Michigan State upsets another conference opponent
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Rocket Watts scored 21 points and Aaron Henry had 18 to lead Michigan State to a 70-64 victory over No. 2 Michigan on Sunday that seemed to seal coach Tom Izzo’s 23rd consecutive NCAA Tournament bid.
The Spartans (15-11, 9-11 Big Ten) have won five of their last seven games, beating No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Illinois and their second-ranked rivals during the late-season surge.
The Wolverines (19-3, 14-3) closed the regular season getting routed at home by the Fighting Illini, beating Michigan State handily to seal the Big Ten title and losing the rematch three days later.
Senior guard Eli Brooks hurt his left ankle early in the game and did not return.
Hunter Dickinson finished with 12 points while Franz Wagner had 10 points for Michigan.
NO. 5 IOWA 77
NO. 25 WISCONSIN 73
Luka Garza scored 21 points and had 16 rebounds as the host Hawkeyes defeated the Badgers.
It was the 12th double-double of the season for Garza, who leads the Big Ten in scoring and is third in the nation.
Micah Potter scored 23 points for Wisconsin (16-11, 10-10), which has lost five of six.
Jordan Bohannon had 16 points and added eight assists for Iowa (20-7, 14-6).
Joe Wieskamp had 12 points
for the Hawkeyes when he went down with a lower right leg injury with 8:16 left in the first half. He had to be helped off the court and did not return.
NO. 20 LOYOLA CHICAGO 75 DRAKE 65
Cameron Krutwig and Braden Norris scored 20 points apiece to lead the Ramblers to a 75-65 win over the Bulldogs in the Missouri Valley Conference championship game in St. Louis for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
The Ramblers (24-4, 16-2) will be making their seventh tournament appearance and first since the 2018 team reached the Final Four as a No. 11 seed.
Tremell Murphy and D.J. Wilkins scored 20 points each for Drake (25-4, 15-3), a bubble team. D.J. Wilkins added 14 points.
LIBERTY 79, NORTH ALABAMA 75
Darius Mcghee scored 21 points and eight rebounds and the top-seeded Flames held on for a win over the Lions on Sunday in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament championship game in Jacksonville, Fla.
Liberty (23-5), which has won 12 consecutive games, has won each of the last three ASUN regular season and tournament titles — the first program to in conference history to do so.
Kyle Rode finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Flames.
Mervin James finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. C.J. Brim added 15 points, Payton Youngblood had 14 points and four steals and Jamari Blackmon scored 11 for the Lions.
WINTHROP 80, CAMPBELL 53
D.J. Burns scored 22 points and Winthrop took off in the second half to a 80-53 victory over Campbell on Sunday for its second straight Big South tournament championship in Rock Hill, S.C. and earned an automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
They will be making their 11th NCAA Tournament appearance.
Jordan Whitfield scored 18 points for Campbell.
Women TEXAS 69, TCU 60
Charli Collier finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, and the visiting Longhorns knocked off the Horned Frogs.
Audrey Warren also had a double-double for Texas (17-8, 11-7 Big 12) and recorded 18 points and 12 rebounds. Joanne Allentaylor and Celeste Taylor finished with 13 and 12 points each.
Lauren Heard led TCU (9-14, 4-14) with 28 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Tavy Diggs added 16 points.
NO. 7 SOUTH CAROLINA 67 NO. 16 GEORGIA 62
Aliyah Boston had 27 points and 10 rebounds as the Gamecocks pulled away in the third quarter to beat the Bulldogs and win their second straight Southeastern Conference tournament title in Greenville, S.C., and their sixth in the past seven years.
It was a historic matchup that featured two Black head coaches in the title game for the first time in SEC history with South Carolina’s Dawn Staley and Georgia’s Joni Taylor.
Que Morrison finished with 20 points for the Bulldogs (20-6).
NO. 3 N.C. STATE 58 NO. 5 LOUISVILLE 56
Raina Perez hit a jumper from near the left elbow with 2.1 seconds left to help the Wolfpack beat the Cardinals in the championship game of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C.
Dana Evans finished with 15 points, and Kianna Smith had 13 for Louisville.
NO. 1 UCONN 84, VILLANOVA 39
Christyn Williams scored 26 points and the Huskies used a stifling defense to overwhelm the Wildcats in the semifinals of the Big East tournament in Uncasville, Conn.
Paige Bueckers had 18 points and eight assists, and Olivia Nelson-ododa added 13 points and seven rebounds for Uconn (23-1).
Sarah Mortensen had 15 points to lead Villanova (15-6).