Hawkins, Uconn hold off Providence
NEW YORK — Jordan Hawkins scored 19 points and No. 11 Connecticut held off a furious second-half rally to beat Providence 73-66 on Thursday in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.
The fourth-seeded Huskies (25-7) advanced to face topseeded Marquette in Friday night’s semifinals at Madison Square Garden.
Playing in front of a packed house, heavy on Huskies fans, Uconn led by as many as 26 with 12:30 left. The Friars (21-11) turned up the pressure and had the lead down to five several times in the final few minutes.
Alex Karaban made a 3 from the wing for Uconn with a minute left to push the lead to 71-63. Noah Locke (14 points) responded with a 3 for Providence to cut the deficit to five, but the Friars didn’t score again as Uconn pushed its winning streak to six games.
UCLA 80, Colorado 69: Freshman Amari Bailey scored a season-high 26 points and No. 2 UCLA beat Colorado in the Pac-12 Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
Kansas 75, West Virginia 61:
Playing without ailing coach Bill Self on the sideline, third-ranked Kansas turned to big offensive performances from Jalen Wilson and Dajuan Harris Jr. along with some stingy defense to pull away from West Virginia in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Wilson had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Harris had 13 points with eight assists, as the topseeded Jayhawks (26-6) began the defense of their tournament crown by knocking off the Mountaineers for the third time this season.
Marquette 72, St. John’s 70 (OT):
Tyler Kolek scored all 19 of his points after halftime, including the tiebreaking free throws with 15.8 seconds left in overtime, and No. 6 Marquette rallied for a victory over scrappy St. John’s in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals. Olivier-maxence Prosper added 16 points, several on highlight-reel dunks, and the top-seeded Golden Eagles (26-6) advanced to play 11th-ranked and fourth-seeded Uconn in the semifinals Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
Iowa State 78, Baylor 72: Gabe Kalscheur hit six 3-pointers and scored 24 points, helping Iowa State overcome a spectacular performance by Baylor forward Jalen Bridges (28 points) and sending the Cyclones to a victory over the No. 10 Bears in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
Miami 74, Wake Forest 72: Jordan Miller had 18 points and nine rebounds for No. 14 Miami, which held off Wake Forest’s furious comeback for a victory in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. ACC player of the year Isaiah Wong had 17 points and five assists and Norchad Omier had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Miami — the top seed for the first time since 2013 when the Hurricanes won the ACC title game.
Tennessee 70, Mississippi 55:
Josiah-jordan James had game-highs of 20 points and seven rebounds, leading No. 17 Tennessee past Mississippi in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. James made four 3-pointers, including a shot on the Vols’ first possession of the game. His 3 from the corner with 5 seconds left in the first half gave Tennessee a 39-33 lead at the break.
Andre Jackson Jr. was heavily involved in Uconn’s win over Providence on Thursday, with nine points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
San Diego State 64, Colorado State 61:
Lamont Butler scored 16 points and No. 20 San Diego State held on to beat Colorado State in the Mountain West Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
Duke 96, Pittsburgh 69:
Kyle Filipowski overcame an early ankle injury to score 22 points, Tyrese Proctor added 11 points and 10 assists, and No. 21 Duke cruised to a win over Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals. Dereck Lively II had 13 points and Mark Mitchell added 12 for the fourth-seeded Blue Devils, who shot a season-high 62 percent from the floor and built a 48-32 halftime lead en route to their seventh straight win.
Women
Middle Tennessee 84, Charlotte 53:
Savannah Wheeler scored 28 points, Alexis Whittington added 17 and No. 25 Middle Tennessee won its eighth straight game with a victory over Charlotte in the Conference USA Tournament.
Notes:
Patrick Ewing was fired as men’s basketball coach at Georgetown on Thursday after the latest in a series of rough seasons at the school he led to a national championship as a player in the 1980s . ... California men’s basketball coach Mark Fox was fired Thursday following the worst season in school history. The Golden Bears finished 3-29 in Fox’s fourth season as coach . ... Texas Tech coach Mark Adams, who had been suspended recently for racially insensitive comments made toward one of his players, resigned shortly after the Red Raiders were eliminated from the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday.