TOP 25 ROUNDUP
No. 5 North Carolina 90, No. 17 Duke 83
Joel Berry II scored 28 points — including a critical late-game burst of seven straight for his team — to help No. 5 North Carolina hold off No. 17 Duke 90-83 on Saturday night. Isaiah Hicks added 21 points for the Tar Heels, who battled through a nearly shot-for-shot fight with their fiercest rival to finish unbeaten at home. The game featured 24 lead changes and 14 ties before UNC (26-6, 14-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) finally pushed ahead for good in the final six minutes, with its final margin the biggest lead for either team all night. Luke Kennard, another league player of the year contender, finished with 28 points to lead the Blue Devils (23-8, 11-7).
No. 2 Villanova 81, Georgetown
Josh Hart scored 21 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers with 7 minutes left that put the game out of reach, as No. 2 Villanova pulled away to beat Georgetown. Hart finished 8 of 15 from the field with six rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead the Wildcats (28-3, 15-3 Big East) to their fifth consecutive victory over the Hoyas (14-17, 5-13) — tying the longest streak in the history of the rivalry. Kris Jenkins scored 19 points and Jalen Brunson had 17 for Villanova.
No. 7 Arizona 73, Arizona St. 60
Allonzo Trier scored 19 points, guard Rawle Alkins grabbed 15 rebounds and Arizona pulled away in the second half to clinch at least a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title. Arizona (27-4, 16-2) was out of sorts at both ends in the first half, clinging to a one-point lead. The Wildcats jumped on the Sun Devils to start the second half and shut them down defensively to sweep the season series. Kodi Justice led the Sun Devils (14-17, 7-11) with 17 points and Torian Graham added 12.
No. 8 Louisville 71, No. 19 Notre Dame 64
Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points, including four free throws in the final 22 seconds, and Deng Adel made a big 3-pointer for Louisville. Quentin Snider added 17 points, including four second-half 3-pointers that gave the Cardinals the edge in a back-andforth game with the Fighting Irish, who trailed 62-60 with 50 seconds remaining. Adel followed with the pivotal 3 13 seconds later before Mitchell sealed Louisville’s hard-earned victory at the foul line. Mangok Mathiang came off the bench to score a career-best 18 points with 11 rebounds in his home finale as Louisville (247, 12-6 ACC) avoided its first losing streak this season. Bonzie Colson had 20 points and V.J. Beachem added 17 with eight rebounds for Notre Dame (23-8, 12-6), which had won six straight.
No. 9 Kentucky 71, Texas A&M 63
De’Aaron Fox scored 19 points and Kentucky overcame an early 15-point deficit to claim the Southeastern Conference regular-season title outright. Kentucky won its fifth regular-season SEC championship in eight seasons under coach John Calipari. The Aggies (16-14, 8-10) leaped to a 19-4 lead 8 minutes into the game, as the Wildcats (26-5, 16-2) missed nine of their first 10 shots. Kentucky closed the first half with a 28-9 run. No. 11 Baylor 75, Texas 64 Johnathan Motley had 17 points and 17 rebounds for Baylor. The 6-foot-10 Motley also had a big game in a victory against Texas earlier in the season with 32 points, 20 rebounds and three blocks. Jake Lindsey added 16 points as Baylor (25-6, 12-6) matched school records for total victories and Big 12 wins. Jarrett Allen had 20 points and nine rebounds for Texas (1021, 4-14), which has lost seven straight games.
Vanderbilt 73, No. 12 Florida 71
Riley LaChance’s layup with 1:35 left gave Vanderbilt the lead for good as the Commodores rallied from a 12-point deficit to sweep Florida. With the win, Vanderbilt (17-14, 10-8 SEC) has won five of six overall and polished up its resume for the NCAA Tournament. Florida (24-7, 14-4) goes into the SEC Tournament having lost two of its last three. The Gators led 54-42 with 12:06 left, then went cold down the stretch. Luke Kornet finished with 24 points for Vanderbilt. Canyon Barry led the Gators with 15 points.
Seton Hall 70, No. 13 Butler 64
Desi Rodriguez scored 21 points, and Angel Delgado added 20 points and 16 rebounds for Seton Hall. The Pirates (20-10, 10-8 Big East) scored the game’s final seven points, taking a 65-64 lead on Khadeen Carrington’s basket with 1:24 remaining. Myles Powell’s 3-pointer with 35.3 seconds left stretched the lead to 68-64. Carrington, who finished with 17 points, iced it with two free throws with 12 seconds to go, extending the Pirates’ winning streak to four.