Arizona State’s Desmond Cambridge Jr. shocked No. 7 Arizona with a buzzer-beating shot from beyond half court, providing an 89-88 victory in a wild, hot-shooting rivalry game on Saturday in Tucson, Ariz.
Arizona (25-5, 13-5 Pac-12) led 87-86 with 2.9 seconds left, but Oumar Ballo missed his first free-throw attempt before making the second. Cambridge took the inbounds pass near the free-throw line while curling to the right sideline and not guarded closely. He launched his shot after taking one dribble up court to give Arizona State (20-9, 11-7) a needed resume-building victory for its NCAA Tournament hopes.
Cambridge scored 19 to lead five Arizona State players in double figures in a rare ASU win in Tucson. The Sun Devils, who overcame a 10-point deficit with 6:30 to go, had won only once in Tucson since 2010.
Cedric Henderson Jr. scored 19 for Arizona, and Pelle Larsson appeared to have delivered the key basket as he drove for a layup for an 87-86 lead with 29 seconds left. ASU scrambled on offense after a timeout, with the possession ending with DJ Horne missing a 3-point attempt. Ballo grabbed the rebound and was fouled.
No. 1 Houston 76, East Carolina 57
Marcus Sasser scored 22 points and the top-ranked Cougars stretched their winning streak to nine by cruising past the Pirates in the American Athletic Conference matchup in Greenville, N.C.
Tramon Mark added 20 points and nine rebounds as Houston (27-2, 15-1 ACC) wrapped up the conference regular-season title. J’Wan Roberts added 17 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Cougars.
Ezra Ausar had 15 points and eight rebounds, and RJ Felton scored 13 points for East Carolina (14-14, 5-10). Brandon Johnson added 12 points for the Pirates, who have dropped 11 of their past 12 meetings with Houston.
No. 2 Alabama 86, Arkansas 83
Brandon Miller scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half, Mark Sears canned six free throws in the final 35 seconds and the Crimson Tide outlasted the Razorbacks in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
After scoring a career-high 41 points against South Carolina on Wednesday, the freshman Miller went 8 of 15 from the floor, made a 3-pointer and all seven of his free throws, and collected six rebounds for Alabama (25-4, 15-1 Southeastern Conference).
Starting the day seventh in the conference standings, Arkansas (19-10, 8-8), got 24 points and six rebounds from Nick Smith Jr., but had a lengthy scoring drought in the second half.
No. 3 Kansas 76, West Virginia 74
Dajuan Harris collected 17 points, six assists and a career-high six steals to fuel the Jayhawks past the Mountaineers in Lawrence, Kan.
Harris made 7 of 9 shots from the floor for Kansas (24-5, 12-4 Big 12), which has won six in a row and eight of its last nine games. The Jayhawks moved into sole possession of first place in the Big 12 with their win and Texas’ 81-72 loss to Baylor earlier on Saturday.
Erik Stevenson scored of 16 his 23 points in the second half for West Virginia (16-13, 5-11). Tre Mitchell finished with 20 points and seven rebounds for the Mountaineers, who have lost four of their last five games overall and fell to 0-11 all-time at Allen Fieldhouse.
North Carolina 71, No. 6 Virginia 63
Pete Nance scored 22 points and hit all four of his 3-point attempts as the Tar Heels solved the vaunted defense of the Cavaliers in a win in Chapel Hill, N.C.
RJ Davis added 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists as North Carolina (18-11, 10-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) notched its first Quad 1 victory of the season and boosted its NET ranking, a key metric used in the selection of NCAA Tournament teams.
Armando Bacot contributed 11 points and six rebounds as the Tar Heels avenged a Jan. 10 defeat at Virginia. Jayden Gardner had 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Armaan Franklin added 14 points to lead slumping Virginia (21-6, 13-5), which lost its second straight.
No. 9 Baylor 81, No. 8 Texas 72
Jalen Bridges scored 17 points and the Bears ruled the final 30 minutes at home on the way to a comeback win over the Longhorns in a key Big 12 Conference game at Waco, Texas.
Baylor (21-8, 10-6 Big 12) bounced back from a ragged start and an early injury to star freshman guard Keyonte George (right ankle) to reverse a 14-point first-half deficit and take a two-point lead into halftime.
Dylan Disu led Texas (22-7, 11-5) with a season-high 24 points, with Tyrese Hunter adding 13. Timmy Allen and Sir’Jabari Rice each scored 12 points for Texas and Marcus Carr added 11.
No. 10 Marquette 90, DePaul 84
Kam Jones and Tyler Kolek each scored 22 points as the Golden Eagles held off the visiting Blue Demons in Milwaukee, guaranteeing Marquette at least a share of its first Big East title in a decade.
DePaul, which trailed by 21 at the half, got within 85-80 on two free throws by Eral Penn with 25 seconds left. Jones then hit the first of two free throws for Marquette. The Blue Demons’ Caleb Murphy missed his second free throw, but converted after a lane violation against the Golden Eagles to make it 86-82 with 15 seconds remaining.
Marquette (23-6, 15-3 Big East), picked ninth in the conference preseason poll, has a two-game lead over Xavier with Providence another half game back. Umoja Gibson had 20 points and Nick Ongenda added 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for DePaul (9-20, 3-15), which has lost 10 straight.
No. 11 Tennessee 85, South Carolina 45
The Volunteers put five players in double-figure scoring and enjoyed their second lopsided win over the Gamecocks this season with a Southeastern Conference romp in Knoxville, Tenn.
Josiah-Jordan James led Tennessee (21-8, 10-6 SEC) with 18 points, going 4 of 7 from the 3-point line. Jahmai Mashack added 14 points and six rebounds, while Zakai Zeigler finished with 13 points, 11 assists and three steals.
Hayden Brown scored 18 points to lead South Carolina (10-19, 3-13), but he needed much more help than he got. The Gamecocks, who came within a defensive stop of stunning No. 2 Alabama on Wednesday night, made only 35.2 percent from the field and coughed up 14 turnovers.
No. 12 Gonzaga 77, No. 15 Saint Mary’s 68
Drew Timme scored 19 points and the host Bulldogs earned a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title with a victory over the Gaels at Spokane, Wash.
Anton Watson recorded 17 points, eight rebounds and four steals before fouling out as Gonzaga (25-5, 14-2 WCC) prevailed to win or share the WCC title for the 11th straight season. Malachi Smith added 13 points and Julian Strawther had 11 as the Bulldogs defeated the Gaels for the 24th time in the past 30 meetings.
Logan Johnson scored 27 points for Saint Mary’s (25-6, 14-2), which finished with a share of the WCC regular-season title for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign. Johnson has scored at least 27 points in five of the past six games.
Florida State 85, No. 13 Miami 84
Matthew Cleveland’s 3-pointer at the buzzer completed an incredible comeback as visiting Florida State shocked the Hurricanes. Cleveland received a pass at halfcourt and launched the winner as he was between the midcourt line and the 3-point arc.
Cleveland and Darin Green Jr. both scored 20 points for Florida State (9-20, 7-11 ACC), which avenged a 23-point home loss to Miami last month. Caleb Mills had 13 points, including several clutch contributions late in the game, and Jalen Warley collected 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Jordan Miller’s 21 points paced Miami (23-6, 14-5), which was hurt by 12 turnovers. He added seven rebounds and three steals. Norchad Omier had 15 points and eight rebounds, Isaiah Wong provided 14 points, Bensley Joseph posted 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Wooga Poplar had 11 points.
No. 14 Kansas State 73, Oklahoma State 68
Markquis Nowell recorded 22 points, eight assists and four steals to lead the Wildcats over the Cowboys in Big 12 play at Stillwater, Okla.
Keyontae Johnson added 17 points as Kansas State (22-7, 10-6 Big 12) won its third straight game.
Kalib Boone registered 18 points and four blocked shots for Oklahoma State (16-13, 7-9), which lost its fourth consecutive game. Caleb Asberry scored 13 points, John-Michael Wright added 12 and Bryce Thompson had 11 for the Cowboys.
No. 17 Indiana 79, Purdue 71
Jalen Hood-Schifino scored a career-high 35 points on 14-for-24 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Hoosiers to a victory over the Boilermakers.
The Hoosiers (20-9, 11-7 Big Ten) beat the Boilermakers (24-5, 13-5) for the second time in three weeks and swept the regular-season series against their in-state rivals for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
Miller Kopp also had 13 points as Indiana got 77 of its 79 points from its starting five. Purdue’s Zach Edey led the way once again with 26 points and 16 rebounds. Fletcher Loyer finished with 14 points and five rebounds for Purdue.
No. 18 UConn 95, St. John’s 86
Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points as the Huskies led most of the way in a victory against the host Red Storm in New York.
In front of a large crowd at Madison Square Garden, the Huskies (22-7, 11-7 Big East) pulled within a half-game of fourth-place Creighton, which lost at Villanova.
Adama Sanogo added 18 and nine rebounds as the Huskies led for the final 36:18, shot 46.9 percent and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds. Sanogo also sank eight of UConn’s 26 free throws.
A.J. Storr scored 20 points but the Red Storm (17-13, 7-12) allowed at least 90 points for the fourth time this season. Posh Alexander added 18, David Jones contributed 15 while Joel Soriano notched his 22nd double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 3:02 remaining.
Villanova 79, No. 19 Creighton 67
Eric Dixon recorded career highs with six made 3-pointers and 31 points to lift the host Wildcats to a victory over the Bluejays in Philadelphia.
Dixon made 11 of 15 shots from the field — including 6 of 8 from 3-point range — en route to the biggest offensive output from any Villanova player all season. Cam Whitmore added 17 points for Villanova (15-14, 9-9 Big East), which won its second straight game over a ranked opponent.
Arthur Kaluma led Creighton (18-11, 12-6) with 19 points while Ryan Kalkbrenner added 18 and eclipsed 1,000 points for his career.
No. 22 San Diego State 73, New Mexico 71
Lamont Butler sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Aztecs to a win against the Lobos in a Mountain West Conference game in Albuquerque, N.M.
Jaelen House had forced a turnover and scored in transition with six seconds left to give New Mexico a 71-70 lead. Darrion Trammell scored 18 points, Matt Bradley had 11 points and seven assists and Butler finished with 10 points for the Aztecs (23-5, 14-2 MWC), who have a two-game lead over second-place Boise State with two games remaining.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored 20 points, House had 15 and Morris Udeze finished with 14 points and nine rebounds for New Mexico (20-9, 7-9).
Oklahoma 61, No. 23 Iowa State 50
Jacob Groves scored a game-high 16 points while swishing four 3-pointers and Grant Sherfield added 10 points as the visiting Sooners defeated the slumping Cyclones in Ames, Iowa.
Iowa State (17-11, 8-8 Big 12) suffered its season-high third straight defeat while losing for the seventh time in nine games.
Long-range shooting proved the difference, as Oklahoma (14-15, 4-12) shot 10-for-23 (43.5 percent) from 3-point range compared to 4-for-15 (26.7 percent) for Iowa State. The Cyclones shot 31 percent overall, while the Sooners finished at 46.3 percent.
No. 24 TCU 83, Texas Tech 82
JaKobe Coles sank two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining to give the Horned Frogs a victory over the Red Raiders in Big 12 play.
Mike Miles Jr. scored 24 points as the Horned Frogs (19-10, 8-8 Big 12) won for just the second time in the past seven games. Coles added 15 points, Emanuel Miller recorded 14 points and a season-high 12 rebounds and Xavier Cork scored 10 points for TCU.
Fardaws Aimaq scored 19 points and De’Vion Harmon added 18 for Texas Tech (16-13, 5-11). Harmon’s last-ditch 3-pointer was off the mark as the Red Raiders received a blow to their NCAA Tournament aspirations.
Mississippi State 69, No. 25 Texas A&M 62
Tolu Smith scored 17 points and the Bulldogs cooled off one of the hottest teams in the SEC with a victory over the Aggies in Starkville, Miss.
Shakeel Moore added 14 points as Mississippi State (19-10, 7-9 SEC) strengthened their NCAA Tournament hopes while snapping Texas A&M’s six-game winning streak. Cameron Matthews finished with 11 points.
The Bulldogs’ relentless defensive effort in the second half was key as they forced the Aggies (21-8, 13-3) to go nearly 13 minutes without a field goal. Texas A&M, aiming for 14 conference wins for just the second time in its SEC history, lost despite a 21-point effort from Wade Taylor IV.
–Field Level Media
