No. 4-ranked UCLA shook off a sluggish start to remain perfect at home, overwhelming Arizona State on the defensive end en route to a 79-61 win Thursday in Los Angeles.

The Bruins (26-4, 17-2 Pac-12 Conference) won their ninth straight overall and improved to 16-0 at home — one win away from closing out a perfect season at Pauley Pavilion — thanks to a dominant second half.

UCLA was outscored 12-2 in the opening 4:38, but whittled away at the deficit throughout the rest of the first half.

After pulling ahead 36-32 at the break thanks to Tyger Campbell’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer, the Bruins inundated Arizona State out of the locker room with runs of 14-5 and 16-5.

UCLA held the Sun Devils to just 9-of-25 shooting from the floor in the second half. Combined with the Bruins’ 29 points scored off 16 Arizona State turnovers, defense powered UCLA to a lead of as many as 20 points.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. led all scorers with 26 points, including a thunderous dunk on the drive over Arizona State’s Desmond Cambridge Jr. Jaquez also grabbed seven rebounds, contributing to UCLA’s 47-23 advantage on the glass.

Adem Bona and Jaylen Clark led the Bruins’ rebounding efforts with 11 boards each, while Amari Bailey snared nine rebounds. Clark completed a double-double with 15 points.

Campbell added 18 points for UCLA.

DJ Horne led Arizona State (20-10, 11-8) with 13 points and was 3-for-5 from 3-point range. The Sun Devils outscored UCLA 21-12 from beyond the arc, but were otherwise overmatched.

Arizona State scored just 22 points in the paint to UCLA’s 36. The Sun Devils shot 12 of 20 at the foul line; the Bruins were 23 of 27.

Cambridge scored 10 points in the loss. Warren Washington added 12 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

–Field Level Media

Zach Edey tallied 17 points and 19 rebounds as No. 5 Purdue held off Wisconsin 63-61 despite no field goals over the final 5:42 on Thursday night in Madison, Wis.

After Edey’s dunk put the Boilermakers up 54-53, Purdue closed it out by hitting 9 of 10 free throws over the final 3:45.

Braden Smith hit two free throws to put the Boilermakers up 62-59 with 8.2 seconds remaining, but Klesmit countered with a pair to cut it to 62-61. Ethan Morton hit the second of two free throws to make it 63-61 with 4.4 seconds left, but Klesmit’s desperation heave just inside half court was short.

Fletcher Loyer added 13 points for Purdue (25-5, 14-5 Big Ten), which had lost four of its previous six. Edey, who entered as the nation’s leading rebounder at 12.9 per game and is fifth in scoring at 22.3 points, hit 7 of 9 shots.

Klesmit matched his season high with 19 points and Chucky Hepburn added 13 for Wisconsin (16-13, 8-11 Big Ten), whose fading NCAA tournament hopes were dealt a huge blow. The Badgers have participated in 22 of the last 23 tournaments.

The Badgers have played in 17 games decided by five points or fewer, going 10-7.

Purdue pounded Wisconsin on the boards 37-23, including 10 offensive rebounds, but second-chance points were even at eight apiece. The Boilermakers were just 11 of 18 from the line, but the Badgers shot only five free throws, making all of them.

Carter Gilmore hit Wisconsin’s first free throw attempt of the game with 9:51 remaining to complete a three-point play for a 48-45 lead.

Klesmit hit a pair of 3-pointers to fuel an 11-1 run that put the Badgers in front 38-34 with just over 15 minutes remaining.

Purdue shot 58 percent in the first half en route to a 31-27 lead at the break. The Boilermakers were 14 of 24, but just 2 of 10 beyond the arc, and also had an 18-9 advantage on the boards. Wisconsin countered by going 5 of 11 from deep.

–Field Level Media

Jamison Battle hit a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired to give Minnesota a stunning, come-from-behind, 75-74 win over Rutgers on Thursday in Minneapolis.

The Golden Gophers (8-20, 2-16 Big Ten) trailed by 10 points with 1:15 left, but they ended the game with a 15-4 surge that included three 3-pointers by Battle.

Battle finished with 20 points for Minnesota, which earned its first home win of the season in conference play and ended a 12-game losing streak. Dawson Garcia added 19 points and Pharrel Payne contributed 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Clifford Omoruyi had 23 points and 11 rebounds and Cam Spencer scored 21 points for Rutgers (18-12, 10-9).

Rutgers was up 70-60 lead with just over a minute to go, but Dawson hit two jumpers to spark the comeback. Minnesota pulled within 72-67 with 43 seconds remaining after a 3-pointer by Battle.

After Spencer made 1 of 2 free throws with 36.3 seconds left, the Gophers cut the lead to 73-70 with 22 seconds remaining when Battle hit another trey.

Battle then stole a Rutgers pass and attempted a game-tying 3-pointer, but he missed.

Minnesota got the ball back after the rebound went out of bounds off of Rutgers, and the Gophers cut the gap to 73-72 on a putback by Jaden Henley with 6.5 seconds remaining.

Minnesota fouled Rutgers’ Caleb McConnell, who split a pair of free throws with 5.3 seconds remaining to make it 74-72.

The Golden Gophers moved up court and then got the ball on the wing in front of the Minnesota bench to Battle, who pump-faked a defender and drained an open 3-pointer just before the horn sounded to give Minnesota the win.

Rutgers led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but Minnesota cut the deficit to 61-54 with 5:53 remaining on a 3-pointer by Ta’Lon Cooper.

Rutgers built its lead back up to 66-56 with 4:01 to go, but then Payne brought Minnesota to within 68-60 on a layup with 2:57 left.

The Golden Gophers didn’t score again until there was 1:03 remaining, when Garcia hit a runner to bring Minnesota within 70-62.

The Scarlet Knights lost for the fifth time in seven games.

–Field Level Media

Matthew Mayer scored seven of his 24 points during the second overtime as Illinois claimed a 91-87 victory over Michigan on Thursday night in Champaign, Ill.

The result clinched the Big Ten regular-season title for Purdue, which has a 13-5 league mark. Six Big Ten teams, including Michigan and Illinois, are now tied for second place with 11-8 records — and Michigan State is a half-step behind at 10-8.

Terrence Shannon Jr., pressed into point guard duties due to starter Jayden Epps’ concussion, produced 10 of his 22 points during the overtimes as Illinois (20-10, 11-8) rallied from a seven-point deficit late in the first OT.

Junior 7-footer Hunter Dickinson produced 31 points — two shy of his personal best — and a career-high 16 rebounds to pace Michigan (17-13, 11-8), which scored the final seven points of regulation to force extra time.

Kobe Bufkin notched 23 points for the Wolverines.

Freshman Ty Rodgers provided a career-high 14 points for Illinois and RJ Melendez added 12.

Though Michigan led for most of the first half, Illinois claimed a 33-31 halftime edge when Rodgers stuffed home Shannon’s missed layup in the waning seconds.

Hawkins wore out the same path to the basket for two dunks as part of a 9-0 run that gave Illinois a 50-41 lead with 13:25 left.

As Illinois’ Orange Krush student section celebrated by chanting “N-I-T” at the visitors, Michigan responded by putting the ball in Bufkin’s hands. He sank two free throws, then swished back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 10-0 spree that gave the Wolverines a 57-56 edge with 7:46 left.

Mayer reclaimed the lead for Illinois by banking a runner over Dickinson’s fingertips and cashing all 3 free throws after a foul on the perimeter.

Illinois extended its lead to 70-63 on two Shannon free throws with 2:35 left, but Michigan rallied to tie on Jett Howard’s 3-pointer with 47 seconds to go. The Wolverines had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but Dickinson’s 5-foot flip in the lane was challenged by two Illini.

Dickinson scored six points to stake Michigan to an 81-74 lead in the first overtime, but Shannon drove for a three-point play, drove to set up a Rodgers layup and drove for a short leaner with 26 seconds left to make it 81-81.

Mayer canned a 3-pointer on the first possession of the second overtime and Michigan never caught up, though Dickinson missed a free throw that would have forged an 88-88 tie with 40 seconds to go.

–Field Level Media

Jamal Shead tallied 25 points for No. 1 Houston on Thursday night, and the Cougars emerged with an 83-66 victory over visiting Wichita State.

The win marked the 10th straight for Houston (28-2, 16-1 AAC), as Marcus Sasser scored 24 points and Jarace Walker chipped in with 11. The AAC regular-season champions pulled away behind a 6-0 run late in the second half.

Wichita State — without the aid of leading scorer Jaykwon Walton, who was unavailable due to illness — hung in the contest through the first half and into the second before Houston gained separation late. Craig Porter Jr. had 13 of his 17 points in the first half to pace the Shockers (15-14, 8-9 AAC) and Jaron Pierre Jr. added 16.

Houston, which led 33-31 at halftime, began the second half on a 12-6 run, guided by seven points from Shead. The two-point advantage swelled to a 45-37 lead by the 15:20 mark, and just over a minute later, J’wan Roberts took a bounce pass underneath Houston’s basket before slamming the ball down in a momentum-gaining dunk.

A 10-2 Wichita State run put the Shockers back in contention as the clock ticked below 10 minutes. Pierre’s fast-break layup cut the Houston lead to just 55-51, but turnovers plagued the Shockers in the following minutes.

Wichita State turned the ball over 10 times in the second half, including three times in the span of a 5-0 Houston spurt that put the Cougars up by nine at the 8:17 mark.

The key stretch for Houston came with under six minutes left, after Wichita State cut the advantage back to single digits, 65-56. A 7-2 run for the Cougars, powered by a 3-pointer and a three-point play from Shead, put Houston up by 14. The Cougars led by double digits the rest of the way.

The Shockers, who dropped the first meeting of the season against Houston at home, 70-61, sought revenge in the early minutes of the contest. Xavier Bell and Porter Jr. made back-to-back 3-pointers, sparking a 10-0 run from Wichita State. Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson had no choice but to call a timeout, trailing 22-14.

Houston took advantage of Wichita State turnovers to forge a 9-0 run and regain the lead. Reggie Chaney’s layup just before the buzzer gave the Cougars the lead at the halftime intermission.

–Field Level Media

Bucknell moved on from head coach Nathan Davis, with the school announcing on Thursday that he will be “pursuing other opportunities.”

The Bison’s 2022-23 season ended Tuesday with a 64-59 loss to American in the first round of the Patriot League tournament. Bucknell was the No. 10 seed in the 10-team league.

Davis had an overall record of 129-115 in his eight seasons as the Bison’s head coach since 2015-16.

“I want to thank Nathan for his contributions to the Bucknell men’s basketball program over the last eight seasons,” Bucknell athletic director Jermaine Truax said. “I am grateful for the positive mentorship that Nathan provided to our student-athletes. However, the last four seasons have not met the high standards of on-court success we expect from our men’s basketball team.”

Davis’ tenure began with four straight regular-season Patriot League titles — three outright followed by one shared title in 2018-19. He led the Bison to consecutive Patriot League tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2016-17 and 2017-18, and he was named the league’s coach of the year in 2016 and 2017.

But Bucknell finished its latest season 12-20 (5-13 Patriot) a year after going 9-23 and 5-13 in the league.

Davis had been the Bison’s top assistant coach from 2003-08 before returning as head coach following a run as a head coach at Division III Randolph-Macon.

–Field Level Media

Villanova will look to close the regular season with a four-game winning streak on Saturday when they host No. 14 UConn in Philadelphia.

The Wildcats (16-14, 10-9 Big East) clinched the sixth seed in the conference tournament following a 76-72 victory at Seton Hall on Tuesday in Newark, N.J.

Should Villanova emerge victorious on Saturday, it would have defeated three ranked teams in its current streak.

The Wildcats posted a 64-63 win over then-No. 16 Xavier on Feb. 21 and a 79-67 victory over No. 19 Creighton last Saturday.

Justin Moore led the way against the Pirates with 23 points, including six free throws in the final 25.9 seconds.

“Our thought process always is to try to be the best team we can be by the end of the season,” Villanova first-year head coach Kyle Neptune said. “Hopefully, we can reach our goal. To do that, we’ve just gotta keep getting better and I think we are.”

One game after registering a career-high 31 points, Eric Dixon collected 18 points, eight rebounds, three blocked shots versus Seton Hall. He also had a key steal in the waning seconds of the game.

“He has been unbelievable,” Neptune said of Dixon. “He’s scoring some points but really, he’s been really good defensively and on the glass. Early in the year, guys were going at him a little bit and now I don’t see that anymore. I think because he’s taken his game to the next level defensively, he has more confidence offensively.”

UConn (23-7, 12-7) will look to finish the regular season with five consecutive victories on Saturday.

The Huskies breezed to an 88-59 win over DePaul on Wednesday.

UConn is starting to resemble the team that began the season with 14 straight wins.

Adama Sanogo, who scored 26 points, was one of five Huskies to reach double figures. Tristen Newton added 12 while Andre Jackson Jr. contributed 11 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Alex Karaban also had 11 points and Donovan Clingan scored 10 in the balanced effort.

The Huskies already have clinched a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

But there’s one more regular-season game looming against a hot team in Villanova.

“We’ve got a big game and an important, tough game on Saturday, but we also in the back of our mind know that we’re one of the few teams in the country that’s actually won a tournament — and a high-level tournament,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley said. “So we’re gonna go into these tournaments with confidence.”

Sanogo produced 15 points by halftime as the Huskies reached 50 for the second straight game.

Hurley came away impressed with the ever-improving Sanogo.

“Adama has become so much more effective as an offensive player, outside of just like, ‘Throw me the ball in the post,'” Hurley said. “I think that’s helped a lot.”

Samson Johnson logged seven minutes, his first playing time since Feb. 4.

–Field Level Media

No. 19 Xavier looks to build on a big late-season Big East Conference win when it hosts Butler on Saturday night for Senior Day in Cincinnati.

The Musketeers (22-8, 14-5) are coming off a 94-89 win at No. 20 Providence on Wednesday, handing the Friars their first home loss of the season. With the win, Xavier locked up the No. 2 seed in the Big East tournament.

Not surprisingly, Xavier was led by its two most consistent stars this season in Souley Boum and Colby Jones. Both posted career highs in points and helped stave off a furious Providence rally from a 22-point first-half deficit.

Boum led all scorers with 33 points while Jones added 29.

“You add them up, they’re 21 of 30 from the field, 7 of 12 from 3, 13 of 14 from the foul line,” Xavier coach Sean Miller said. “They had 16 rebounds and eight assists and 62 points. Both of them had their career highs on the same night. Souley Boum was as good as any guard in the country and Colby was right there with him.”

“Coach told us this is March,” Jones said. “Teams are gonna step up. Players are gonna step up. I feel like that’s what we did tonight in a big-time game.”

Xavier built a 40-18 lead in the first half before Providence rallied with a 15-3 run to make it 45-36 at the half. The Friars drew within 55-53 with just over 15 minutes left but the Musketeers never surrendered the lead.

The Musketeers will be looking to avenge Butler’s 69-67 win on Feb. 10 in Indianapolis. The game ended in controversial fashion when Butler was awarded the game-winning basket on a goaltending call against Jack Nunge, allowing Eric Hunter Jr.’s dunk attempt with 2.5 seconds remaining to count.

Center Manny Bates set a screen, freeing up Hunter’s drive to the basket. The goaltending call was unsuccessfully challenged by Xavier and Boum’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.

“There was no doubt in my mind it would stand,” Bates said. “I just got the screen and wanted to see Eric go finish.”

Butler (14-16, 6-13) is coming off Tuesday’s 72-56 Senior Night home loss to No. 6 Marquette, which clinched the first regular season Big East title in program history.

Butler never fully recovered from an ice-cold offensive start. Simas Lukosius connected on a three with 17:22 left in the first half. But the Bulldogs were scoreless for nearly the next 10 minutes as Marquette built a 16-6 lead.

“It’s been like this all year,” Butler coach Thad Matta said. “We had a wide-open 3 in the corner we miss it, they bank in a 3. It’s been one after another like that all year. And unfortunately, we really tied our defense to our offense when the shots weren’t falling, you can’t do that.”

For Butler, Manny Bates returned Tuesday after missing two games with an injured shoulder.

Xavier’s Zach Freemantle missed his eighth straight game Wednesday in Providence with an injured left foot.

Xavier has managed to go 5-3 without Freemantle, including wins in three of its last four.

–Field Level Media

At least a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title and the top seed in the league tournament will be at stake when No. 25 Pitt battles No. 16 Miami on Saturday night in Coral Gables, Fla.

The Panthers (21-9, 14-5 ACC) and the Hurricanes (23-6, 14-5 ACC) are in a three-way tie with No. 13 Virginia atop the conference standings.

But since both teams own a head-to-head tiebreaker, having each defeated Virginia in their lone matchups this season, the winner of Saturday’s game will be the No. 1 seed even if they finish tied with the Cavaliers, who play last-place Louisville earlier that day.

Miami can finish no lower than the No. 3 seed in the ACC tournament even if it loses, earning a bye to the conference quarterfinals. But there’s more at stake for Pitt, which can fall to as low as a No. 5 seed with a loss and subsequently have to play in the second round of the tournament.

Pitt won the previous matchup with Miami 71-68 at home on Jan. 28 after Miami blew an 11-point second-half lead and an eight-point edge with 2:26 to go.

The Hurricanes have had some trouble closing out games at times this season, but they took that to a higher level last Saturday in an 85-84 loss to struggling Florida State. Miami led by 25 early in the second half before the Seminoles pulled off the largest comeback in ACC history, capped by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Matthew Cleveland.

It was Miami’s first loss at home this season in 16 games.

“We played as well as we could in the first half,” Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. “But it appeared to me that to start the second half that our battery died.”

The Hurricanes have had a week to regroup not only for the Panthers but for what they hope is a deep tournament run both in conference and in the NCAA Tournament.

Miami is well aware that can only happen if it can find a way to finish games better.

“We’ve just got to find a way to close out games like this,” Miami guard Jordan Miller said. “There’s no excuse for us losing this game.”

The Hurricanes hope guard Nijel Pack, who missed the FSU game with a “lower extremity” injury, will be back against Pitt.

Pitt’s NCAA tourney resume took a hit on Wednesday night after an 88-81 upset loss at Notre Dame, which was playing inspired basketball in coach Mike Brey’s final home game.

Pitt trailed by as many as 20 in the second half before cutting the Irish’s lead to 84-79 with 38 seconds left. But the Panthers squandered numerous opportunities at the free-throw line, making only 20 of their 36 attempts.

“We just needed a couple things to go our way right there,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. “And they didn’t.”

Nike Sibande, Nelly Cummings and Jamarius Burton led the Panthers with 19 points apiece and Blake Hinson had a double-double (15 points, 13 rebounds).

“Defensively, we didn’t do what we can do,” Cummings told reporters. “I think we were ready for the game the same way we’ve been ready for every game. They came out inspired.”

–Field Level Media

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association revealed the 15 men’s college basketball players on the late-season watch list for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, which is annually awarded to the nation’s most outstanding player.

The list includes Gonzaga’s Drew Timme, Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis, Purdue’s Zach Edey, Alabama’s Brandon Miller, UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe, who won the award in 2022.

The 2023 Oscar Robertson Trophy will be presented by its namesake at the upcoming NCAA Final Four in Houston. A formal event honoring the recipient will be scheduled at a later date and held in St. Louis.

Since the 1958-59 college basketball season, the USBWA has named a National Player of the Year. In 1998, the award was named in honor of Robertson, a Hall of Fame player at the University of Cincinnati and a two-time recipient of the USBWA’s Player of the Year award.

The full late-season watch list:
Armando Bacot (North Carolina)
Antoine Davis (Detroit)
Kendric Davis (Memphis)
Zach Edey (Purdue)
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana)
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA)
Tyler Kolek (Marquette)
Brandon Miller (Alabama)
Kris Murray (Iowa)
Jalen Pickett (Penn State)
Marcus Sasser (Houston)
Drew Timme (Gonzaga)
Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky)
Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona)
Jalen Wilson (Kansas)

–Field Level Media