No. 7 Iowa State blitzes No. 1 Houston to win Big 12 crown

KANSAS CITY, MO. >>

T.J. Otzelberger nearly let the

Big 12 Tournament trophy slip through his hands before adjusting his grip and raising it above his head, that polo shirt so many people find so comically tight on Iowa State’s coach stretching just a little bit more.

There was nothing funny about the way the Cyclones played Saturday night.

Led by Keshon Gilbert, the tourney’s most outstanding player, and a balanced roster in which everyone has a role, the nation’s seventh-ranked team efficiently dismantled No. 1 Houston in the championship game. Gilbert finished with 16 points as the Cyclones rolled to the 69-41 victory, giving them their sixth Big 12 trophy in their sixth title game appearance.

The margin was the largest over a No. 1 team since UCLA beat the Cougars by 32 in the 1968 Final Four.

“I give our guys all the credit,” Otzelberger said. “You hear it all the time, you want to be playing your best this time of year. I don’t think there’s any question that’s what we’re doing.”

Milan Momcilovic had 18 points and Hason Ward scored 13 for the Cyclones (27-7).

NO. 2 UCONN 73, NO. 10 MARQUETTE 57>>

Donovan Clingan had 22 points and a career-best 16 rebounds, Jaylin Stewart gave Uconn an unexpected boost with three second-half 3-pointers during a decisive surge and the Huskies beat Marquette to win the Big East Tournament in New York for the first time since rejoining the league four years ago.

Tournament MVP Tristen Newton added 13 points and 10 assists as the top-seeded Huskies won their eighth title, matching Georgetown for the most in conference history. It was their first since 2011, when Kemba Walker led Uconn to five wins in five days — and then a national title.

Stewart, a freshman who was averaging 2.4 points off the bench, scored nine in about a four-minute span as Uconn (31-3) pulled away from a game Marquette team playing without injured star Tyler Kolek (oblique) for a sixth straight game. Kam Jones led the third-seeded Golden Eagles (25-9) with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

WISCONSIN 76, NO. 3 PURDUE 75, OT>>

Max Klesmit made a runner in the lane with 4.8 seconds to play in overtime and Wisconsin beat Big Ten Tournament top-seed Purdue for a spot in the conference championship game in Minneapolis.

Klesmit’s clutch shot followed his teammate Chucky Hepburn’s in regulation, when Hepburn made a layup as time expired to force overtime.

“Just got a good look at the end, and it went in,” said Klesmit, who finished with 12 points, five assists and five rebounds.

Hepburn had 22 points and AJ Storr scored 20 for fifth-seeded Wisconsin (22-12).

Zach Edey led No. 3 Purdue (29-4) with 28 points and 11 rebounds. He was the only Boilermaker who scored in double digits.

Edey surpassed Rick Mount’s school record of 2,323 career points (19671970) with about seven minutes remaining in the second half.

NC STATE 84, NO. 4 NORTH CAROLINA 76>>

DJ Horne scored 29 points, forward DJ Burns Jr. had 20, including the first 3-pointer of his college career, and North Carolina State is returning to the NCAA Tournament after beating fourth-ranked North Carolina in the ACC Tournament title game.

Led by the two DJS, 10th-seeded N.C. State (22-14) capped an improbable run, knocking off the Tar Heels (27-7) who have looked like a national championship contender for much of the season. Horne starred while playing 32 minutes through foul trouble, going shot for shot with UNC’S unanimous ACC player of the year RJ Davis, who had 30 points.

NO. 12 AUBURN 73, MISSISSIPPI STATE 66>>

Dylan Cardwell waved to fans, turned a corner toward the locker room and then the 6-foot-11 center celebrated with a cartwheel.

The senior backup scored his only points on consecutive dunks in the final minutes as Auburn held off ninth-seeded Mississippi State to reach the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game in Nashville.

“That was really a game changer that I feel like gave us a spark to everybody,” Auburn’s Chad Baker-mazara said.

With the SEC’S top three seeds losing Friday for the first time since 1983, that left a wide-open path for Auburn (26-7) to win the tournament for the first time since 2019.

The Tigers will face Florida, which beat Texas A&M 95-90, as they try to win Auburn’s third title.

NO. 13 ILLINOIS 98, NEBRASKA 87>>

Terrence Shannon Jr. scored a career-high 40 points for a Big Ten Tournament record to lead a second-half surge by Illinois in a victory over Nebraska in the semifinals on Saturday in Minneapolis.

“Nobody can stop him. I think he’s the best player in the country by far,” said teammate Ty Rodgers, who had eight points and 13 rebounds.

Marcus Domask added 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and Luke Goode made four 3-pointers for the Illini (25-8), who fell behind by 15 points early in the second half before seizing control to move to the conference championship game against Wisconsin.

Brice Williams had 23 points, Keisei Tominaga added 18 and Rienk Mast scored 15 for the Huskers (23-10), who hit the wall hard down the stretch in their first appearance in the Big Ten semifinals in 13 seasons in the league.

“Not only physically did we hit some fatigue, but mentally,” coach Fred Hoiberg said.