Duke advances, but B.C. knocks off Heels

Memphis, Xavier and Albany won NCAA tournament bids Saturday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- With J.J. Redick hobbled by a knee injury, freshmen Greg Paulus and Josh McRoberts stepped in to carry Duke to familiar territory -- the final of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Paulus had a career-high 18 points, McRoberts added 13 and the third-ranked Blue Devils survived a tense, emotional game to beat Wake Forest 78-66 Saturday.
Redick, the ACC's iron man who averages more than 37 minutes of playing time, left for about four minutes in the first half after he fell trying to draw a charge. He went to the locker room before returning with a black knee brace, but noticeably limped his way to 20 points on 6-of-17 from the floor.
Duke plays Boston College in today's final.
No. 11 Boston College 85,No. 10 North Carolina 82
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Craig Smith had 23 points and 15 rebounds while 11 Boston College shot 61 percent.
Jared Dudley scored 21 points for the third-seeded Eagles (26-6), who have won 10 of 11 games.
Tyler Hansbrough had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the second-seeded Tar Heels (22-7).
No. 5 Memphis 57, No. 24 UAB 46
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Shawne Williams scored 18 points and Joey Dorsey had 10 points and 12 rebounds as Memphis (30-3) won the Conference USA tournament.
No. 8 Texas 74, Texas A & amp;M 70
DALLAS -- P.J. Tucker had a season-high 26 points and 13 rebounds in the Big 12 tournament semifinals.
The Longhorns (27-5) set a school record for victories while avenging a 46-43 loss 10 days earlier at Texas A & amp;M.
Josh Carter led Texas A & amp;M (21-8) with 25 points and seven rebounds.
No. 17 Kansas 79, Nebraska 65
DALLAS -- Mario Chalmers had 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds, leading Kansas to the Big 12 tournament final.
The Jayhawks (24-7) used the finesse of 3-point shooting to turn this one into a rout before halftime.
No. 13 UCLA 71, California 52
LOS ANGELES -- Jordan Farmar led four UCLA players in double figures with 19 points and the 13th-ranked Bruins won their first Pac-10 tournament title since 1987.
The Bruins (27-6), the regular season champions for the first time since 1997, earned the conference's automatic NCAA bid -- their second straight trip under coach Ben Howland.
No. 16 Florida 81, No. 17 LSU 65
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Taurean Green scored 18 points to lead five Gators in double-figures and Florida advanced to the Southeastern Conference tournament title game for the third straight year and sixth time overall.
LSU, the regular season champs, hadn't won a tournament title since 1980 or played in the championship game since 1993. With freshman Tyrus Thomas resting his sprained left ankle for the NCAA tournament, the Tigers (23-8) snapped a seven-game winning streak.
Joakim Noah scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Gators (26-6). Florida will play South Carolina today.
South Carolina 65, Kentucky 61
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- South Carolina reached the final of the SEC tournament for just the second time, behind 18 points from Tarence Kinsey.
Tre Kelley added 13 and Bryce Sheldon had 12 for South Carolina (18-14).
The Wildcats (21-12) entered the game with a 34-2 record in tournament semifinal games and were trying to win their 26th tournament crown despite a disappointing regular season.
Trailing 50-45 in the second half, South Carolina went on a 14-3 run that was highlighted by two 3-pointers by Kinsey and one by Sheldon. The Wildcats could get no closer than three the rest of the way.
Joe Crawford, who led Kentucky with 13 points, could have cut it to two but he missed the second of two free throws with 1:56 remaining.
Xavier 62, Saint Joseph's 61
CINCINNATI -- Down to its last 5.1 seconds, a Xavier team given up for lost only a month ago found its way to the NCAA tournament.
Justin Doellman made two free throws with 5.1 seconds left, and Xavier blocked Dwayne Lee's last two shots, to win the Atlantic 10 tournament championship.
Doellman blocked Lee's driving layup out of bounds with 1.3 seconds left, and Justin Cage swatted away Lee's jumper at the buzzer, bringing hundreds of Xavier fans onto the floor for an unexpected celebration.
Xavier (21-10) became the first team in Division I history to pull off an improbable feat for the second time -- winning four games in four days for a tournament title. The Musketeers also did it in 2004 for their last NCAA appearance.
Albany 80, Vermont 67
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Jamar Wilson had 29 points as Albany beat three-time defending champion Vermont to win the America East Conference tournament title and earn the school's first NCAA tournament berth.
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