WEDNESDAY’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

West Virginia 72, Oklahoma 71

KANSAS CITY, MO.

West Virginia held on to beat Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament when the Sooners’ Christian James, who appeared to knock down a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to force overtime, was determined to have had his foot on the line. The officials overturned their original call and sent the No. 10 seed Mountaineers (13-19) into the quarterfinal round, where they will play No. 2 seed Texas Tech for a semifinal spot. Lamont West had 15 points and Jermaine Haley had 14 to lead West Virginia, though Haley missed the first of two free throws that would have clinched the game with 8 seconds to go. Warren Harding’s Derek Culver started at forward and had six points and seven rebounds. Jordan McCabe added 12 points for the Mountaineers, who finally had a reason to feel good after a season full of strife. They’ve kicked two starters off the team, another former starter announced his plans to transfer, and rim protector Sagaba Konate hasn’t played in months because of an injury. None of which seemed to matter much Wednesday night. Brady Manek had 22 points and Kristian Doolittle had 18 for the seventh-seeded Sooners, who are now poised to give the NCAA Tournament selection committee an intriguing case. The Sooners have four quadrant-1 wins and a strong resume against quality opponents, but they are also just 19-13 overall and went 7-11 in the league. And with a loss to the Mountaineers, they won’t have an opportunity to add to their win total in Kansas City.

Syracuse 73, Pittsburgh 57

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Buddy Boeheim had a career-high 20 points, and Syracuse defeated Pittsburgh in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament despite playing without leading scorer Tyus Battle. Elijah Hughes and Frank Howard each had 18 points for the Orange, who’ll face No. 5 Duke in a rubber match Friday night in the quarterfinals in a game that could feature the return of Zion Williamson from an injury. Boeheim, the son of Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, got the start for the Orange (20-12) in place of Battle and played an instrumental role in a second half comeback hitting 6 of 13 shots from the field while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists. Pitt’s Jared Wilson-Frame had 24 points on eight 3-pointers, one shy of the ACC Tournament record held by Randolph Childress of Wake Forest in 1995. Syracuse trailed 36-30 at halftime after Wilson-Frame connected on 6 of 9 3-pointers. But with the Orange down five, Boeheim scored on a drive and then knocked down two 3-pointers from the top of the key to give Syracuse the lead. After Hughes and Howard connected on 3s, Boeheim somehow grabbed his own miss amid the trees in the lane, scored and drew a foul for a 3-point play to give the Orange a 52-43 lead. Pitt’s freshman backcourt of Trey McGowens and Xavier Johnson, who combined for 46 points in a first round win over Boston College, were limited to seven points with their drives nullified by 7-foot-2 Paschal Chukwu’s shot blocking ability in the lane.

Louisville 75, Notre Dame 53

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Jordan Nwora had 24 points and nine rebounds, and Louisville notched its 20th win of the season defeating Notre Dame in the second round of the ACC Tournament. Ryan McMahon added 12 points and Steven Enoch had 10 for the Cardinals (20-12), who’ll face No. 3 North Carolina for the third time this season in the quarterfinals on Thursday night. The Cardinals blew open a nine-point game in the second half with a 22-7 run to build a 24-point lead. Louisville’s length clearly bothered Notre Dame as the Irish were held to 27 percent shooting from the field and 11 percent from 3-point range. Louisville also dominated on the glass, outrebounding Notre Dame 50-38. T.J. Gibbs led the Irish (14-19) with 21 points. The Cardinals held John Mooney, Notre Dame’s leading scorer, to seven points on 3-of-18 shooting. The seventh-seeded Cardinals wasted no time jumping on the 15th-seeded Irish, bolting to a 28-12 lead behind 12 points from Nwora and a rim-rattling put-back dunk from Enoch — one of many dunks from the high-flying Cardinals. Still, Notre Dame cut the lead to nine at halftime despite missing its final 12 3-point shots of the first half. Nate Laszewski returned to the Notre Dame starting lineup after injuring his back and missing the second half of the Irish’s first round win over Georgia Tech, but was held scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting from the field.

Nebraska 68, Rutgers 61

CHICAGO

James Palmer Jr. tied a career high with 34 points, and Nebraska beat Rutgers in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday. Palmer matched a personal best set against Ohio State last season and scored 27 in the second half to carry Nebraska. The Cornhuskers (17-15) went on a 15-0 run to grab a 10-point lead in the closing minutes on the way to their second straight win after dropping 11 of 13. They are banking on a run in the conference tournament to vault them into the NCAA picture and maybe save coach Tim Miles’ job. Eugene Omoruyi led Rutgers (14-17) with 16 points. Myles Johnson added 11 points and 11 rebounds, but the Scarlet Knights were one and done this time after winning at least one game in the previous two conference tournaments.

N.C. State 59, Clemson 58

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Markell Johnson hit two free throws with 2.6 seconds left and North Carolina State came from 18 down in the first half to beat Clemson in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. The Tigers had a final chance after Johnson’s free throws, but Marcquise Reed’s heave from a few steps inside of halfcourt wasn’t close to end it. Johnson had 23 points for the eighth-seeded Wolfpack (22-10), who survived to win a game that both teams needed to help their NCAA Tournament hopes as bubble teams. Reed scored 16 points for the ninth-seeded Tigers (19-13), who dominated the first half in a rematch of a game won by the Wolfpack on Braxton Beverly’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer in January. Clemson made just 6 of 31 shots (19 percent) after halftime, including a run of more than 11 minutes without a basket and nearly seven minutes without a point.

No. 16 Virginia Tech 71, Miami 56

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Kerry Blackshear had 19 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 16 Virginia Tech beat Miami in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Ty Outlaw added 14 points — all in the first half — points for the fifth-seeded Hokies (24-7), who never trailed after scoring the game’s first 11 points. The Hokies ran out to a 20-point lead before halftime, then turned away Miami’s last serious push early in the second half with a 20-5 run.

Associated Press