UNC puts damper on Coach K’s home finale
Rivals pull away in second half at Duke
North Carolina spoiled the emotional home finale of retiring Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski, beating fourth-ranked rival Duke 94-81 on Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The day that was all about the coach who has 1,196 career victories and five NCAA championships abruptly turned into a season-defining performance for the Tar Heels, who played fearlessly in an extra rowdy arena and shot 59 percent after halftime.
By the final minutes, the Tar Heels (23-8, 15-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) had stretched the lead to double figures, hitting clinching free throws and leaving the “Cameron Crazies” in disbelief that Krzyzewski’s final home game after 42 years at the helm of Duke would end this way.
Krzyzewski could only watch from his seat at the end, with UNC in firm control.
Armando Bacot scored 23 points to lead UNC. Freshman Paolo Banchero scored 23 points for the Blue Devils (26-5, 16-4), who shot just 42 percent.
Miami 75, Syracuse 72:
Jordan Miller scored six of his 25 points in the final 25 seconds and finished with seasonhigh 13 rebounds, Kameron McGusty had 15 of his 19 points after halftime and Miami scored the final 10 points in a win over Syracuse. Isaiah Wong scored 15 points and Charlie Moore added 11 points, eight assists and two steals for Miami (22-9, 14-6 Atlantic Coast Conference). Buddy Boeheim hit five 3-pointers and finished with 30 points for Syracuse (15-16, 9-11). Glens Falls graduate Joseph Girard III added four 3s and 17
points. The Orange head into the ACC Tournament needing a run to prevent completing the first losing season in Jim Boeheim’s 46 years as head coach.
Arizona 89, California 61:
Oumar Ballo scored 16 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 13 as Arizona became the first Pac-12 team to win 18 conference games.
Baylor 75, Iowa State 68:
James Akinjo scored 20 points and Baylor clinched a share of the Big 12 title with its fifth consecutive win. Auburn 82, South Carolina 71: Jabari Smith scored 21 points and K.D. Johnson had 18 as Auburn won its fourth Southeastern Conference title.
Kansas 70, Texas 63, OT:
David McCormack had 22 points and 10 rebounds and threw down the clinching dunk in overtime as Kansas clinched the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament.
Kentucky 71, Florida 63:
Oscar Tshiebwe had 27 points and 15 rebounds for his 25th double-double of the season as the Wildcats secured the No. 3 seed in next week’s Southeastern Conference Tournament.
Purdue 69, Indiana 67: Eric Hunter Jr. scored 17 points and Sasha Stefanovic added 15 to help Purdue rally past its archrival.
Villanova 78, Butler 59:
Justin Moore scored 16 points and Jermaine Samuels added 15 as Villanova built a big early lead and handed Butler its fifth straight loss. Oklahoma State 52, Texas Tech 51: Bryce Thompson made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 19.4 seconds left as Oklahoma State eliminated the Red Raiders from the Big 12 title race. Tennessee 78, Arkansas 74: Freshman guard Zakai Zeigler, whose family was left homeless by a fire in New York City last weekend, made two key free throws in the final seconds to help the Vols hold on.
UConn 75, Depaul 68: Adama Sanogo scored a gamehigh 26 points as UConn snapped DePaul’s three-game winning streak.
LSU 80, Alabama 77 (OT):
Tari Eason scored 20 points and had a key block that led to his go-ahead dunk with 38 seconds left in overtime as LSU scored the final six points to escape.
Women
North Carolina State 70, Virginia Tech 55: Elissa Cunane had 20 points and 13 rebounds and No. 3 North Carolina State used a strong second half to pull away from No. 21 Virginia Tech and return to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game. South Carolina 61, Mississippi 51: Aliyah Boston posted her 23rd consecutive double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds as South Carolina beat Mississippi in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals.
UConn 84, Georgetown 38: Paige Bueckers came off the bench and scored 16 points in her third game back from knee surgery and UConn routed Georgetown in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. Iowa State 74, West Virgiinia 57: Emily Ryan scored a career-high 29 points and Iowa State clinched the second seed in the Big 12 Tournament with a victory over West Virginia. Texas 65, Oklahoma State 50: Senior Lauren Ebo scored a career-best 17 points to help No. 9 Texas extend its winning streak to eight games.
Iowa 83, Nebraska 66: Caitlin Clark scored 41 points and No. 14 Iowa pulled away from Nebraska for a win in the semifinals of the Big Ten Conference Tournament. Indiana 70, No. 13 Ohio State 62: Nicole CardanoHillary led a balanced attack with 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Indiana reached the Big Ten Tournament final. Kentucky 83, Tennessee 74: Rhyne Howard scored 24 points, and Kentucky never trailed, beating Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinals.
Miami 57, Notre Dame 54: Kelsey Marshall scored 18 points and Miami pulled off its second straight upset in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, defeating Notre Dame to advance to the championship for the first time.
Kansas 73, Oklahoma 67: Aniya Thomas scored 10 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter and Kansas prevailed.