Desperation 60-footer lifts Sun Devils past rival
TOP 25 MEN ARIZONA STATE 89, NO. 7 ARIZONA 88
TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona State’s latest rivalry loss appeared imminent even after a late rally, with a desperate heave all that was left.
Desmond Cambridge Jr. cashed it in, swishing a McKale miracle to keep the Sun Devils’ NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
Cambridge Jr. hit a 60foot shot at the buzzer and Arizona State rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat No. 7 Arizona 89-88 on Saturday.
“I did not think that shot was going in,” said Cambridge, who finished with 19 points. “I just wanted to have a nice miss and everyone in the crowd go, ‘ohhh!’ Once it went in, I literally could only scream because I couldn’t make sense of it.”
The Wildcats (24-5, 13-5) led by 10 before going more than six minutes without a field goal as Arizona State pulled ahead by one.
The Sun Devils (20-9, 117) went up 86-85 on Warren Washington’s layup with just a minute left, but Pelle Larsson put Arizona back up on a layup with 29 seconds left.
Arizona State’s DJ Horne missed a jumper with four seconds left and the Sun Devils had a final shot after Oumar Ballo hit 1 of 2 free throws.
Catching the ball with 2.4 seconds left, Cambridge left the fans at McKale Center stunned, launching a shot from beyond half-court that sent his teammates charging onto the floor in celebration.
“We were sitting on pocket aces and it happens sometimes,” Arizona Coach Tommy Lloyd said.
Cedric Henderson Jr. led Arizona with 19 points and Azuoulas Tubelis added 17.
NO. 1 HOUSTON 76, EAST CAROLINA 57
GREENVILLE, N.C. — Marcus Sasser scored 22 points to help Houston clinch outright possession of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title.
Tramon Mark added 20 points for the Cougars (27-2, 15-1), while J’Wan Roberts had 17 points and 12 rebounds in Houston’s ninth consecutive victory.
NO. 3 KANSAS 76, WEST VIRGINIA 74
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Dajuan Harris was one point shy of a career high, scoring 17 points to help lift No. 3 Kansas over West Virginia.
The stifling Jayhawk defense kept West Virginia from attempting a shot in the final 20 seconds. The Mountaineers’ Joe Toussaint traveled on their final possession of the game.
Baskets by K.J. Adams and Kevin McCullar extended the Jayhawks’ lead to 75-68 late as they grinded out the victory.
Harris led Kansas (24-5, 12-4) with 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and had six assists and six steals.
NO. 17 INDIANA 79, NO. 5 PURDUE 71
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Jalen Hood-Schifino scored a career-high 35 points and Trey Galloway added 10 of his 13 in the second half to lead Indiana over Purdue.
The Hoosiers (20-9, 11-7) snapped a seven-game losing streak in West Lafayette and pulled their first season sweep in this bitter rivalry since 201213.
Zach Edey led the Boilermakers (24-5, 13-5) with 26 points and 16 rebounds.
NORTH CAROLINA 71, NO. 6 VIRGINIA 63
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Pete Nance scored 22 points as the North Carolina Tar Heels secured an important win, defeating No. 6 Virginia.
For UNC (18-11, 10-8) the victory is a much-needed boost to its NCAA Tournament resume as it counts as a Quadrant 1 win, the first of the season for the Tar Heels.
Nance shot 7 of 10 from the floor and was a perfect 4 of 4 from behind the arc.
In its second consecutive defeat, Virginia (21-6, 13-5) was powered by Jayden Gardner’s 19 points and 12 rebounds. Armaan Franklin added 14 points.
NO. 9 BAYLOR 81, NO. 8 TEXAS 72
WACO, Texas — Jalen Bridges had 17 points for ninth-ranked Baylor, which overcame a huge deficit with an impressive run right after freshman standout Keyonte George left injured early and beat Big 12 co-leader Texas.
Adam Flagler had 14 points for the Bears (21-8, 10-6). Dale Bonner added 13 points, including seven in an quick spurt after halftime while Flo Thamba had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Dylan Disu had a season-high 24 points for Texas (22-7, 11-5).
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 90, DEPAUL 84
MILWAUKEE — Kam Jones and Tyler Kolek each scored 22 points while helping Marquette clinch a share of its first Big East regular-season championship in a decade.
Kolek also had 14 assists as Marquette (23-6, 15-3) rolled to a 49-28 halftime lead and hung on after DePaul (9-20, 3-15) got close down the stretch. Marquette has won nine of its last 10, while DePaul has lost 10 in a row.
NO. 11 TENNESSEE 85, SOUTH CAROLINA 45
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Josiah-Jordan James came back from missing four games with an injury to score 18 points to lead No. 11 Tennessee to a victory over South Carolina.
James, who suffered an ankle injury against Vanderbilt on Feb. 8, hit 4 of 7 three-pointers for the Volunteers (218, 10-6). Jahmai Mashack scored 14 points, Zakai Zeigler had 13 points and 11 assists, and Olivier Nkamhoua and Uros Plavsic scored 10 each.
Hayden Brown led the Gamecocks (10-19, 3-13) with 18 points. GG Jackson II scored five points, 10 below his average.
A 22-4 Tennessee run in the second half turned a competitive game into a lopsided one. The Gamecocks were the 12th Tennessee opponent held under 50 points.
NO. 12 GONZAGA 77, NO. 15 SAINT MARY’S 68
SPOKANE, Wash. — Drew Timme scored 19 points and No. 12 Gonzaga clinched a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title with a win over No. 15 Saint Mary’s.
Anton Watson had 17 points and Malachi Smith added 13 off the bench for the Bulldogs, who have won or shared the conference title in 11 consecutive seasons. Gonzaga (25-5, 142) also reached the 25-win mark for the 16th season in a row — and avenged a loss to the Gaels earlier this month in Moraga.
Logan Johnson led the Gaels (25-6, 14-2) with 27 points.
FLORIDA STATE 85, NO. 13 MIAMI 84
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Matthew Cleveland’s three-pointer as time expired capped Florida State’s comeback from a 25-point second-half deficit and the Seminoles stunned No. 13 Miami.
Jordan Miller had given Miami the lead on a three-pointer with 4.9 seconds left.
But Cleveland let fly from about 25 feet and the ball swished to give the Seminoles (9-20, 7-11) their best moment of the season.
Cleveland and Darin Green Jr. each had 20 points for Florida State, which got 13 from Caleb Mills and 11 from Jalen Warley.
Miller led Miami (23-6, 14-5) with 21 points.
NO. 18 UCONN 95, ST. JOHN’S 86
NEW YORK — Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points, Adama Sanogo added 18 points and nine rebounds, and UConn beat St. John’s.
Andre Jackson Jr. had 15 points, Joey Calcaterra also scored 15 to lead a strong effort by Connecticut’s bench and the resurgent Huskies (22-7, 11-7) avenged an 11-point loss to St. John’s at home last month.
UConn won for the sixth time in seven games, closing in on a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament.
AJ Storr had 20 points and Posh Alexander added 18 for the Red Storm (17-13, 7-12), who had won three of four. David Jones scored 15 off the bench — all in the second half — and Joel Soriano had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
NO. 14 KANSAS STATE 73, OKLAHOMA STATE 68
STILLWATER, Okla. — Markquis Nowell had 22 points, 8 assists and 4 steals in Kansas State’s third consecutive win, beating Oklahoma State.
Keyontae Johnson added 17 points for the Wildcats (22-7, 10-6), who swept the regular-season series.
Kalib Boone scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half on Senior Day for Oklahoma State. Caleb Asberry scored 13 points and John-Michael Wright added 12 for the Cowboys (1613, 7-9), who have lost four in a row.
VILLANOVA 79, NO. 19 CREIGHTON 67
PHILADELPHIA — Eric Dixon scored 18 of his career-high 31 points in the first half, Cam Whitmore added 17 and Villanova defeated Creighton.
Dixon also set a career high with six three-pointers for Villanova (15-14, 9-9), which has won five of six.
Arthur Kaluma scored 19 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner had 18 for Creighton (18-11, 12-6). The Bluejays have lost three of four following an eight-game winning streak.
NO. 22 SAN DIEGO STATE 73, NEW MEXICO 71
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Lamont Butler’s three-pointer at the buzzer gave No. 22 San Diego State a win over New Mexico.
After Jaelen House’s steal and end-toend run for a layup with 5.6 seconds left gave New Mexico a 71-70 lead, Butler unhurriedly brought the ball up court before dropping his shot, giving him 10 points for the Aztecs (23-5, 14-2).
OKLAHOMA 61,
NO. 23 IOWA STATE 50
AMES, Iowa — Jacob Groves led Oklahoma with 16 points as the Sooners knocked off Iowa State.
The Sooners (14-15, 4-12) had lost nine of their previous 11 games but erased an early 11-point deficit and seized control with a 17-2 run in the second half.
Groves made 4 of 5 from the threepoint line. Tanner Groves added 9 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
The Cyclones (17-11, 8-8) shot just 31%. Gabe Kalscheur led Iowa State with 12 points.
NO. 24 TCU 83, TEXAS TECH 82
LUBBOCK, Texas — JaKobe Coles made two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining, and TCU beat Texas Tech despite blowing a 12-point lead in the final eight minutes.
After De’Vion Harmon’s steal and layup put the Red Raiders in front by one with 12 seconds remaining, Coles caught a pass from Emanuel Miller in the lane and was fouled by Fardaws Aimaq going up for the shot. The Horned Frogs (19-10, 8-8) weren’t in the bonus.
Harmon’s desperation three-pointer as the buzzer sounded wasn’t close, ending a four-game winning streak Texas Tech (16-13, 5-11).
Mike Miles Jr. scored 24 points for the Horned Frogs, who had lost five of six and were coming off a loss to No. 3 Kansas at home. Miller had 14 points and 12 rebounds for TCU.
Aimaq scored 19 points, Harmon had 18 and Kevin Obanor finished with 17 points and nine rebounds for Texas Tech.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 69, NO. 25 TEXAS A&M 62
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Tolu Smith had 17 points and Shakeel Moore had 14 as Mississippi State knocked off No. 25 Texas A&M.
Cameron Matthews had 11 points for the Bulldogs (19-10, 7-9), who held the Aggies to one field goal in the final 14 minutes and outscored them 34-18 during the same time period.
Wade Taylor IV led Texas A&M (21-9, 13-3) with 21 points, and Henry Coleman III and Andersson Garcia each had 11.