Heels ruin Coach K night at Duke
DURHAM, N.C. — North Carolina spoiled the emotional home finale of retiring Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski, beating fourthranked rival Duke 94-81 on Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The day that was all about the coach who has 1,196 career victories and five NCAA championships abruptly turned into a season-defining performance for the Tar Heels, who played fearlessly in an extra rowdy arena and shot 59% after halftime.
By the final minutes, the Tar Heels (23-8, 15-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) had stretched the lead to double figures, hitting clinching free throws and leaving the “Cameron Crazies” in disbelief that Krzyzewski’s final home game after 42 years at the helm of Duke would end this way.
Krzyzewski could only watch from his seat at the end, with UNC in firm control.
Armando Bacot scored 23 points to lead UNC. Freshman Paolo Banchero scored 23 points for the Blue Devils (26-5, 16-4), who shot just 42%.
NO. 2 ARIZONA 89, CALIFORNIA 61
TUCSON, Ariz. — Oumar Ballo scored 16 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 13 as Arizona became the first Pac-12 team to win 18 conference games.
The Wildcats (28-3, 18-2) finished 17-0 at home in its first season under coach Tommy Lloyd. Pelle Larsson and Justin Kier scored 13 points each.
NO. 3 BAYLOR 75, IOWA STATE 68
WACO, Texas — James Akinjo scored 20 points and Baylor clinched a share of the Big 12 title with its fifth consecutive win.
Akinjo put the Bears (26-5, 14-4) ahead to stay with a 3-pointer with 3:37 left, followed seconds later by a driving reverse layup. They had fallen behind after building a 25-point lead in the game’s first 12 minutes.
NO. 5 AUBURN 82, SOUTH CAROLINA 71
AUBURN, Ala. — Jabari Smith scored 21 points and K.D. Johnson had 18 as Auburn won its fourth Southeastern Conference title.
The Tigers (27-4, 15-3 SEC) celebrated on the court amid a flurry of orange and blue confetti. The team held at least a share of the SEC lead all season.
NO. 6 KANSAS 70, NO. 21 TEXAS 63, OT
LAWRENCE, Kan. — David McCormack had 22 points and 10 rebounds and threw down the clinching dunk in overtime as Kansas clinched the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament.
Jalen Wilson had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Christian Braun had 13 points and 11 boards as the Jayhawks (25-6, 14-4) wrapped up at least a share of the regular-season conference title.
NO. 7 KENTUCKY 71, FLORIDA 63
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Oscar Tshiebwe had 27 points and 15 rebounds for his 25th double-double of the season as the Wildcats secured the No. 3 seed in next week’s Southeastern Conference Tournament.
NO. 8 PURDUE 69, INDIANA 67
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Eric Hunter Jr. scored 17 points and Sasha Stefanovic added 15 to help Purdue rally past its archrival.
Zach Edey added 10 points and 11 rebounds as the Boilermakers (25-6, 14-6 Big Ten) snapped a season-high, two-game losing streak.
Xavier Johnson led the Hoosiers with 18 points and a career-high 12 assists, but his half-court heave to win it with 0.3 seconds left was an air ball.
NO. 11 VILLANOVA 78, BUTLER 59
INDIANAPOLIS — Justin Moore scored 16 points and Jermaine Samuels added 15 as Villanova built a big early lead and handed Butler its fifth straight loss.
Caleb Daniels and Collin Gillespie each scored 11 points and Jordan Longino had 10 for Villanova.
NO. 18 UCONN 75, DEPAUL 68
STORRS, Conn. — Adama Sanogo scored a game-high 26 points as UConn snapped DePaul’s three-game winning streak.
Sanogo also had 11 rebounds, giving him his eighth double-double of the season.
Tyrese Martin added 19 points and 16 rebounds for UConn (22-8, 13-6 Big East) has won six of its last seven games.