No. 3 Purdue tops Michigan St. 67-62
MINNEAPOLIS — Zach Edey had 29 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks, as No. 3 Purdue recovered from a blown 12-point lead to beat the Spartans 67-62 in a hard-nosed quarterfinal game in the Big Ten Tournament on Friday.
Lance Jones added 10 points for the Boilermakers (29-3), who advanced to play Wisconsin in the semifinals on Saturday.
NO. 4 NORTH CAROLINA 72, PITT 65
WASHINGTON — RJ Davis took over the game with 25 points, Armando Bacot scored 19 while grabbing 11 rebounds and No. 4 North Carolina beat Pittsburgh 72-65 to advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament final.
The Tar Heels’ eighth consecutive victory coupled with other results around the country put them in the driver’s seat for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That path cleared earlier in the day when fifth-ranked Tennessee lost 73-56 to Mississippi State in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
UNC (27-6, 17-3) still had to take care of business against Pitt (2211, 12-8), an opponent firmly on the NCAA bubble playing to shore up its spot in the field.
The Panthers led by as many as nine in the first half and kept punching back until late, tying it at 62 with about four minutes left until Davis hit just his second 3-pointer to put the Tar Heels ahead.
MISSISSIPPI ST. 73, N0. 5 TENNESSEE 56
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Cameron Matthews and Josh Hubbard each scored 18 points as the Bulldogs dominated the Volunteers in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
This victory should push the Bulldogs (21-12) firmly off the NCAA Tournament bubble with their second win over No. 1 seed Tennessee this season. They will play No. 12 Auburn in the semifinals Saturday, their first semifinal since winning this event in 2009.
OREGON 67, NO. 6 ARIZONA 59
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Jackson Shelstad scored 21 points, Jermaine Couisnard had 20 and Oregon shut down No. 6 Arizona for a victory in the Pac-12 Tournaments semifinals.
The fourth-seeded Ducks (22-11) will play No. 22 Washington State or Colorado in Saturday’s championship game.
NO. 7 IOWA ST. 76, NO. 14 BAYLOR 62
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Keshon Gilbert had 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and No. 7 Iowa State used a big second-half run to beat No. 14 Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 79, PROVIDENCE 68
NEW YORK — Kam Jones scored 23 points and Oso Ighodaro had 20 as No. 10 Marquette beat seventh-seeded Providence withstanding a second-half surge by Devin Carter and advancing to the Big East Tournament championship game for the second straight year.
NO.12 AUBURN 86, NO. 15 SOUTH CAROLINA 55
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Johni Broome had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead Auburn to romp over South Carolina at the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
FLORIDA 102, NO. 19 ALABAMA 88
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Walter Clayton Jr. scored 23 points and led five Gators in double figures as sixth-seeded Florida routed No. 19 Alabama in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
COLORADO 58, NO. 22 WASHINGTON ST. 52
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — KJ Simpson scored 16 points and Colorado held Washington State to a season low in points, defeating the 22nd-ranked Cougars in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals.