Xavier Big East tourney 2 seed
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Souley Boum scored a season-high 33 points and Colby Jones added 29 to help No. 19 Xavier beat No. 20 Providence 9489 on Wednesday night and clinch the second seed in the Big East Tournament. Ed Croswell scored 17 points with 13 rebounds, and Bryce Hopkins also scored 17 for Providence, which cut a 22-point firsthalf deficit to two in the second half.
Down six points in the final minute, Hopkins had his putback blocked by Jack Nunge. Boum hit a pair of free throws to ice it and finish one point short of his career high.
It was the Friars' first loss at home in 16 games this season.
On Saturday, Xavier hosts Butler and Providence hosts Seton Hall to end the regular season.
Women
UCLA 81, Arizona State 70 (OT): Emily Bessoir scored 17 points, including two critical 3-pointers in overtime, as fifth-seeded UCLA, which had a 19-point lead midway through the third quarter, turned back 12th-seeded Arizona State in a Pac-12 Tournament first-round game. The Bruins (23-8) will face fourth-seeded Arizona, ranked No. 21, in a quarterfinal on Thursday.
Notes: Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. The 12th-ranked Volunteers announced Wednesday that Zeigler tore his ACL in Tuesday night's win over Arkansas. Zeigler leads the SEC in assists, averaging 5.4 per game . ... Iowa State guard Caleb Grill, who started all but three games and was the Cyclones' third-leading scorer, has been dismissed from the team, coach T.J. Otzelberger announced Wednesday.