No. 3 Purdue opens Big Ten tourney with 67-62 win over MSU

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.

Tyson Walker had 15 points, Malik Hall pitched in 12 points and Tre Holloman scored 10 points for the Spartans (19-14), who had an 18-0 edge in fastbreak points and made a spirited rally to tie the game late before falling short in head coach Tom Izzo’s 1,000th game on the bench.

NO. 1 HOUSTON 82, NO. 25 TEXAS TECH 59>> L.J. Cryer hit six 3-pointers and scored 20 points as topranked Houston, playing most of the way without injured big man J’wan Roberts, used a big second half to rout No. 25 Texas Tech in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.

Roberts played only a few minutes in each half after hurting his right leg, but the rest of the shorthanded Cougars covered for him. Emanuel Sharp scored 17 points and conference player of the year Jamal Shead had 12, helping Houston (30-3) outscore its old Southwest Conference rival 50-30 in the second half to reach the title game in its first year in its new conference.

NO. 2 UCONN 95, ST. JOHN’S 90>> Tristen Newton had 25 points and nine assists as Uconn advanced to the Big East championship game with a victory over the St. John’s in New York.

Cam Spencer added 20 points and nine assists for the top-seeded Huskies (30-3).

It’s the 11th appearance in the Big East final for Connecticut and first since Kemba Walker carried the team to its most recent title in 2011. Uconn had been 0-3 in conference semifinals since rejoining the league for the 2020-21 season.

NO. 4 NORTH CAROLINA 72, PITT 65>> 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 fnal in Washington.

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.

MISSISSIPPI ST. 73, N0. 5 TENNESSEE 56>> Cameron Matthews and Josh Hubbard each scored 18 points as the Bulldogs dominated the Volunteers in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals in Nashville, Tenn.

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.

TEXAS A&M 97, NO. 9 KENTUCKY 87>> Wade Taylor IV scored 32 points as Texas A&M upset ninth-ranked Kentucky for the second biggest upset of the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

The seventh-seeded Aggies won their fifth straight to reach Saturday’s semifinals for the third time since joining the SEC and second in three seasons. The Aggies, who lost the final in 2016 and 2022, will play either No. 19 Alabama or Florida.

Texas A&M lost the 2022 title game to Tennessee, the regular-season champs who were ousted in Friday’s first game by Mississippi State.

OREGON 67, NO. 6 ARIZONA 59>> Jackson Shelstad scored 21 points, Jermaine Couisnard had 20 and Oregon shut down No. 6 Arizona for a 67-59 victory in the Pac-12 Tournaments semifinals in Las Vegas.

The fourth-seeded Ducks will play No. 22 Washington State or Colorado in Saturday’s championship game. Arizona will learn its seed and destination in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

The Wildcats, who were 11 1/2-point favorites according to Fanduel Sportsbook, were attempting to three-peat as Pac-12 champions. N’faly Dante had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Oregon, overcoming a tough early fall.

NO. 10 MARQUETTE 79, PROVIDENCE 68>> Kam Jones scored 23 points and Oso Ighodaro had 20 as No. 10 Marquette beat seventhseeded Providence 79-68, withstanding a secondhalf surge by Devin Carter and advancing to the Big East Tournament championship game for the second straight year.

The third-seeded Golden Eagles will face top seed and defending national champion Uconn on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Carter, the Big East coaches’ pick for conference player of the year, scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half for Providence.

NO.12 AUBURN 86, NO. 15 SOUTH CAROLINA 55>> Johni Broome had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead Auburn to romp over South Carolina at the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Auburn (25-7) routed South Carolina by 40 when these teams met in the regular season. The Tigers led by as much as 32 on Friday.

Chaney Johnson scored 11 points and K.D. Johnson added 10 for Auburn. South Carolina (26-7) trimmed the lead to 10 points twice. Auburn answered and continued to build its offensive momentum to lead 46-26 at the half. The second half was much of the same with Auburn dominating offensively and defensively.

B.J. Mack’s 14 points paced South Carolina.

Auburn shot 49.3% from the field while holding South Carolina to 28.1%.

NO. 13 ILLINOIS 77, OHIO ST. 74>> Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 28 points to help No. 13 Illinois overcome a 10-point second-half deficit and beat Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

The game was tied at 71 when Jamison Battle sank a 3-pointer to put Ohio State on top with 1:44 to play. But Shannon and Coleman Hawkins each hit a pair of free throws to put Illinois up 75-74 entering the final minute. Shannon made two more free throws with 11.3 second left to go up 77-74. Battle had a chance to tie the game on a 3-pointer when Illinois (24-8) neglected to foul and prevent a shot, but the ball bounced off the rim.

WOMEN

No. 25 Fairfield tops Canisius in semis for 28th straight win

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.>> Janelle Brown scored 19 points, Meghan Andersen added 16 as No. 25 Fairfield beat Canisius on Friday in the semifinal of he Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament.

Fairfield (30-1) advances to the championship game for the second time in the last three seasons, and 12th overall, for a chance at the program’s fifth MAAC title. Canisius (17-14) was in the semifinals for the first time since 2009.

Fairfield also extended its winning streak to 28 straight games, passing the 2009-10 Marist squad for the longest in conference history.