Nevada needs big rally to advance
Zion spurs Duke to win; West Virginia upsets Texas Tech
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Nevada got an early scare in the Mountain West Conference quarterfinals.
After trailing Boise State by 15 points in the first half, the Wolf Pack slowly responded.
Jazz Johnson scored 20 points and Caleb Martin had 19 as No. 14 Nevada beat Boise State 77-69 on Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Tre’Shawn Thurman added 17 points, and Cody Martin had 10 to help topseeded Nevada (29-3) tie the school record for victories in a season. The Wolf Pack will face San Diego State in the semifinals tonight.
Derrick Alston led Boise State (13-20) with 21 points.
Boise State led 11-3 and had a 27-12 advantage with 7:37 left in the first half.
“We stunk for the first 12 minutes of the game,” Nevada coach Eric Musselman said. “It was hard to watch. I’d rather go the dentist and get some teeth pulled. But the thing with our ballclub is down 15, no panic.” SAN DIEGO STATE
63, UNLV 55: Also at the Thomas & Mack Center, Jalen McDaniels had 25 points and 14 rebounds as fourth-seeded San Diego State topped fifth-seeded UNLV in another MWC quarterfinal.
The Aztecs, who outscored the Rebels 20-12 over the final 5:34, will face No. 1 seed Nevada today in the semifinals.
Devin Watson had 19 points for San Diego State (20-12). Kris Clyburn had 19 points for UNLV (17-14). No. 2 VIRGINIA 76, N.C.
STATE 56: In Charlotte, N.C., Kyle Guy scored 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, and Virginia rallied to beat North Carolina State in the Atlantic
Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals.
Big man Jack Salt provided an unexpected offensive boost with a career-high 18 points for the top-seeded Cavaliers (29-2). Down 29-27 at halftime, Virginia shot 63 percent after the break and scored 49 points.
Markell Johnson had 13 points for NCSU (22-11). No. 3 NORTH CAROLINA
83, LOUISVILLE 70: Also in Charlotte, Luke Maye had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Coby White added 17 points as North Carolina beat Louisville in another ACC quarterfinal.
Cameron Johnson scored all of his 14 points in the first half to help the Heels (27-5) extend their winning streak to eight games.
Dwayne Sutton had 14 points for Louisville (20-13).
No. 5 DUKE 84, SYRACUSE 72: In Charlotte, Zion Williamson made all 13 of his shots, five on highflying dunks, and scored 29 points in his return to lead Duke to a victory over Syracuse in another ACC quarterfinal.
RJ Barrett added 23 points and six rebounds to help Duke set up a semifinal showdown with No. 3 North Carolina. The Tar Heels swept both games from the Blue Devils in the regular season, with Williamson injured in the first minute of the first meeting.
It was Williamson’s first game since his left Nike Paul George shoe broke during a Feb. 20 game against the Tar Heels, causing him to miss nearly six full games with a sprained right knee.
WEST VIRGINIA 79, No. 7 TEXAS TECH 74: In Kansas City, Mo., Emmitt Mathews scored a career-high 28 points as 10th-seeded West Virginia upset Texas Tech in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.
West Virginia (14-19) advances to the semifinals, against No. 17 Kansas.
Jarrett Culver scored 26 points fors Tech (26-6).
No. 12 FLORIDA STATE 65, No. 16 VIRGINIA TECH 63 (OT): In Charlotte, Terance Mann hit a wild offbalance runner with 1.8 seconds left in overtime to help Florida State beat Virginia Tech in another ACC quarterfinal.
Mann’s shot from the right side rattled around the rim before dropping through the net to break a tie for the fourth-seeded Seminoles (26-6).
The fifth-seeded Hokies (24-8) had a final chance, but Nickeil AlexanderWalker missed a long desperation 3-pointer at the horn.
No. 15 KANSAS STATE 70, TCU 61: In Kansas City, Xavier Snead scored 19 points, none bigger than a 3-pointer as the shot clock sounded in the final minute, and Kansas State rallied from a slow start to beat TCU in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals.
Barry Brown added 12 points, Kamau Stokes had 11 and Makol Mawien had 10 for the tournament’s top seed. The Wildcats (25-7) advanced to play No. 5 seed Iowa State in the semifinals.
Desmond Bane had 16 points for TCU (20-13).
No. 17 KANSAS 65, TEXAS 57: Also in Kansas City, Devon Dotson scored 17 points and Dedric Lawson added 16 as Kansas pulled away in the second half to beat Texas in another Big 12 quarterfinal.
David McCormack added 13 points and a careerbest nine rebounds for the third-seeded Jayhawks (24-9).
Dylan Osetkowski had 18 points to lead the sixthseeded Longhorns (16-16).
No. 18 BUFFALO 82, AKRON 46: In Cleveland, Jeremy Harris scored 23 points as Buffalo routed Akron in the Mid-American Conference tournament quarterfinals.
The top-seeded Bulls (29-3) built a 20-point lead in the first half and pushed it to 30 points midway through the second half. Seeking its fourth MAC title in five years, Buffalo will play Central Michigan in the semifinals. Akron is 17-16. NEBRASKA 69, No. 21 MARYLAND 61: In Chicago, James Palmer scored 24 points and Nebraska (17-15) shut down Maryland for the first big surprise of the Big Ten tournament.
Using a seven-man rotation because of injuries and backup guard Nana Akenten’s suspension, the Cornhuskers harassed the Terrapins into 36 percent (18 for 50) shooting and 11 turnovers.
Maryland (22-10) had swept Nebraska during the regular season. No. 22 AUBURN 81, MISSOURI 71: In Nashville, Tenn., Bryce Brown scored all 17 of his points in the second half as Auburn beat Missouri in the second round of the SEC tournament.
Auburn (23-9) won its fifth straight to advance to the quarterfinals Friday against fourth-seeded South Carolina.
Jordan Geist had 25 points for Missouri (15-17). No. 23 MARQUETTE 86, ST. JOHN’S 54: In New York, Markus Howard scored 12 of his 30 points in a game-breaking 23-2 second-half run as Marquette snapped its four-game losing streak with a rout of St. John’s in the Big East tournament quarterfinals.
The second-seeded Golden Eagles (24-8) beat seventh-seeded St. John’s (21-12) for the first time in three tries this season. No. 25 VILLANOVA 73, PROVIDENCE 62: In New York, Eric Paschall had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Villanova took control in final nine minutes to beat Providence in the Big East Conference tournament quarterfinals.
Collin Gillespie added 19 points for the top-seeded and two-time defending champion Wildcats (23-9). Villanova used a 17-5 run to beat the Friars (18-15).