Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
VANDERBILT KNOCKS OFF Texas A&M in tournament opener.
VANDERBILT 79, TEXAS A&M 68
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Scotty Pippen Jr. went 15 for 15 from the free-throw line and finished with 22 points, D.J. Harvey scored 17 and Vanderbilt beat Texas A&M 79-68 on Wednesday night for the Commodores first SEC Tournament win in four years.
No. 12 seed Vanderbilt (815) snapped a four-game skid against the Aggies, although the teams didn’t play in the regular season after both scheduled matchups were canceled due to covid-19 concerns. Second-year Coach Jerry Stackhouse got his first conference tourney win and the Commodores’ first since beating Texas A&M 66-41 in 2017.
Pippen, a first-team allSEC selection, shot just 3 of 17 from the floor but tied his career high for free throws made and added 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
Emanuel Miller led No. 13 seed Texas A&M (8-10) with 22 points on 11-of-16 shooting and grabbed 9 rebounds. The rest of the Aggies combined to make 16 of 50 from the floor.
Pippen, a 6-3 sophomore, hit a three-pointer, made a pair of free throws and then took a steal near midcourt for a dunk in a 77-second span to spark a 15-3 run that made it 17-7. His three-point play with 16:17 to play gave the Commodores a 45-32 lead. Texas A&M scored the next 13 points to tie it about four minutes later. But Myles Stute answered with a three-pointer and Vanderbilt led the rest of the way.
The Commodores, who hit 12 three-pointers and outscored the Aggies 21-7 from the foul line, play fifth-seeded Florida in today’s second round.
In the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C., freshman Mark Williams set season highs with 23 points and 19 rebounds, Matthew Hurt added 20 points, and No. 10 seed Duke eased by seventh-seeded Louisville 70-56. Duke opened the second half on its second sizable run of the game, scoring 17 of the first 22 points over a span of six minutes to extend its lead to 47-34. Jeremy Roach had two of the Blue Devils’ 3 three-pointers during the stretch. Duke (13-11) plays No. 15 Florida State, the No. 2 seed, today. … Isaiah Wong scored 20 points for the second straight game and Miami became the first No. 13 seed to ever reach the quarterfinals in the ACC Tournament, upsetting No. 5 seed Clemson 67-64. Miami (10-16) advances to play fourth-seeded Georgia Tech today. The Hurricanes have earned consecutive victories in the ACC Tournament for the first time since 2013, when they won the title. … Buddy Boeheim scored 27 points with a season-high 6 of Syracuse’s 14 three-pointers, and the Orange beat North Carolina State 89-68. Syracuse (16-8) will face top seed and No. 16 Virginia today in the quarterfinals. DJ Funderburk scored 14 points for N.C. State (13-10). … Armando Bacot paced North Carolina with 20 points and 13 rebounds in a 101-59 victory over Notre Dame. North Carolina (17-9) advances to play Virginia Tech tonight. Notre Dame (11-15) was led by 13 points from Nate Laszewaki.
In the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Mo., Austin Reaves (Cedar Ridge) scored 21 points and five rebounds as No. 25 Oklahoma held off Iowa State 7973. De’Vion Harmon added 18 points for Oklahoma (15-9). Jalen Coleman-Lands scored 14 for Iowa State (2-22). Oklahoma advances to play Kansas tonight. … Nijel Pack hit five three-pointers and scored 23 points, Mike McGuirl added 17 and ninth-seeded Kansas State used a pair of big runs to beat eighth-seeded
TCU 71-50. Pack also had six rebounds and five assists in a dynamic showing by the freshman as the Wildcats (10-19) advanced to play second-ranked Baylor, the tournament’s No. 1 seed, in the quarterfinal round today. RJ Nembhard had 11 points and Mike Miles nine to lead the Horned Frogs (12-14).
In the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, Tre Williams scored 14 points and Jamal Mashburn Jr. 11 as Minnesota snapped a seven-game skid with a 5146 win over Northwestern. The Golden Gophers (14-14) advance to take on fifth-seeded and No. 9 ranked Ohio State today. Minnesota pulled out the win despite shooting 37% (18 for 49) while making just 10 of 24 (42%) from the foul line. … Jamari Wheeler scored 19 points as Penn State rallied for a 72-66 victory over Nebraska. The Nitney Lions also picked up 14 points from both Izaiah Brockington and Myreon Jones as Penn State (11-13) overcame a 37-23 halftime deficit. Nebraska (7-20) was led by 13 points from Trey McGowens.
In the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas, Timmy Allen led Utah with 24 points and 11 rebounds, and the Utes had to hold off Washington’s late charge for a 98-95 victory. Allen and the Utes (12-12) jumped to a 17-point lead early, led by 12 at halftime and never let Washington cut the deficit to single digits until late in the second half. Quade Green led Washington (5-21) with a career-high 31 points. … Alonzo Verge Jr. scored on a challenged drive in the lane with 11 seconds left, lifting Arizona State to a 64-59 win over Washington State. Verge finished with a season-high 26 points as the Sun Devils (11-13) closed the game on a 10-2 run for their second win over Washington State in less than two weeks. The eighth-seeded Sun Devils face No. 1 seed Oregon in the quarterfinals today. Isaac Bonton led Washington State (1413) with 18 points.
In the Big East Tournament in New York, Chuck Harris was clutch for Butler, drilling a straightaway three-pointer and then sinking the game-winning free throws with three seconds left in overtime as the 10th-seeded Bulldogs ousted Xavier 70-69. The win moves Butler (10-14) into a quarterfinal against second-seeded and No. 17-ranked Creighton today. Xavier (13-8), the tournament No. 7 seed, shot the lights out in the first half, making 17 of 29 shots (59%) and building a 40-26 halftime lead. … Qudus Wahab had 19 points and seven rebounds as Georgetown limited Marquette to 14 first-half points in posting a 68-49 victory at Madison Square Garden. Jahvon Blair came off the bench and added a gamehigh 20 points for the eighth-seeded Hoyas (10-12), who are 7-4 since returning to action after a pause for covid-19 issues. D.J. Carton had 17 points to lead Marquette (13-14). … Charlie Moore and Javon Freeman-Liberty each scored 21 points as DePaul (6-13) upset Providence 70-62. Nate Watson scored 18 points for Providence (13-13), which was outscored 35-26 in the second half. DePaul advances to play UConn.