Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Ryan Evans scored 16 points and snagged eight
rebounds as No. 22 Wisconsin extended its winning streak versus Indiana to 12
straight, downing the third-ranked Hoosiers, 68-56, on Saturday in Big Ten
Conference semifinal action. Ben Brust had 12 points, while Sam Dekker and
Jared Berggren each had 11 for the Badgers (23-10), who advance to the title
game on Sunday to face Ohio State. Christian Watford had 14 points and Cody
Zeller recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards for the Hoosiers
(27-6), who were looking for their first-ever Big Ten playoff title after
winning the regular season outright.
Final Score: (4) Louisville 78, (19) Syracuse 61
New York, NY (Sports Network) - The last game of the storied Big East
Tournament for both Louisville and Syracuse was historic. Montrezl Harrell
posted 20 points and the fourth-ranked Cardinals dominated the second half
to down the No. 19 Orange, 78-61, in the championship game Saturday night.
Louisville rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second half to win the
tourney for a second straight year and third time in the last five seasons.
Peyton Siva had 11 points and eight assists for Louisville (29-5), which ran
its winning streak to 10 games and will likely gain not only a top seed for
the NCAA Tournament, but maybe the No. 1 seed overall when the brackets are
revealed Sunday evening. Luke Hancock and Russ Smith each had 10 points. Siva
was named MVP of the tournament for a second straight year. He joins
Georgetown's Patrick Ewing (1984-85) as the only repeat tourney MVP. C.J. Fair
had 21 points for the Orange (26-9), who will gain an at-large bid.
Final Score: (7) Kansas 70, (11) Kansas State 54
Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - Instead of clinching its fifth straight
outright Big 12 regular-season crown last weekend, Kansas had to settle for a
share with in-state rival Kansas State following a loss to Baylor. There
wasn't any doubt as to who the better team was on Saturday. Jeff Withey had 17
points and nine rebounds in No. 7 Kansas' 70-54 rout of No. 11 Kansas State in
the Big 12 championship game. Kansas won its sixth Big 12 Tournament title
in eight years and its record ninth overall, which is more than the rest
of the league put together. The Jayhawks improved to 9-0 in Big 12
championship games. Perry Ellis and Naadir Tharpe netted 12 points apiece for
Kansas (29-5), which has won 10 of its last 11 games. Rodney McGruder finished
with 18 points to lead the Wildcats (27-7), who never found a consistent
rhythm offensively and went a 10-plus minute stretch without a field goal
in the first half. Kansas' loss to Baylor last Saturday allowed Kansas
State to win its first conference championship since 1976-77 when it played in
the Big Eight.
Final Score: (10) Ohio State 61, (8) Michigan State 58
Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Aaron Craft netted 18 of his 20 points in the
second half and dished out nine helpers, as No. 10 Ohio State edged eighth-
ranked Michigan State, 61-58, in Big Ten semifinal action. Deshaun Thomas
scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Buckeyes (25-7), who have
won seven straight and advance to the title game to play Wisconsin on Sunday.
Derrick Nix paced Michigan State with 17 points and nine boards and Keith
Appling poured in 16 points for the Spartans (25-8), who were looking to
repeat as Big Ten champs after defeating the Buckeyes in last year's title
game.
Final Score: (9) Miami-Florida 81, North Carolina State 71
Greensboro, NC (Sports Network) - Durand Scott scored a career-high 32 points
and Shane Larkin added 23, as ninth-ranked Miami-Florida reached the
championship game of the ACC Tournament for the first time with an 81-71
victory over North Carolina State at Greensboro Coliseum. Julian Gamble
chipped in 10 points and Kenny Kadji contributed eight with nine rebounds for
the Hurricanes (26-6), who struggled to beat Boston College in the
quarterfinals on Friday but looked like a true top seed and led from start-to-
finish in this one. Miami will face North Carolina for the title on Sunday.
Scott Wood connected on six 3-pointers and finished with 21 points for North
Carolina State (24-10), which entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed and
beat Virginia Tech and Virginia in the first two rounds before running into a
buzz saw on Saturday.
Final Score: (13) Florida 61, Alabama 51
Nashville, TN (Sports Network) - With Florida reeling, Kenny Boynton suddenly
came alive. Boynton netted all 16 of his points in the second half of No. 13
Florida's 61-51 win over Alabama in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament.
Boynton tallied just two points on 1-of-10 shooting through his first three
halves during the tourney, but went 6-of-9 over the final 20 minutes Saturday.
He tallied 11 straight points during a game-changing 15-0 Florida run with his
team down by 10 early in the second half. Patric Young added 13 points and
nine rebounds for the Gators (26-6), who will play Ole Miss in the
SEC Championship game on Sunday. Trevor Releford had 12 points to lead the
Crimson Tide (21-12), who defeated Georgia and Tennessee to get to the
semifinals.
Final Score: (15) New Mexico 63, UNLV 56
Las Vegas, NV (Sports Network) - Tony Snell hit five 3-pointers en route to 21
points, 10 of which came in a pivotal second-half run, to help the 15th-ranked
New Mexico Lobos beat UNLV, 63-56, in the Mountain West Conference title game.
Kendall Williams had 12 points and seven assists for top-seeded New Mexico
(29-5), which captured its second straight tournament crown. Hugh Greenwood
and Cameron Bairstow both logged nine points and seven rebounds. Bryce Dejean-
Jones also drained five 3-pointers, pacing UNLV with 19 points. Anthony
Bennett posted a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds for the third-
seeded Runnin' Rebels (25-9).
Final Score: (16) Saint Louis 67, Butler 56
Brooklyn, NY (Sports Network) - Dwayne Evans was spectacular again and Saint
Louis is a step closer to its first ever Atlantic 10 Tournament title. Evans
had 24 points and 11 rebounds in the 16th-ranked Billikens' 67-56 win over
Butler in the semifinals of the A-10 tourney. Evans tallied a career-high 25
points on 8-of-9 shooting and went a perfect 9-of-9 from the foul line in
Friday's quarterfinal win over Charlotte. He was 7-of-10 from the field and 9-
of-11 from the stripe Saturday. The Billikens last won a conference tournament
in 2000 when they downed DePaul in the Conference USA title game. They joined
the Atlantic 10 in 2003. Interim head coach Jim Crews, filling in for the late
Rick Majerus, led his squad to their first outright regular-season conference
title since capturing the Missouri Valley Conference in 1956-57. Cody Ellis
added 13 points for Saint Louis (26-6), which has won 14 of its last 15 games
and defeated Butler for the third time this season. The Billikens will play
VCU in Sunday's A-10 final. Rotnei Clarke netted 16 points to lead the
Bulldogs (26-8), who defeated Dayton and La Salle to get to the semis.
Final Score: (20) Memphis 91, Southern Miss 79 (2-OT)
Tulsa, OK (Sports Network) - Chris Crawford drained the go-ahead 3-pointer,
and scored seven of his game-high 23 points in double overtime, as 20th-ranked
Memphis outlasted Southern Miss, 91-79, in the Conference USA Tournament
final. Crawford added six assists and Joe Jackson poured in 22 points for the
Tigers (30-4), who capped an undefeated run through the conference in the
regular season and playoffs in their last campaign as a C-USA member. Adonis
Thomas totaled 19 points and D.J. Stephens contributed 12 as Memphis gained
its third straight conference crown and seventh in the last eight years.
Daveon Boardingham tallied 19 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Eagles
(25-9), who are still on the bubble after their plucky defeat. Dwayne Davis
had 16 points, while Jonathan Mills added 15 points and a game-high 17 boards
in the loss.
Final Score: Oregon 78, (21) UCLA 69
Las Vegas, NV (Sports Network) - Carlos Emory scored 20 points and Johnathan
Loyd added 19 as Oregon topped 21st-ranked UCLA, 78-69, to win the Pac-12
Tournament championship. Damyean Dotson ended with 13 points, while Arsalan
Kazemi chipped in 12 with 12 rebounds, as the Ducks (26-8) captured their
first tourney title since 2007 and third in school history. Larry Drew II
and Shabazz Muhammad each totaled 14 points for the Bruins (25-9), who
played without Jordan Adams. He broke his right foot on the final play of
Friday's win over Arizona and will be lost for the NCAA Tournament. Travis
wear had 13 points, Kyle Anderson 11 and Norman Powell 10 in defeat.
Final Score: (25) VCU 71, Massachusetts 62
Brooklyn, NY (Sports Network) - It's a new conference for VCU, but the Rams
and their havoc defense continue to produce the same results. Juvonte Reddic
had 18 points and 12 rebounds in No. 25 VCU's 71-62 win over Massachusetts
in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The 2012 CAA tournament
champions will now have an opportunity to win the A-10 tourney in their
inaugural season in the league if they can knock off Saint Louis in Sunday's
championship game. Troy Daniels added 20 points for the Rams (26-7), who
have won five of their last six games. Chaz Williams netted 18 points to
lead UMass (21-11), which beat George Washington and Temple to reach the
semifinals.
The Sports Network