Washington closing in on Pac-10 crown



The No. 14 ranked Huskies knocked off No. 9 Arizona 93-85 on Saturday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE -- Tre Simmons scored 24 points, and No. 14 Washington moved one step closer to its first Pac-10 title in 20 years with a 93-85 win over No. 9 Arizona.
Nate Robinson added 22 points for the Huskies (23-4, 13-3 Pac-10), who won their 22nd straight game at home.
Channing Frye scored a game-high 30 points on 13-of-15 shooting for the Wildcats (24-5, 14-3). But Arizona leading scorer Salim Stoudamire, averaging 18.2 points per game, struggled to get into the offense for the second straight game. Stoudamire had 15 points, but missed 2-of-3 free throws with 17 seconds left that could have pulled Arizona within three. He scored only eight against Washington State Thursday.
No. 3 Boston College 70, Seton Hall 58
BOSTON -- Jared Dudley had 19 points and seven rebounds to help Boston College close in on the Big East regular season title. Boston College (23-2, 12-2) can clinch a share of the title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament with a win over Pittsburgh at home Monday. Kelly Whitney had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Seton Hall (11-14, 3-11).
No. 5 Kentucky 78, Alabama 71
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Patrick Sparks hit five of his seven 3-pointers in the second half and scored a season-high 26 points, as Kentucky won its 43rd Southeastern Conference title. Led by Sparks, Kentucky (22-3, 13-1) turned a 14-point deficit late in the first half into an eight-point cushion. Kentucky made 13-of-19 3-pointers, including Sparks' 5-of-6 performance in the second half. The Crimson Tide (21-6, 10-4) lost at home for the first time this season. Kennedy Winston led Alabama with 21 points.
No. 7 Duke 58, St. John's 47
NEW YORK -- Duke had its worst offensive game of the season but the Blue Devils were able to hold off St. John's. Lee Melchionni had 14 of his 16 points in the first half to lead the Blue Devils (21-4). Lamont Hamilton had 15 points for the Red Storm (9-16).
No. 13 Utah 69, BYU 60
SALT LAKE CITY -- Andrew Bogut had 26 points and 13 rebounds and Marc Jackson finished with a career-high 11 assists, helping Utah sweep its state rival this season. Justin Hawkins added 21 points for the Utes (24-4, 12-1 Mountain West). Austin Ainge led the Cougars (9-19, 3-10) with 17 points and Mike Hall scored 12.
No. 15 Syracuse 91, Providence 66
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Hakim Warrick scored a career-high 36 points in his final home game and Jim Boeheim got his 700th victory for Syracuse. Boeheim, in his 29th year at Syracuse, is the sixth active coach to reach 700 wins and the 18th overall. Afterward, he saluted the Carrier Dome crowd of 32,804 from center court and held up a team jersey with "Boeheim 700" emblazoned on the back. It was the second straight win for Syracuse (24-5, 11-4 Big East) and the worst loss of the season for Providence (12-16, 2-12), which has dropped eight conference games by five points or less.
No. 17 Connecticut 73, No. 18 Pittsburgh 64
PITTSBURGH -- Marcus Williams scored 13 points and put Connecticut ahead to stay with a driving layup off the glass with 3 1/2 minutes remaining to keep the Huskies in contention for the Big East regular season title. Despite Chevon Troutman's 22 points and 12 rebounds in his final regular season home game, Pitt (18-7, 8-6) lost its third consecutive game. Rudy Gay scored 17 and Denham Brown had 16 for the Huskies (19-6, 11-3).
No. 21 Charlotte 81, Southern Miss 58
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Curtis Withers scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Charlotte closed its home schedule with its seventh straight win. In his final game at Halton Arena, Charlotte senior forward Eddie Basden had 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists and six steals. The Golden Eagles (10-17, 1-14) were led by Rashaad Carruth's 22 points.
No. 22 Oklahoma 103, Baylor 60
NORMAN, Okla. -- Taj Gray scored 16 points, Jaison Williams had 15 points and 10 assists and Oklahoma shot a school-record 66 percent. David Godbold added 14 points and Johnnie Gilbert scored 13 for Oklahoma. The Bears (9-16, 1-13) have lost 22 straight games to the Sooners.
No. 24 Cincinnati 89, TCU 74
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Jihad Muhammad had 21 points and Cincinnati overcame 22 turnovers by shooting a season-best 61 percent. Nick Williams had 14 points and six assists, and James White had 16 points for the Bearcats (21-6, 10-4 Conference USA) , who made 30 of 49 shots matched a season high in turnovers for the second time in three games. Jason Maxiell had 11 points and 11 rebounds.