Cockburn leads No. 3 Illinois past No. 5 Iowa
INDIANAPOLIS » Kofi Cockburn scored 18 of his 26 points in the first half, and No. 3 Illinois beat No. 5 Iowa 82-71 on Saturday to advance to the Big Ten Tournament title game.
The Fighting Illini (22-6) have won six straight, with three coming against top-10 foes. If Illinois wins one more, against No. 9 Ohio State, it would claim its first tourney title since 2005.
Ayo Dosunmu scored 18 points for Illinois, and reserve guard Andre Curbelo finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Luka Garza had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Iowa (21-7). Jordan Bohannon scored 20 points. NO. 9 OHIO STATE 68, NO. 4 MICHIGAN 67 » Duane Washington Jr. scored 24 points, E.J. Liddell had 18 and Ohio State held off Michigan to advance to the Big Ten Tournament championship.
The Buckeyes (21-8) will play their fourth game in four days against No. 3 Illinois on Sunday.
Michigan managed to cut a 13-point deficit to one in the final 4 1/2 minutes. After a third consecutive Buckeyes turnover in the final 90 seconds, Mike Smith’s long jumper with 2 seconds left bounced off the back of the rim and time expired in the scramble for the loose ball.
Hunter Dickinson had 21
points and eight rebounds for the Wolverines (20-4), who played without Isaiah Livers after he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right foot.
Ohio State forward Kyle Young sat out after he was hit in the head with an inadvertent elbow against Purdue.
NO. 6 ALABAMA 73, TENNESSEE 68 » Herbert Jones had 21 points, 13 rebounds and four assists, helping Alabama rally for the win.
Jahvon Quinerly had 19 points for the Crimson Tide, including two free throws with 15.5 seconds left.
Top-seeded Alabama (23-6) faces LSU in Sunday’s championship in search of its first SEC Tournament title since 1991.
Tennessee (18-8) awaits an NCAA Tournament seeding on Sunday.
Trailing 48-33 with 16:56 remaining, the Crimson Tide stormed back to lead 60-59 with 5:26 left.
Keon Johnson had 20
points for Tennessee, and Jaden Springer finished with 18.
NO. 7 HOUSTON 76, MEMPHIS 74 » Justin Gorham scored 15 points, including four free throws in the final 27 seconds, and Houston advanced to its third consecutive American Athletic Conference Tournament final.
LSU 78, NO. 8 ARKANSAS 71 » Cameron Thomas scored 21 points, and LSU reached the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship
for the first time since 1993.
NO. 13 TEXAS 91, NO. 12 OKLAHOMA STATE 86 » Matt Coleman scored a careerhigh 30 points and Jericho Simms added a career-best 21, leading Texas to its Big 12 Tournament title. GEORGIA TECH 80, NO. 15 FLORIDA STATE 75 » Michael Devoe scored 20 points and Georgia Tech shot 52% after halftime to beat Florida State in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game.
GEORGETOWN 73, NO. 17 CREIGHTON 48 » Patrick Ewing is taking Georgetown back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 after the eighthseeded Hoyas completed a surprising run to a Big East championship.
On the 49th anniversary of the day Georgetown hired John Thompson, the late Hall of Fame coach who transformed the program into a national power and one of the most iconic brands in college basketball history, the Hoyas won their record eighth Big East Tournament title and first since 2007.
The 58-year-old Ewing is the first person in Big East history to be the most outstanding player on a Big East Tournament champion and coach a team to a Big East Tournament title. NO. 19 SAN DIEGO STATE 68, UTAH STATE 57 » Matt Mitchell scored 14 points to lead San Diego State to the win in the Mountain West Tournament championship.
With the league’s automatic bid, the Aztecs return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.