Penn State falls in quarterfinals
Jalen Pickett scored 16 and John Harrar added 15 for Penn State (14-17), but No. 6 Purdue (26-6) was too much for the Nittany Lions, as the Boilermakers won, 69-61, in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Conference tournament Friday in Indianapolis.
Penn State cut Purdue’s lead to one point, 62-61, with 2:42 left in the game on a layup from Sam Sessoms, but Jaden Ivey powered the Boilermakers, while Penn State would not score again. Ivey finished with 17. Zach Edey added 15.
Other tournaments
More Big Ten: Trayce Jacksonscored 21 points, including three free throws in the closing seconds, and Indiana (20-12) beat top-seeded and 16th-ranked Illinois (22-9), 6563. ... Keegan Murray had 26 points and eight rebounds to lead No. 24 Iowa (24-9) past Rutgers (18-13), 84-74. ... Marcus Bingham Jr. matched his career high with 19 points and Tyson Walker scored nine of his 11 points in the final minute and a half to send seventh-seeded Michigan State (22-11) past No. 12 Wisconsin (24-7), 69-63.
American: Fabian White Jr. had 18 points with eight rebounds and 18th-ranked Houston (27-5) overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half to beat Cincinnati (18-15), 69-56, in a quarterfinal game in Fort Worth, Texas. ... Kevin Cross had 18 points and nine rebounds as Tulane (14-14) beat Temple (1712), 69-60. ... Kendric Davis had 24 points as SMU (23-7) easily beat Tulsa (11-20), 8358.
Atlantic 10: Gibson Jimerson had 20 points, including a goahead baseline jumper with 17.5 seconds left, as Saint Louis (23-10) edged past Saint Bonaventure (20-9), 57-56, in the quarterfinals in Washington. ... Sam Mennenga had 15 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists as top-seeded Davidson (26-5) defeated eighth-seeded Fordham (16-16), 74-56. ... DaRon Holmes II had a seasonhigh 28 points as Dayton (23-9) edged past Massachusetts (1517), 75-72. ... Jacob Gilyard had a career-high 32 points as Richmond (21-12) defeated VCU (21-9), 75-64.
Atlantic Coast: Paolo Banchero had 18 points and 11 rebounds and No. 7 Duke (28-5) held off Miami (23-10) with free throws in the final minute as the Blue Devils and retiring coach Mike Krzyzewski advanced to the championship with an 80-76 victory in New York. AJ Griffin scored 21 points, including three free throws in the final 20 seconds to seal Coach K’s 22nd appearance in the ACC title game.
Big 12: The Big 12 player of the year Ochai Agbaji scored 22 to lead No. 6 Kansas (27-6) to a 75-62 semifinal win over TCU (20-12) in Kansas City, Mo.
Big East: Arthur Kaluma scored 17 points and keyed an overwhelming blitz that sent Creighton (22-10) to a stunning 85-58 rout of No. 11 Providence (25-5) and into the championship in New York. ... Jermaine Samuels had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Brandon Slater had 15 points and a highlight-reel block to help No. 8 Villanova (25-7) reach the championship with a 63-60 win over No. 20 Connecticut (23-9).
Conference USA: Keaston Willis and Cobe Williams scored 12 points each and third-seed Louisiana Tech’s (24-9) defense stifled top-ranked North Texas (24-6) in a 42-36 win in the semifinals in Frisco, Texas. ... Jordan Walker made a layup for an 11-point lead with 15 seconds left in triple overtime and UAB (26-7) beat Middle Tennessee (23-10), 102-98, in the
other semifinal.
Mid-American: Xavier Castaneda scored 26 points and Ali Ali added 13, leading fourthseeded Akron (23-9) to a 70-62 upset of top-seeded Toledo (267) in the semifinals in Cleveland. The Zips avenged a regular-season loss Jan. 28 to Toledo and moved into Saturday’s title game.
Pac-12: Azoulas Tubelis had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Justin Kier added 13 points and No. 2 Arizona (30-3) pulled away late to beat Colorado (21-11), 82-70, in the semifinals in Las Vegas.
Southeastern: Tyrece Radford scored 19 points and Quenton Jackson made five throws in the final minute as Texas A&M (22-11) beat fourth-ranked Auburn (27-5), 67-62, in the quarterfinals in Tampa, Fla. ... Former Pitt guard Au’Diese Toney scored 22 points, JD Notae added 19 and No. 15 Arkansas (25-7) beat LSU (22-11), 79-67, in the quarterfinals. ... Josiah-Jordan James led five players in double figures 16 points, 14 of them during a six-minute stretch in which ninth-ranked Tennessee (24-7) pulled away to a 72-59 victory over Mississippi State (18-15). ... TyTy Washington scored 25 points and No. 5 Kentucky (26-6) beat Vanderbilt (17-16), 77-71.
Southwestern: PJ Henry had 18 points and seven rebounds as second-seeded Texas Southern (17-12) topped sixth-seeded Grambling State (12-20) 73-54 in the semifinals in Birmingham, Ala.
Notes
Pitt will participate in the 2022 Legends Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Nov. 16-17 along with Michigan, Arizona State and Virginia Commonwealth. ... Rutgers extended the contract of coach Steve Pikiell through 2029-30.