Duane Washington Jr. scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half and No. 9 Ohio State booked a spot in the Big Ten tournament title game by escaping with a 68-67 semifinal victory over No. 4 Michigan on Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis.
E.J. Liddell tallied 13 of his 18 points in the second half to help the fifth-seeded Buckeyes (21-8) reach the Big Ten title game for the first time since 2013. Ohio State faces second-seeded Illinois (ranked No. 3) in Sunday’s title game.
Hunter Dickinson recorded 21 points and eight rebounds and Eli Brooks added 12 points for the top-seeded Wolverines (20-4), who made a late surge that fell short when Mike Smith’s 3-pointer caromed off the rim with under two seconds remaining. Smith scored 10 points but was just 1-of-11 shooting.
Michigan was without standout Isaiah Livers, who aggravated a right foot injury during Friday’s quarterfinal victory over Maryland. The school said Livers is out indefinitely. Ohio State also was without a key player in Kyle Young, who sustained a concussion during Friday’s win overtime win over Purdue.
No. 3 Illinois 82, No. 5 Iowa 71
Kofi Cockburn scored a game-high 26 points while outplaying Big Ten Player of the Year Luka Garza as the Fighting Illini advanced to the conference tournament final by beating the Hawkeyes in Indianapolis.
Ayo Dosunmu nearly registered a triple-double, and finished with 18 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Andre Curbelo added 12 points as the second-seeded Fighting Illini (22-6) advanced to Sunday’s conference title game against fifth-seeded Ohio State.
Garza finished with a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double, but made just 8 of 21 shots from the field and played down the stretch with four fouls. Jordan Bohannon scored 20 points and dealt six assists for the third-seeded Hawkeyes (21-8).
No. 6 Alabama 73, Tennessee 68
Herbert Jones finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Crimson Tide to victory over the Volunteers in a Southeastern Conference tournament semifinal in Nashville, Tenn.
Jones, the SEC’s Player of the Year, also had four assists to help Alabama erase a 15-point second-half deficit and advance to its first conference championship game since 2002. The Crimson Tide (23-6), which won their fifth in a row, will attempt to win their first conference tournament crown since 1991.
Keon Johnson finished with 20 points and nine rebounds to lead the Volunteers (18-8), who are expected to earn a bid to next week’s NCAA Tournament.
No. 7 Houston 76, Memphis 74
Justin Gorham grabbed two key rebounds and sank four free throws down the stretch as the Cougars held off the Tigers in Fort Worth to advance to the American Athletic Conference Championship final.
Gorham finished with 15 points and seven boards. Quentin Grimes scored a team-high 21 points, including 5 of 8 on 3-pointers for Houston (23-3), the tournament’s second seed. The Cougars will face fifth-seeded Cincinnati on Sunday for a shot at the automatic NCAA Tournament berth.
Boogie Ellis led third-seeded Memphis (16-8) with a game-high 27 points, and DeAndre Williams scored 16 before fouling out with 2:34 remaining.
LSU 78, No. 8 Arkansas 71
Cameron Thomas scored 21 points and Javonte Smart had 13 of his 19 points in the first half to lead the Tigers to an upset victory over the Razorbacks in a Southeastern Conference semifinal in Nashville, Tenn.
The third-seeded Tigers (18-8) won their fourth consecutive game and advanced to the SEC final for the first time since 1993. LSU will take on sixth-ranked Alabama in the final on Sunday. The Tigers, who will try to win their first SEC tournament title since 1980 and second overall, lost both games this season against the Crimson Tide by an average of 24 points per game.
Second-seeded Arkansas (22-6) had won nine in a row and 12 straight vs. SEC opponents. Moses Moody scored 16 of Arkansas’ first 20 points and finished with 20 of his 28 points in the first half.
No. 13 Texas 91, No. 12 Oklahoma State 86
Matt Coleman III had a career-high 30 points as the Longhorns defeated the Cowboys in the final of the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Mo, to secure the Big 12’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Texas (19-7) became the first team from the state of Texas to win the conference tournament. Jericho Sims added a career-high 21 points to go with 14 rebounds for Texas. Andrew Jones and Kai Jones each added 13.
Oklahoma State (20-8) had won eight of its last nine games, six against ranked teams. The Cowboys were led by Cade Cunningham with 29 points, 25 in the second half. Four other players scored in double figures for the Cowboys.
Georgia Tech 80, No. 15 Florida State 75
Michael Devoe scored 20 points and the Yellow Jackets topped the Seminoles to win the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship in Greensboro, N.C.
Jordan Usher and Moses Wright both finished with 15 points, and Jose Alvarado, who made clutch free throws and a late-game steal, contributed 13 points and five steals for the fourth-seeded Yellow Jackets (17-8), who won their first conference tournament crown since 1993.
Scottie Barnes posted 21 points, M.J. Walker racked up 15 points, and Balsa Koprivica had 11 points with a game-high 10 rebounds for Florida State (16-6). Florida State was devastated by a season-high 25 turnovers, compared with only seven charged to Georgia Tech.
Georgetown 73, No. 17 Creighton 48
Chudier Bile had 19 points and Jahvon Blair added 18 as the Hoyas completed their improbable run of four victories in four days with a rout over the Bluejays in the Big East tournament title game at New York City.
Qudus Wahab contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds for eighth-seeded Georgetown, which climbed above .500 at 13-12 and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Hoyas won their first Big East tournament title since 2007 and became the third-lowest seed to capture the conference championship.
Marcus Zegarowski led the cold-shooting Bluejays (20-8) with 17 points, while Alex O’Connell added 11. The Big East tournament’s second-seeded team shot just 28.8 percent from the field, missing 42 of 59 shots.
No. 19 San Diego State 68, Utah State 57
Jordan Schakel ignited a pull-away run and the Aztecs finally got the better of the Aggies in the Mountain West Conference tournament, winning in the finals in Las Vegas.
With a 14th straight win, San Diego State (23-4) earns the Mountain West’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Mountain West Player of the Year Matt Mitchell had 14 points to pace the Aztecs, who were appearing in the conference-tournament finals for the 13th time in the 22-year history of the event.
Utah State (20-8) had beaten San Diego State in each of the last two tournament finals, then swept the Aztecs at home in January. But the fifth time was the charm for now six-time conference champion San Diego State. Neemias Queta totaled a game-high 18 points, and notched six rebounds and a game-high three blocks for Utah State.
Oregon State 70, No. 23 Colorado 68
Maurice Calloo scored 15 points and the Beavers secured an NCAA Tournament berth by knocking off the Buffaloes in the Pac-12 tournament title game in Las Vegas.
Jarod Lucas added 14 points for the fifth-seeded Beavers (17-12), who won the conference tournament title for the first time to secure the Pac-12’s automatic bid. Gianni Hunt added 10 points as Oregon State won for the sixth time in the past seven games.
McKinley Wright IV recorded 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds for third-seeded Colorado (22-8). Evan Battey added 16 points and eight rebounds and D’Shawn Schwartz scored 11 points for the Buffaloes, who had a six-game winning streak halted.
–Field Level Media
