No doubt about it
Arizona claims Pac-12 title in rout
Brandon Ashley matched his career high with 21 points, T.J. McConnell tied his career best with 11 assists and No. 5 Arizona made certain it would finish alone atop the Pac-12 in the regular season with a 99-60 rout of visiting California on Thursday night.
The Wildcats (27-3, 15-2) already had clinched at least a tie for the conference title and the No. 1 seed in next week’s Pac-12 tournament.
Tyrone Wallace scored 16 points for the Golden Bears (17-13, 7-10).
It was the most one-sided victory for Arizona and most lopsided loss for Cal this season.
Kaleb Tarczewski added 14 points and Stanley Johnson had 12 for the Wildcats, who had six players in double figures in their seventh straight win since an upset loss to Arizona State.
(18) Arkansas 78, South
Carolina 74: Bobby Portis scored 24 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Razorbacks to a victory over the Gamecocks in Columbia, S.C.
The Razorbacks (24-6, 13-4 SEC) trailed by 11 points with 7 minutes left in a wild game during which they led by 20 in the first half
“We get some leads, and it seems our defense gives up and starts playing offense,” Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said.
With the win, Arkansas clinched second place in the SEC and will be on the opposite side of the league tournament bracket from topranked and undefeated Kentucky.
Anderson said it didn’t matter to him how the bracket plays out.
“We’re going to play whoever is next,” Anderson said.
South Carolina (14-15, 5-12) managed only one point after leading scorer Tyrone Johnson left the game with cramps with 2:29 left. Johnson finished with 18 points.
The Gamecocks can finish no better than 11th in the SEC and will have to play on the opening day of the fiveday conference tournament.
STATE
UW-Parkside 73, Truman
State 70: Jimmy Gavin poured in 28 points as the Rangers, ranked No. 8 in the NCAA Division II poll, held off the Bulldogs in the quarterfinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament in St. Charles, Mo.
The third-seeded Rangers (26-2) will play second-seeded Drury (19-8) in the semifinals at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Panthers advanced with a 70-65 overtime victory over Missouri-St. Louis.
Parkside cruised to a 32-19 lead at the break, but the Bulldogs rallied in the second half.
Truman State closed to 7170 on a layup by Reed Mells with 11 seconds to go.
But Gavin drained a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left to seal the victory.