Memphis upsets Houston in AAC

Kendric Davis scored 31 points, including 14 in a big run before halftime, and Memphis held on to beat shorthanded No. 1 Houston 75-65 in the American Athletic Conference tournament championship game Sunday.

DeAndre Williams had 16 points and 13 rebounds for coach Penny Hardaway and the Tigers (26-8), who got the league’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid. They are going to March Madness for the second year in a row.

Houston (31-3) played without AAC player of the year Marcus Sasser, who strained his groin in the first half of Saturday’s semifinal game.

The senior guard’s status will remain a question mark for the Cougars, who entered their final AAC game already a sure bet for their first No. 1 NCAA seed since 1983 during the Phi Slama Jama era. The Cougars, who are moving to the Big 12 next season, beat Memphis 71-53 in last year’s AAC tournament championship game, and won both regular-season matchups this season.

J’Wan Roberts had 12 points and 20 rebounds for Houston. Jamal Shead had 15 points on 3-of-14 shooting, and Jarace Walker had 13 points before fouling out.

The Cougars trailed by 18 at halftime, but got within 55-50 with 11:03 left after Shead scored eight points in a row for them in a two-minute span. His 3-pointer capped a 12-1 run, and he made another long-range shot before two free throws, but that was the closest Houston would get.

Memphis had taken control with a 16-2 run in the first half. Davis had all but two of those points and made two 3-pointers only 9 seconds apart.

No. 4 Alabama finishes off SEC title double dip at tourney:

Brandon Miller walked along the front row, celebrating and slapping high-fives with family and friends. Even his high school coach was in the building.

Playing in his hometown certainly made the Southeastern Conference Tournament a friendly location for the league’s best player and tourney MVP — a freshman who also finds himself fielding questions about his off-court actions in January. Miller scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as fourth-ranked Alabama smothered No. 18 Texas A&M 82-63 on Sunday for the Crimson Tide’s second SEC Tournament championship in three seasons.

“It means a lot just to have my family come just five minutes down the road to watch me play ...,” Miller said. “The fun part is just really going out and getting a win with my guys in the SEC championship.”

It was the Crimson Tide’s second SEC double dip in three seasons, having picked up their regular-season trophy Friday.

VCU beats Dayton to win A-10 championship and NCAA bid:

As VCU prepared to cut down the nets at Barclays Center, its band — The Peppas — broke into a rocking rendition of Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind.”

For all the Rams’ success in the Atlantic 10 in recent years, they have had few opportunities to party in Brooklyn. This time, with a conference championship and an NCAA Tournament bid on the line, VCU earned a chance to celebrate.

Jalen DeLoach had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and top-seeded VCU beat second-seeded Dayton 68-56 on Sunday to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament for the first time in eight years.

“To get to the championship game at VCU is something we want to do all the time, but we want to go win and to win it you got to go take it,” coach Mike Rhoades said.

Princeton tops Yale 74-65 to win Ivy League title:

Tosan Evbuomwan scored 21 points, Caden Pierce added a double-double and Princeton beat Yale 74-65 on Sunday to win the Ivy League Tournament and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. No. 2 seed Princeton’s victory ends top-seeded Yale’s three-year run as league champion. The Tigers will be making their 26th appearance in the Big Dance and their first since 2017. Yale beat Princeton 66-64 in last season’s championship game.

Kansas coach Self out of hospital after heart procedure:

Kansas coach Bill Self was discharged from a Kansas Cityarea hospital Sunday, where he had been recovering after a procedure to treat blocked arteries in his heart, and the Hall of Famer plans to rejoin the No. 3 Jayhawks as they begin defense of their NCAA championship this week.

Self went to the emergency room Wednesday night, shortly after watching his team in a final shootaround ahead of the Big 12 Tournament, and was complaining of chest tightness and concerns with his balance.

Dr. Mark Wiley, the chief of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Kansas Health System, said Self underwent a standard heart catheterization and had two stents placed to help treat the blocked arteries.

“Coach Self responded well to the procedure and is expected to make a full recovery,” Wiley said.

Purdue holds off Penn State for Big Ten title:

Zach Edey scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and No. 5 Purdue hung on to beat Penn State 67-65 in the Big Ten Tournament championship game Sunday. The Boilermakers (29-5) led by as much as 17 in the second half, only to have the lead shrink to one in the closing seconds. They came away with their second title to go with one in 2009.