Star returns for No. 4 Illinois, which defeats No. 7 Ohio State
Ayo Dosunmu returned to the lineup after missing three games to score the final five points and break a 68-68 tie as No. 4 Illinois defeated host No. 7 Ohio State 73-68 on Saturday.
He and Andre Curbelo each had 19 points for the Fighting Illini (20-6, 16-4 Big Ten), who have won four straight.
The Buckeyes (18-8, 12-8) were led by E,J. Liddell with 19 points and Duane Washington Jr. with 15. Ohio State has lost four in a row.
Illinois got a boost with the performance by national player of the year candidate Dosunmu. He was out of the lineup with facial injuries sustained against Michigan State on Feb. 23. Illini coach Brad Underwood said that Dosunmu, who averages 21.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists, had also been in concussion protocol.
SAINT MARY’S 52, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT 47 >> Logan Johnson led the Gaels (14-8) with 25 points in the West Coast Conference quarterfinal win over the Lions. Saint Mary’s earns a semifinal meeting Monday with top-ranked and unbeaten Gonzaga in Las Vegas.
NO. 17 OKLAHOMA STATE 85, NO. 6 WEST VIRGINIA 80 >> Sophomore Avery Anderson III scored 31 points to lead the visiting Cowboys.
Oklahoma State (18-7, 11-7 Big 12) was without star freshman Cade Cunningham, who injured his left ankle late in a loss to No. 3 Baylor on Thursday.
Freshman Matthew-alexander Moncrieffe added 18 points for Oklahoma State.
Taz Sherman led the Mountaineers (18-8, 11-6) with 20 points.
NO. 8 ALABAMA 89, GEORGIA 79 >> Herbert Jones had two baskets in a 9-0 run to open the second half that gave the SEC champion Crimson Tide the lead.
Jahvon Quinerly led five Alabama scorers in double figures with 18 points.
Alabama (21-6, 16-2 SEC) matched its school record for SEC wins set in the 1986-87 season.
Georgia (14-11, 7-11) led by 14 in the first half but couldn’t maintain the pace.
PROVIDENCE 54, NO. 10 VILLANOVA 52 >> David Duke made a tiebreaking tip-in with 2.8 seconds left and the Friars held on after blowing a 20-point lead to surprise the Wildcats. Duke and Nate Watson scored 20 points apiece for Providence (13-12, 9-10 Big East), which has won five of its
past seven games against ranked teams.
Samuels scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half for Villanova (16-5, 11-4).
NOTRE DAME 83, NO. 11 FLORIDA STATE 73 >> Prentiss Hubb scored 22 points, Dane Goodwin had 15 and the Fighting Irish upset the visiting Seminoles.
Notre Dame (10-14, 7-11 ACC) had five players score in double figures and went 28 for 34 at the free-throw line, compared to 15 for 20 for Florida State (15-5, 11-4).
NO. 12 ARKANSAS 87, TEXAS A&M 80 >> Moses Moody scored 28 points, Jalen Tate added 22 and the Razorbacks matched the program’s longest SEC winning streak at 11 games. Arkansas (21-5, 13-4) also won 11 straight SEC games in 199394 en route to a national championship.
NO. 14 CREIGHTON 93, BUTLER 73 >> Marcus Zegarowski scored 32 points, and the Bluejays (18-7, 14-6 Big East), under interim coach Alan Huss, beat the Bulldogs.
Creighton head coach Greg Mcdermott is suspended indefinitely for making racially insensitive remarks to his team following a Feb. 27 loss.
Chuck Harris had 29 points for Butler (9-14, 8-12).
ARIZONA FACES FIVE NCAA LEVEL I CHARGES >> The University of Arizona athletic department stands accused of five Level I rules violations after receiving an official notice of allegations from the NCAA on Friday.
Four of the charges specifically target the men’s basketball program, while the other is directed at the athletic department in general.
Level I violations are the most serious of NCAA charges. Penalties can include banning teams from postseason play. Arizona previously announced it was making the men’s basketball team ineligible for the postseason in the current campaign, hoping that would appease NCAA investigators.
The allegations against the
Wildcats are mostly tied to the activities of former men’s basketball assistant coaches Emanuel “Book” Richardson and Mark Phelps, who were implicated in a larger college basketball corruption scandal.
Women
STANFORD FACES UCLA FOR TITLE >> Fourth-ranked and top-seeded Stanford, playing in the championship game for the 18th time in 20 tournaments, seeks another trophy today as it faces No. 9 UCLA in the Pac-12 women’s tournament in Las Vegas. The Cardinal have won 13 tournament titles.
UCLA earned its way to the championship game with a 58-49 semifinal win late Friday over No. 11 Arizona.
The Bruins (16-4) lost to Stanford 61-49 in December, then picked up a 70-66 win in a January rematch. SANTA CLARA REACHES WCC SEMIFINALS >> No. 4seeded Santa Clara scored 20 points in the paint in the first quarter alone, shot 72 percent in the first half and never trailed on the way to an 83-68 win over Loyola Marymount in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
Santa Clara (14-10) advances to Monday’s 11 a.m. semifinal against topseeded and regular-season champion Gonzaga (21-3).
The Broncos face a far stiffer challenge against Gonzaga, the nation’s 18thranked team.
Senior Merle Wiehl scored a career-high 28 points on 11-for-15 shooting to lead Santa Clara, and junior Lindsey Vanallen had 22 on 9 of 12 from the field. USF TOPS SAINT MARY’S >> Lucija Kostic scored 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead USF to a 69-63 win over Saint Mary’s in the WCC quarterfinals.
Kostic added eight assists, six steals, and three blocks for the Dons (15-9).
The Dons take on No. 2 seed BYU on Monday.