Tatum leads Duke past Notre Dame for ACC title
Villanova claims Big East championship; Iowa State beats West Virginia in Big 12 final
NEW YORK — Jayson Tatum took over in the final three minutes, making key plays on both ends of the floor, and Duke became the first team to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament with four wins in four days by rallying past Notre Dame. The freshman forward finished a spectacular week in Brooklyn with 19 points and eight rebounds for the fifth-seeded Blue Devils (278). Duke won its first ACC Tournament championship since 2011 and its 20th overall, most in league history.
Bonzie Colson was a beast for third-seeded Notre Dame (25-9), with 29 points and nine rebounds.
The Blue Devils came from double digits down in the second half to beat both No. 10 Louisville and No. 6 North Carolina to get to the finals at Barclays Center and then came from eight back with 11:35 left to defeat the Irish.
No. 2 VILLANOVA 74, CREIGHTON 60
NEW YORK — Josh Hart scored 29 points and No. 2 Villanova beat Creighton 74-60 on Saturday to win the Big East Tournament and probably lock up the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Hart, the conference player of the year, became just the third player to win the tournament MVP award twice, joining Patrick Ewing of Georgetown and Peyton Siva of Louisville.
It was the third Big East Tournament crown for Villanova, the others coming in 1995 and 2015. The defending national champions have won four con- secutive Big East regularseason titles.
The top-seeded Wildcats (31-3) forced 17 turnovers that led to 21 points. And with Hart leading the way, they made every big shot they needed.
Jalen Brunson added 17 points for Villanova. Kris Jenkins, whose 3-pointer won the national championship game last year, had 14.
Cole Huff and Marcus Foster each scored 13 points to lead sixth-seeded Creighton (25-9).
No. 8 KENTUCKY 79, ALABAMA 74
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — De’Aaron Fox scored a career-high 28 points, including seven straight down the stretch, and Malik Monk added 20 to lift Kentucky