Comeback kids take Big 12 title
TOP 25/BIG 12 MEN
NO. 13 IOWA STATE 70, NO. 9 KANSAS 66
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Iowa State’s unflappable bunch of comeback kids did it one more time.
Georges Niang scored 19 points, Abdel Nader made the go-ahead foul shots with 48 seconds to go, and the No. 13 Cyclones rallied from a 17-point second-half hole to beat ninth-ranked Kansas 7066 in the Big 12 Tournament championship Saturday night.
It was the fifth consecutive game — including all three in the tournament — that the Cyclones rallied from a double-digit deficit, prompting Niang to dub them the “Comeback Kids.”
Nader finished with 13 points, and Jameel McKay and Monte Morris had 11 each for the Cyclones (25-8), who also knocked off the Jayhawks on their way to winning the title a year ago.
Wayne Selden Jr. had a career-high 25 points to lead the Jayhawks (26-8), who edged Iowa State and Oklahoma by a game to win the regular-season crown. Frank Mason III added 13 points.
ATLANTIC COAST
Notre Dame takes title
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Jerian Grant scored 24 points and No. 11 Notre Dame (29- 5) took over with a 26-3 second-half run to rally past No. 19 North Carolina (24-11) 9082 in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game.
Pat Connaughton added 20 points for the third-seeded Irish. They went from trailing by nine to going ahead by double figures with a stunning burst that seized the momentum in what amounted to a road game and sent the program to its first title in any league.
BIG EAST
Villanova tops Xavier
NEW YORK — Josh Hart had 15 points in his latest brilliant performance off the bench, and top-seeded Villanova turned the Big East championship game into a blowout by beating Xavier 69-52 for its second tournament title.
Looking to lock up a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs, the fourth-ranked Wildcats (322) made an impressive statement against the sixth-seeded Musketeers (21-13).
Dylan Ennis scored 16 points and Darrun Hilliard had 12, sending the Wildcats into the NCAA Tournament on a 15-game winning streak.
BIG TEN
Wisconsin tops Purdue
CHICAGO — Bronson Koenig scored a career-high 19 points and No. 6 Wisconsin (30-3) beat Purdue 71-51 to advance to the Big Ten Tournament championship.
A.J. Hammons had 10 points and seven rebounds for No. 4 seed Purdue (21-12).
In another Big Ten Tournament game Saturday, Travis Trice scored 20 points, Branden Dawson added 17 points and eight rebounds and Michigan State rallied to beat No. 8 Maryland 62-58.
SOUTHLAND
Lumberjacks win again
KATY, Texas — Thomas Walkup had 24 points and eight rebounds to lead Stephen F. Austin (29-4) to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth with an 8370 victory over Sam Houston State (25-8) in the Southland Conference championship.
Jared Johnson had 17 points and five rebounds off the bench and Dallas Cameron added 14 points for the Lumberjacks.
MOUNTAIN WEST
Cowboys lasso title
LAS VEGAS — Josh Adams hit a big three-pointer with a minute left and Wyoming (25-9) earned its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 13 years with a 45-43 victory over San Diego State (26-8) in the Mountain West Conference championship.
Wyoming labored through a physical, defensive-dominated second half, keeping the Aztecs within reach despite going 8:31 without a field goal. The Cowboys made 5 of 22 in the half, but Adams had the biggest one with 1:02 left, a three-pointer that put Wyoming up 43-41.
ATLANTIC 10
Duo leads VCU
NEW YORK — Mo Alie-Cox muscled his way to 18 points inside and Treveon Graham provided the pop from the outside with 18 more, leading VCU (25-9) past No. 24 Davidson (24-7) 93-73 and into the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship game for the third consecutive season.
A-10 player of the year Tyler Kalinoski scored 19 points.
In another Atlantic 10 Tournament game Saturday, Jordan Sibert scored six points in the final five minutes on a couple of reverse layups and a spin move to help Dayton slip past Rhode Island 56-52.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC
SMU heads to finals
HARTFORD, Conn. — Markus Kennedy scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half to lead No. 20 SMU into the finals of the American Athletic Conference tournament with a 69-56 victory over Temple.
Cannen Cunningham and Yanick Moreira each added 11 points for the Mustangs (266). Quenten DeCosey had 14 points for Temple (23-10).
In another AAC Tournament game Saturday, Ryan Boatright scored 21 points and Connecticut overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to beat Tulsa 47-42 and advance to the finals.