The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Miami holds off Wake Forest, reaches ACC men’s semifinals
Miami coach Jim Larrañaga breathed a sigh of relief, reiterating a popular saying this time of the year: “It’s about surviving and advancing.” The Hurricanes did just that Thursday, just barely, in Greensboro, N.C.
Jordan Miller had 18 points and nine rebounds for No. 14 Miami, which held off a furious comeback by Wake Forest — down 18 points in the second half — to earn a 74-72 victory in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. ACC player of the year Isaiah Wong had 17 points and five assists and Norchad Omier had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Miami — the top seed for the first time since 2013.
Tyree Appleby had 24 points behind five 3s and Cameron Hildreth added 17 for ninth seed Wake Forest (19-17). Daivien Williamson, whose buzzer-beater beat Syracuse and effectively ended coach Jim Boeheim’s 47-year coaching career on Wednesday, missed a half-court heave at the buzzer that would have won the game.
The Hurricanes (25-6) move on to today’s semifinals, where they’ll face the winner of a game between No. 21 Duke and Pittsburgh that was slated for Thursday afternoon.
Big 12 Iowa State 78, No. 10 Baylor 72:
Gabe Kalscheur hit six 3-pointers and scored 24 points, helping Iowa State overcome a career-best 28-point performance by Baylor forward Jalen Bridges and sending the Cyclones to victory over the No. 10 Bears in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
Jaren Holmes added 17 points, Tamin Lipsey had 12 and Tre King 10 for the fifth-seeded Cyclones (19-12), who followed up a win over the Bears (22-10) on Saturday by beating them for the fifth time in six conference tournament games. Iowa State advanced to play thirdranked Kansas or West Virginia in the semifinals tonight.
Big East No. 6 Marquette 72, St. John’s 70 (OT):
Tyler Kolek scored all 19 of his points after halftime, including the tiebreaking free throws with 15.8 seconds left in overtime, and Marquette rallied for a victory in the tournament quarterfinals in New York.
Olivier-maxence Prosper added 16 points, several on highlight-reel dunks, and the top-seeded Golden Eagles (26-6) advanced to play 11th-ranked and fourth-seeded Uconn or fifth-seeded Providence in the semifinals tonight at Madison Square Garden.
Marquette has won seven straight and 12 of 13, reaching the Big East semifinals for the fourth time overall and first since 2019. But this one was anything but easy. The Golden Eagles, who trailed by 14 late in the first half, had to turn their defensive intensity way up to avoid an upset. They escaped when Posh Alexander’s good look at a 3-pointer for St. John’s glanced off the front rim at the buzzer.
Dylan Addae-wusu and David Jones each scored 16 to lead eighth-seeded St. John’s (18-15), which beat No. 9 seed Butler 76-63 in the first round Wednesday.