Cincinnati gets 26th straight home win
Confetti floated from the rafters and covered the court at the final buzzer. Cincinnati finished its perfect home season with a flourish.
Gary Clark had 14 points and seven rebounds in a balanced attack, and the 18th-ranked Bearcats rolled to their 26th straight win at home, 65-47 over Houston on Thursday night.
Cincinnati (26-4, 15-2 American Athletic) wrapped up its fourth undefeated season at Fifth Third Arena, which opened in 1989. The Bearcats’ home winning streak is the second-longest at the arena. They won 41 in a row from 1997-2000.
“We knew it would be a big part of our success, honestly,” said guard Kevin Johnson, one of three seniors honored before the game. “We always try to put on a show here.”
They will play at Northern Kentucky University next season while Fifth Third is renovated.
“It was a great way to close out Fifth Third Arena, to dominate the way we did,” coach Mick Cronin said. “Defensively we were as good as we’ve been in a long, long time.”
Houston (20-9, 11-6 ) came in with the second-best offense in the league but came away with its lowest point total of the season. Rob Gray led with 17 points.
The Cougars also lead the league in fewest turnovers, averaging 9.8. They had 13 against the Bearcats. Houston got outrebounded 40-24.
Jordan Bohannon hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 9 seconds left, and Iowa (17-13, 9-8 Big Ten) capitalized on No. 22 Wisconsin’s sloppy final few minutes with a 7-0 run to beat the Badgers (22-8, 11-6). After Ethan Happ missed two free throws that could have sealed the win for Wisconsin, Iowa’s Peter Jok missed a jumper in the lane. But Cordell Pemsl corralled the offensive rebound and Bohannon hit the 3 from the left wing, stunning the crowd at the Kohl Center after Wisconsin led by nine with 4:15 left. The Hawkeyes have won two straight road games as they try to improve their postseason resume. The Badgers lost their third straight game, going scoreless for the final 3:12. Nate Mason had 25 points in 28 minutes with his best shooting performance in Big Ten play, Jordan Murphy posted his sixth double-double in the last seven games and Minnesota breezed by Nebraska for its eighth straight victory. Murphy finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds and Reggie Lynch had 11 points, six blocks and six rebounds as the Gophers (11-6, 23-7) overpowered the Huskers (12-17, 6-11) around and underneath the basket. Mason went 9 for 13 from the field and Dupree McBrayer added 16 points and six assists for Minnesota, which will play at Wisconsin on Sunday with a chance at second place and a double-bye in the conference tournament well within reach.
Nia Coffey scored a season-high 34 points, Lauren Douglas added 17 — including four free throws in the last 10 seconds — and ninthseeded Northwestern (20-10) edged eighth-seeded Iowa (1713) in the second round of the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.
Andreona Keys scored a career-high 26 points and fifth-seeded Purdue (20-11) defeated No. 12 seed Illinois (9-22). Carlie Wagner scored 26 points and pulled down 10 rebounds and No. 10 seed Minnesota (1515) defeated No. 7 seed Penn State (19-10).
Tori Jankoska scored 22 points and Taya Reimer had a double-double to lead No. 6 seed Michigan State (20-10) over 11th-seeded Wisconsin (9-22).