Tech downs BYU in Big 12 quarters; Houston on tap
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Pop Isaacs scored 22 points, Chance Mcmillian added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Texas Tech withstood a furious second-half rally by BYU for an 81-67 victory in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
The No. 4 seed Red Raiders (23-9) led by as many as 23 in the first half before the Cougars (23-10) embarked on a 15-0 second-half run to make it interesting.
Texas Tech will face No. 1 Houston, a 60-45 winner over TCU, in the Big 12 semifinals.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC
Ezra Ausar led East Carolina with 28 points and RJ Felton secured the victory with a layup with 34 seconds remaining as the eighth-seeded Pirates took down ninth-seeded Tulsa 84-79 in the second round.
East Carolina (15-17) will play top seed South Florida in Friday's quarterfinals.
ATLANTIC COAST
In Washington, Armando Bacot scored 14 points and grabbed 10 of his team's 48 rebounds to Seminoles' 22, and fourthranked Tar Heels (26-6, 18-3) rolled into the tournament semifinals with a 92-67 victory.
Shooting for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the ACC'S regular-season champions face Pitt on Friday.
The Panthers beat Wake Forest, 81-69.
ATLANTIC 10
In New York, Erik Reynolds II scored 30 points and No. 9 seed Saint Joseph's (21-12) beat topseeded Richmond, 66-61, on Thursday to advance to the tournament semifinals. The Hawks will face Virginia Commonwealth (21-12), a 73-59 winner over Massachusetts, in the semifinals.
BIG EAST
In New York, Tristen Newton and Donovan Clingan each had 13 points and seven rebounds and No. 2 Uconn (29-3) opened the postseason with an 87-60 blowout of Xavier in the tournament quarterfinals. The Huskies will play St. John's (20-12), which beat Seton Hall, 91-72.
BIG SKY
Wednesday in Boise, Idaho, Robert Ford III scored 22 points, and No. 5 seed Montana State (17-17) beat third-seeded Montana, 85-70, to clinch the league championship and the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
BIG TEN
In Minneapolis, A.J. Hoggard scored 17 points, and No. 8 seed Michigan State beat No. 9 seed Minnesota 77-67 in the tournament's second round. Michigan State (19-13) advances to play top-seeded Purdue in the quarterfinals on Friday. … John Blackwell (18) and Steven Crowl (17) made seven of Wisconsin's season-high 16 3-pointers in an 87-56 rout of Maryland in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. Wisconsin (20-12) will play No. 4 seed Northwestern on Friday in the quarterfinals.
PAC-12
KJ Lewis led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points and sixth-ranked Arizona avenged a loss to USC to end the regular season by rolling past the Trojans, 70-49, in the tournament quarterfinals in Las Vegas. PATRIOT LEAGUE Wednesday in Hamilton, N.Y., Brady Cummins scored a career-high 19 points, and top-seeded Colgate collected its fourth straight tournament title and NCAA Tournament bid with a 74-55 win over Lehigh.
SOUTHEASTERN
In Nashville, Tenn., Josh Hubbard scored 14 of his
24 points in the second half when he helped Mississippi State (20-12) pull away late and beat LSU 70-60 on Thursday in the second round. The Bulldogs face top seed and No. 5-ranked Tennessee on Friday. … Collin Murrayboyles scored 24 points, and fifth seed and No. 15-ranked South Carolina beat Arkansas, 80-66, and will play No. 4 seed and
No. 12 Auburn.
SOUTHLAND
Wednesday in Lake Charles, La., Shahada Wells scored 27 points and Mcneese (30-3) beat Nicholls 92-76 to win the conference championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002 with its 30th victory this season.