Virginia secures regular-season title
No. 3 Villanova powers past DePaul
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Ty Jerome scored 18 points and top-ranked Virginia held off depleted Georgia Tech 65-54 on Wednesday night, clinching the regular season title and top seed next month in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
The Cavaliers (25-2, 14-1), who also got nine points each from De’Andre Hunter and Mamadi Diakite, led just 31-30 at halftime and didn’t open a double-digit lead until just 5:14 remained. No. 3 VILLANOVA 93,
DEPAUL 62: In Philadephia, Mikal Bridges scored 27 points and Phil Booth added 14 in his return to the lineup to lead Villanova to a victory over DePaul.
Eric Paschall had 16 points, and Jalen Brunson added 11 points and seven assists to help the Wildcats (25-3, 12-3 Big East) beat DePaul for the 16th straight time. No. 4 XAVIER 89, GEORGETOWN 77: In Washington, Naji Marshall scored a careerhigh 21 points and Xavier beat Georgetown, bouncing back from its loss to No. 3 Villanova.
J.P. Macura added 20 points, including four 3-pointers, while Quentin Goodin had 19 points as the Musketeers (25-4, 13-3 Big East) swept the season series with Georgetown for the second straight season. No. 5 DUKE 82, LOUISVILLE 56: In Durham, N.C., Grayson Allen scored 28 points and Duke routed Louisville.
Freshman big man Wendell Carter Jr. finished with 18 points and a season-high five assists, and Gary Trent Jr. had 11 points to help the Blue Devils (23-5, 11-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) win their fourth straight game — all coming with star freshman Marvin Bagley III out with a sprained knee. OKLAHOMA STATE 79, No. 6
TEXAS TECH 71: In Stillwater, Okla., Kendall Smith scored 21 points to help Oklahoma State stun Texas Tech.
Lindy Waters added a careerhigh 18 points, and Jeffrey Carroll had 14 points to help the Cowboys (16-12, 6-9 Big 12) get a huge boost to their hopes of gaining an NCAA Tournament bid. No. 10 NORTH CAROLINA
78, SYRACUSE 74: In Syracuse, N.Y., Theo Pinson scored a career-high 23 points, Joel Berry II added 18, including the tie-breaking layup with 1:36 left, and North Carolina held off Syracuse. No. 12 AUBURN 90, ALABAMA 71: In Auburn, Ala., Jared Harper scored 21 points, Chuma Okeke had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Auburn beat rival Alabama even without ailing star Mustapha Heron. No. 13 WICHITA STATE 93,
TULANE 86: In Wichita, Kan., down one of its top scoring options, Wichita State had to rely on others to defeat Tulane at Koch Arena. VIRGINIA TECH 65, No. 15
CLEMSON 58: In Blacksburg, Va., Justin Robinson and Kerry Blackshear Jr. scored 14 points
each to lift Virginia Tech to a victory over Clemson. No. 17 MICHIGAN 72, PENN
STATE 63: In University Park, Pa., Duncan Robinson scored 19 points and Moritz Wagner added 18 to help Michigan beat Penn State. No. 19 TENNESSEE 62,
FLORIDA 57: In Knoxville, Tenn., Grant Williams bounced back from one of his worst performances of the season to score 23 points and Tennessee beat Florida to hand the Gators their third consecutive loss.
MWC
No. 20 NEVADA 80, SAN JOSE STATE 67: In Reno, Nev., Kendall Stephens scored a careerhigh 30 points and Nevada hit 14 3-pointers in an victory over San Jose State. BOISE STATE 87, COLORADO
STATE 54: In Fort Collins, Colo., Chandler Hutchison scored 18 of his 27 points in the first half for his fifth 20-point game of the season, and Boise State beat Colorado State to secure a top-three Mountain West Conference finish for the fourth straight season. SAN DIEGO STATE 67, AIR FORCE 56: In Colorado Springs, Colo., Matt Mitchell scored 17 points and San Diego State beat Air Force. FRESNO STATE 77, UNLV 64: In Las Vegas, the Fresno State trio of Deshon Taylor, Bryson Williams and Jaron Hopkins combined to score all but 15 of Fresno State’s points as the Bulldogs hung a loss on UNLV to maintain their hold on third place in the Mountain West Conference.
Women
In No. New 1 UCONN Orleans, 91, Azura TULANE Stevens 47: scored 23 points, Napheesa Collier scored 22 and UConn won its 50th straight road game over Tulane. No. 14 OHIO STATE 88, NORTHWESTERN 54: In Columbus, Ohio, Kelsey Mitchell scored 22 points and Ohio State defeated Northwestern, moving the Buckeyes closer to at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship. No. 18 SOUTH FLORIDA 81, HOUSTON 65: In Tampa, Fla., Kitija Laksa scored 32 points, Maria Jespersen had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and South Florida beat Houston to seal the No. 2 seed in the American Athletic Conference Tournament. No. 23 BELMONT 66, JACKSONVILLE STATE 35: In Jacksonville, Ala., Kylee Smith had 17 points and eight rebounds, Sally McCabe added 16 points and nine boards, and Belmont won its 18th straight with a victory over Jacksonville State. KANSAS 66, No. 25 OKLAHOMA STATE 59: In Lawrence, Kan., Kylee Kopatich scored 19 points with five 3-pointers, Tyler Johnson scored 11 points before fouling out with 1:53 remaining and Kansas won just its third Big 12 game of the season with an upset of Oklahoma State.