Jaden Bradley scored six of his 10 points in a 16-0 scoring run as No. 2 Arizona took charge to deliver an 84-61 victory over No. 14 Kansas on Saturday at Tucson, Ariz.
The Wildcats (27-2, 14-2 Big 12) avenged their loss at Kansas on Feb. 9, which was their first of the season after a program-record 23-0 start. The victory also clinched at least a tie for the regular-season Big 12 title for Arizona.
Brayden Burries led Arizona with 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Koa Peat, who missed the Wildcats’ last three games with a lower-leg muscle strain, had 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Darryn Peterson, out with flu-like symptoms in the previous meeting, finished with 24 points for the Jayhawks (21-8, 11-5). Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. each added 13 points.
No. 1 Duke 77, No. 11 Virginia 51
Isaiah Evans had a hot start on the way to 19 points, and the Blue Devils contained the Cavaliers for much of Saturday afternoon’s showdown in Durham, N.C.
Cameron Boozer racked up most of his 18 points on free throws for Duke (27-2, 15-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), which built its lead as large as 28 points in the second half. Boozer also had a team-high nine rebounds, while Patrick Ngongba II added 11 points.
Thijs De Ridder had 16 points for Virginia (25-4, 13-3), which was bidding to pull even atop the ACC standings. Instead, the Cavaliers’ nine-game winning streak was halted as they were held to a season-low point total.
No. 16 Texas Tech 82, No. 4 Iowa State 73
Donovan Atwell scored 18 points, hitting six 3-pointers, as the Red Raiders handed the Cyclones their first home loss of the season in Ames, Iowa.
Luke Bamgboye delivered his best game since stepping in as a starter for the injured J.T. Toppin with 13 points and Christian Anderson scored 12 points and dished out seven assists as Texas Tech (22-7, 12-4 Big 12) moved into a tie for second place in the conference with Houston.
Iowa State (24-5, 11-5) got 22 points from Joshua Jefferson and 20 from Milan Momcilovic, but couldn’t quite dig out of a hole that grew as deep as 45-25 late in the first half.
No. 5 Houston 102, Colorado 62
Milos Uzan poured in 26 points while hitting on five of his seven 3-point shots as the host Cougars snapped their three-game skid with a beatdown of the Buffaloes.
Houston (24-5, 12-4 Big 12) shrugged off a ragged start to build a 26-point lead at halftime and was ahead by 21-plus for the entire second half. Joseph Tugler added 14 points for the Cougars, who shot 59.6% from the floor and 58.8% from 3-point range.
Isaiah Johnson led Colorado with 19 points. Bangot Dak added 15 and Sebastian Rancik had 11 for the Buffaloes (16-13, 6-10), who had a two-game winning streak snapped.
No. 6 UConn 71, Seton Hall 67
Alex Karaban made 5 of 6 3-point attempts and scored a game-high 23 points, lifting the Huskies to a victory over the Pirates in Storrs, Conn.
Solo Ball added 14 points for UConn (27-3, 17-2 Big East), which trailed by eight points midway through the second half before responding with a 10-0 run,
Seton Hall (19-10, 9-9) received 20 points from A.J. Staton-McCray and 12 from Elijah Fisher. Adam Clark, who entered the game averaging a team-high 12.5 points per game, was held to four points on 2-of-10 shooting.
No. 7 Florida 111, No. 20 Arkansas 77
Thomas Haugh scored 22 points, Rueben Chinyelu had 12 points and 16 rebounds for his 17th double-double, and the Gators clinched at least a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season title with a rout of the Razorbacks in Gainesville, Fla.
Florida (23-6, 14-2 SEC) placed seven players in double figures in its highest scoring game of the season and has won nine straight games, eight of them by 13-plus points. The Gators shot 56.5% from the field and had a 51-31 rebounding advantage.
Billy Richmond scored 22 points and Darius Acuff Jr. added 17 for Arkansas (21-8, 11-5), which had won five of six. The 34-point margin of defeat was tied for the biggest of John Calipari’s coaching career.
Saint Mary’s 70, No. 9 Gonzaga 59
Mikey Lewis established career highs of 31 points and seven 3-pointers and the Gaels clinched a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title with a home win over the Bulldogs at Moraga, Calif.
Joshua Dent added 14 points and made four 3-pointers for Saint Mary’s (27-4, 16-2 WCC), which has won or shared the title in each of the past four seasons. Saint Mary’s shared the regular-season crown with Gonzaga in 2023 and won the league outright each of the past two seasons. Mantas Juzenas had 12 points on four treys and the Gaels outscored the Zags 41-23 in the second half.
Graham Ike scored 17 points before fouling out with 3:44 remaining for the Bulldogs (28-3, 16-2), who previously clinched a share of the crown and will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming WCC postseason tournament. Saint Mary’s will be the No. 2 seed. Adam Miller scored 14 points and Tyon Grant-Foster added 13 points and three blocked shots.
No. 12 Nebraska 82, Southern California 67
Pryce Sandfort scored 32-plus points for a second time in the last week to help the Cornhuskers rally from a second-half deficit in Los Angeles to hand the Trojans their fifth consecutive loss.
Nebraska (25-4, 14-4 Big Ten) exploded out of the intermission, taking the lead with a 12-2 surge and establishing full control with a 15-0 run. Braden Frager joined Sandfort in double-figures with 17 points to go along with eight rebounds off the bench.
Chad Baker-Mazara scored 14 first-half points for USC (18-11, 7-11) before leaving with an injury early in the second half after a hard fall. Alijah Arenas also tallied 14.
No. 15 St. John’s 89, Villanova 57
Zuby Ejiofor totaled 16 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists for his first career triple-double as the Red Storm relentlessly defended and overwhelmed the Wildcats in New York.
St. John’s (23-6, 16-2 Big East) bounced back impressively from Wednesday’s 72-40 loss at No. 6 UConn. Ejiofor made 6 of 12 shots after being held to six points Wednesday. Ian Jackson came off the bench and contributed 19 and a career-high five steals, and Oziyah Sellers contributed 14 as St. John’s won for the 14th time in 15 games.
Duke Brennan led Villanova (22-7, 13-5) with 12 points while Bryce Lindsay and Devin Askew added 10 apiece. Standout freshman Acaden Lewis was held to eight points and committed five of the Wildcats’ 16 turnovers.
No. 17 Alabama 71, No. 22 Tennessee 69
Labaron Philon Jr. gave the Crimson Tide their lone lead by sinking a jumper with 22.8 seconds remaining as the visitors recovered from a 13-point second-half deficit to post a victory over the Volunteers in SEC play at Knoxville, Tenn.
Philon scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half as Alabama (22-7, 12-4 SEC) extended its winning streak to eight games. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. scored 14 of his team-high 25 points in the second half for the Crimson Tide.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie had 26 points, seven assists and matched his own school record of eight steals for the Volunteers (20-9, 10-6), who lost their second straight game. J.P. Estrella added 12 points and Jaylen Carey contributed 10 points and nine rebounds.
No. 18 North Carolina 89, Virginia Tech 82
Henri Veesaar matched his career high with 26 points as the Tar Heels pulled away from the Hokies in the second half for a victory in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Seth Trimble put up 20 points as the Tar Heels (23-6, 11-5 ACC) won for the fourth time in their last five games without top scorer and rebounder Caleb Wilson, a star freshman who is out with a broken left hand.
Neo Avdalas supplied 19 points and five assists for Virginia Tech (18-11, 7-9), which came up short of gaining its third Quad 1 victory in its pursuit of a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
West Virginia 79, No. 19 BYU 71
Honor Huff scored 19 points and dished out six assists to lead the Mountaineers to an upset of the Cougars in Morgantown, W. Va.
Brenen Lorient racked up 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds and DJ Thomas scored 13 points off the bench for West Virginia (17-12, 8-8 Big 12), which snapped a three-game losing streak.
Robert Wright III led BYU (20-9, 8-8) with 23 points. AJ Dybantsa scored 20 points, with 16 coming in the second half, while Aleksej Kostic added 12 for the Cougars, who have dropped seven of their last 10 games.
No. 23 Saint Louis 91, Duquesne 76
Robbie Avila had 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to help the Billikens stave off the visiting Dukes for a victory in Atlantic 10 Conference play.
Quentin Jones added 17 points and Trey Green scored 14 for Saint Louis (26-3, 14-2 A-10), which had dropped two of its previous three games. The Billikens, who trailed by 12 points early in the first half, made 16 of their 28 3-point attempts (57.1%). Paul Otieno scored 13 points off the bench.
Tarence Guinyard led Duquesne (16-13, 8-8) with 27 points, followed by Jimmie Williams’ 16 and David Dixon’s 12.
Clemson 80, No. 24 Louisville 75
Powered by Jestin Porter’s 16 points, the Tigers came away with a win over the visiting Cardinals to snap their four-game losing streak.
Porter scored all of his points after halftime and made four three-pointers. RJ Godfrey scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Clemson (21-8, 11-5 ACC), which secured its second ranked win of the season.
Ryan Conwell extended his double-digit scoring streak to 22 games as he scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting for Louisville (20-9, 9-7). Leading scorer Mikel Brown Jr. scored a season-low five points on 2-of-10 shooting, coming off the bench due to a back injury.
Kentucky 91, No. 25 Vanderbilt 77
Colin Chandler scored a career-high 23 points and made six shots from 3-point range as the Wildcats exacted some revenge with a victory over the Commodores at Lexington, Ky.
Otega Oweh also scored 23 points, Denzel Aberdeen had 15 and Malachi Moreno added 11 as the Wildcats (19-10, 10-6 SEC) delivered some payback after an ugly 80-55 loss to the Commodores earlier this season.
Tyler Taner scored 19 points and Jalen Washington added 16 for Vanderbilt (22-7, 9-7), which has dropped three of its past five games in conference play. Tyler Nickel scored 13 points, AK Okereke added 12 and Duke Miles had 11 points for the Commodores.
–Field Level Media
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