Jaquez wins Pac-12 Player of the Year
Regular-season champ UCLA (27-4, 18-2) dominated the Pac-12's major individual awards, which were announced Tuesday.
Swingman Jaime Jaquez Jr. was named the Player of the Year. He's averaging 17.5 points, 8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, ranking in the top five of the conference in each. Forward Adem Bona is the Freshman of the Year. He ranks second in the Pac-12 in field-goal percentage (66.7) and fifth in blocked shots per game (1.7). The Bruins' Mick Cronin won the Coach of the Year honor; he also won it in 2019-20.
No player from a Bay Area school made the 10man All-Pac-12 first team. Stanford forward Spencer Jones (13.9 ppg) made the five-man second team. The Cardinal (13-18, 7-13) will face Utah (17-14, 10-10) in a first-round game of the Pac-12 tournament on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
Cal (3-28, 2-18) will lug a 15-game losing streak into its matchup with Washington State (16-15, 11-9) on Wednesday afternoon. Forward Grant Newell did not make the five-man AllFreshman team but received honorable-mention recognition.
Portland women win WCC crown
Maisie Burnham scored 19 points, Alex Fowler had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Portland beat twotime defending West Coast Conference Tournament champion Gonzaga 64-60 on Tuesday in Las Vegas to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.
Portland (23-8) snapped a six-game losing streak against the No. 16 Zags — with its last win coming in the tournament semifinals during the 2019-20 season.
Warrick, Norse earn NCAA bid
Marques Warrick scored 18 points and Sam Vinson added 16 to lead Northern Kentucky to a 6361 victory over Cleveland State in Indianapolis to win the Horizon League Tournament championship.
The Norse (22-12), onepoint losers to Wright State in last year's title conference game, advance to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time since 2017.
Charleston wins Colonial title
Ryan Larson scored 23 points to help send Charleston past upsetminded UNC Wilmington 63-58 in Washington to win the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament championship and clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
It's Charleston's first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2018 and sixth overall.