Oklahoma State beat another ranked team on the road, topping West Virginia.
The Cowboys (15-10, 5-7 Big 12), who won at thenNo. 7 Kansas last weekend, trailed by eight points with
13 ½ minutes left. NO. 21 NORTH CAROLINA 97, N.C. STATE 89 »
Luke Maye scored 27 of his career-high 33 points after halftime to help North Carolina beat rival North Carolina State.
Maye also had 17 rebounds and spent most of the second half as a oneman show for the Tar Heels (19-7, 8-5 Atlantic Coast Conference).
But he got plenty of help as the Tar Heels closed out the Wolfpack (16-9, 6-6).
Torin Dorn scored 21 points to lead the Wolfpack.
BOSTON COLLEGE 72, NO. 25 MIAMI 70 »
Ky Bowman stole a rebound under the basket, drew a foul and hit two free throws with 2.9 seconds left as Boston College scored the last nine points of the game to rally for a victory over Miami.
The Hurricanes led 7063 with 6:17 left— their biggest lead of the game — before missing their last nine shots and turning the ball over five times. Jerome Robinson had six of his 29 points down the stretch, and Bowman had the other three.
The victory snapped a 12-game losing streak against Miami for BC (1510, 5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference).
DJ Vasiljevic scored 17 for Miami (18-6, 7-5),
Quinton Rose scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half when Temple pulled away from USF for its fifth-straight win 73-55 on Saturday.
Shizz Alston Jr. 19 points, 10 in the second half, and Josh Brown had 12 points for the Owls (1510, 7-6 American Athletic Conference).
Brown’s layup with a second left in the first half tied the game at 30 and he opened the second half with a 3-pointer before Rose capped a nine-point run with a dunk and a 3730 lead. Isaiah Manderson had back-to-back baskets to pull the Bulls with two. Rose then scored five straight points and, after a 3-pointer for the Bulls, had 3-point plays to begin and end a 12-0 run that made it 63-47 with 5:43 to play.
TEMPLE 73, USF 55 »