Florida St. captures first ACC regular-season title
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Balsa Koprivica scored 15 points, and No. 7 Florida State won its first Atlantic Coast Conference regularseason title in school history in an 80-62 victory over Boston College on Saturday.
Dominik Olejniczak added a season-high 14 points as the Seminoles (26-5, 16-4) had a banner ready to celebrate their accomplishment, which was secured with Virginia’s victory over No. 10 Louisville.
FSU will be the No. 1 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament and looks to claim its first championship since 2012.
Koprivicia matched his season high in points as both of FSU’s 7-footers scored in double figures for the first time in ACC play. Patrick Williams had 10 points and six rebounds.
Derryck Thornton scored 13 points for Boston College (13-18, 7-13), which has lost five consecutive games.
DAYTON 76
GEORGE WASHINGTON 51
Obi Toppin had 27 points and No. 3 Dayton rolled past George Washington in Columbus, Ohio, to finish the regular season with its school-record 29th victory.
The Flyers (29-2, 18-0 Atlantic 10 Conference) won their 20th consecutive game to tie a record set by the 1951-52 team. They went unbeaten at home and in true road games. Their only losses were at neutral sites.
UTAH STATE 59
SAN DIEGO STATE 56
Sam Merrill scored 17 of his 27 points in the second half, including a contested 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left to lift Utah State to the victory in the Mountain West Tournament championship in Las Vegas.
The Aggies (26-8) rallied from a 16-point, first-half deficit to win their second straight Mountain West Tournament title and earn the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
KENTUCKY 71, FLORIDA 70
Nick Richards scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half as No. 6 Kentucky rallied from 18 points down in Gainesville, Fla.
The shorthanded Wildcats (25-6, 15-3 Southeastern Conference) needed the comeback to avoid losing consecutive games for the first time in nearly three months.
Scottie Lewis scored a career-high 19 for Florida (19-12, 11-7), which led by 18 points with 11:48 left in the game.
CREIGHTON 77 SETON HALL 60
Marcus Zegarowski made all five of his 3-pointers and finished with 23 points in Omaha, Neb., and No. 11 Creighton earned a share of the Big
East Conference regularseason title.
The Bluejays (24-7, 13-5) claimed all or part of their first conference title since winning the Missouri Valley outright in 2012-13. They joined the Big East the next season.
Seton Hall (21-9, 13-5) lost its last two games and will be the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.
VIRGINIA 57, LOUISVILLE 54
Kihei Clark scored 18 points, including a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left, and No. 22 Virginia recovered after blowing a 14point, second-half lead in Charlottesville, Va.
The Cavaliers (23-7, 15-5 ACC) won for the 10th time in 11 games and moved into a tie with the Cardinals for second place in the league standings.
Jordan Nwora had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Enoch scored 11 points for the Cardinals (24-7, 15-5), who lost for the second time in three games.
VILLANOVA 70 GEORGETOWN 69
Jermaine Samuels had a three-point play with 5.6 seconds left as No. 14 Villanova survived a late scare to clinch a share of the Big East regular-season title.
Saddiq Bey led Villanova (24-7, 13-5 Big East) with 18 points and Samuels and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl each had 13.
Pickett led Georgetown (15-16, 5-13) with 20 points as the Hoyas lost their sixth straight game and fell under .500 for the first time in coach Patrick Ewing’s three season in charge. Jagan Mosely added 13 points.
AUBURN 85, TENNESSEE 63
Samir Doughty made 8 of 13 3-pointers and finished with 32 points in Knoxville, Tenn., as No. 17 Auburn snapped a twogame skid.
Auburn (25-6, 12-6) now heads to Nashville to defend its Southeastern Conference Tournament championship. The Tigers have a double-bye to the quarterfinals.
John Fulkerson led the Vols (17-14, 9-9) with 19 points before fouling out late. Jordan Bowden added 17 on Senior Day, and Santiago Vescovi had 13.
DUKE 89
NORTH CAROLINA 76
Vernon Carey Jr. had 25 points and 10 rebounds, while graduate reserve Justin Robinson offered a huge spark for 12th-ranked Duke in Durham, N.C.
Robinson, son of retired NBA great David Robinson, matched career highs with 13 points and six rebounds to go with a career-best four blocks for the Blue Devils (25-6, 15-5 ACC). They never trailed in this one but didn’t put away the Tar Heels until the final six minutes.
NORTHWESTERN 80 PENN STATE 69
Miller Kopp scored 21 points to lead host Northwestern as the Nittany Lions lost for the fifth time in six games.
Penn State (21-10, 11-9) came in looking to head into the Big Ten Tournament on a winning note, only to stumble against one of the worst teams in the conference. Northwestern (8-22, 3-17) beat a ranked team for the first time since knocking off No. 20 Michigan two years ago.
Lamar Stevens continued to close in on Penn State’s all-time scoring record, finishing with 18 points. That gave him 2,207 in four seasons, six shy of the mark set by Talor Battle from 2007-11.
WISCONSIN 60, INDIANA 56
Nate Reuvers scored 17 points and No. 24 Wisconsin held Indiana to just one basket over the final 10 minutes in Bloomington, Ind., to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.
Micah Potter added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Wisconsin (21-10, 14-6), which has won eight straight. Devonte Green scored all 16 of his points in the first half to lead Indiana (19-12, 9-11), which has lost three of four.