college basketball roundup | Friday’s other games

No. 12 Florida State 69, No. 2 Virginia 59

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

David Nichols scored 14 points and No. 12 Florida State knocked off No. 2 Virginia to advance to the championship game of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Phil Cofer had 11 points and 7-foot-3 center Christ Koumadje added nine points and nine rebounds for the Seminoles. De’Andre Hunter had 13 points for Virginia (29-3), which had its nine-game winning streak snapped and suffered its first loss to a team other than Duke.

No. 5 Duke 74, No. 3 North Carolina 73

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Zion Williamson had the go-ahead tip-in on his own miss with 30.3 seconds left and fifth-ranked Duke held off third-ranked North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals. Williamson had 31 points and 11 rebounds and the Blue Devils (28-5) survived a fight with their fierce rival in a classic that went down to the final play.

No. 4 Kentucky 73, Alabama 55

NASHVILLE, TENN.

Tyler Herro scored 20 points and the fourth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats started their quest for a fifth straight Southeastern Conference Tournament title by beating Alabama in the quarterfinals. P.J. Washington, Kentucky’s lone representative on the AP All-SEC team, finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds. He also had four blocks. Immanuel Quickley added 12 points. Kentucky held Alabama to a season-low 30.4 percent shooting.

No. 8 Tennessee 83, Mississippi State 76

NASHVILLE, TENN.

Admiral Schofield scored 20 points and No. 8 Tennessee defeated Mississippi State in a Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinal. Kyle Alexander and Grant Williams each scored 16 points to help Tennessee reach the semifinals. Jordan Bone had 14 points and nine assists with only one turnover, and Jordan Bowden added 10 points.

Florida 76, No. 9 LSU 73

NASHVILLE, TENN.

Andrew Nembhard hit a 3-pointer with a second left, and Florida rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half to upset ninth-ranked LSU in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

The SEC regular-season champs had one last chance as Will Reese threw the ball deep to Naz Reid, who couldn’t catch it while defended by a pair of Gators before the buzzer. Nembhard led five Gators in double figures with 20 points. Johnson finished with 16, Hudson had 13, Allen scored 12 and Hayes had 11. Reid led LSU with 26 points and 14 rebounds.

No. 10 Michigan 74, Iowa 53

CHICAGO

Zavier Simpson sparked Michigan’s balanced attack with 10 points on perfect shooting and 11 assists, and the Wolverines picked apart Iowa for a victory in the Big Ten Tournament. Ignas Brazdeikis had 15 points, and Jon Teske had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Luke Garza and Tyler Cook each scored 14 points for Iowa.

No. 11 Houston 84, UConn 45

MEMPHIS, TENN.

Corey Davis Jr. scored 22 points and No. 11 Houston defeated UConn in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. Galen Robinson Jr. finished with 16 points, missing only one of his eight shots. Nate Hinton added 15 points for Houston (30-2), the tournament’s top seed. Jalen Adams led UConn (16-17) with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Josh Carlton added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Minnesota 75, No. 13 Purdue 73

CHICAGO

Jordan Murphy scored 27 points, Amir Coffey added 21 points and Minnesota beat No. 13 Purdue to advance to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Murphy drove for a go-ahead three-point play and hit two free throws in the closing minutes, and the Gophers (21-12) beat the Boilermakers (23-9) for the second time in 10 days when Carsen Edwards missed a 3 as time expired. Murphy finished three points shy of his season high.

San Diego State 65, No. 14 Nevada 56

LAS VEGAS

Devin Watson had 20 points and five assists and San Diego State held No. 14 Nevada scoreless for nearly seven minutes late in the Aztecs’ victory in the Mountain West Conference semifinals. Jalen McDaniels added 12 points and 10 rebounds for San Diego State (21-12). Cody Martin led the top-seeded Wolf Pack (29-4) with 16 points and six rebounds, and Tre’Shawn Thurman had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Iowa State 63, No. 15 Kansas State 59

KANSAS CITY, MO.

Marial Shayok hit back-to-back 3-pointers right in front of his own bench to give Iowa State the lead in the final minute, and the fifth-seeded Cyclones held on at the foul line to beat No. 15 Kansas State in the Big 12 semifinals. The Cyclones (22-11) trailed 55-52 when Shayok’s first 3-point bounced off the rim, then off the glass and dropped through. Then, after the Wildcats’ Cartier Diarra missed a 3 at the other end, the Cyclones’ senior guard dropped a 3 that gave his team the lead.

No. 17 Kansas 88, West Virginia 74

KANSAS CITY, MO.

Dedric Lawson poured in 24 points, Quentin Grimes added 18 before leaving late with cramps and No. 17 Kansas roared away from West Virginia for a victory in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals. Devon Dotson added 13 points and Marcus Garrett had 11 for the third-seeded and reigning champion Jayhawks (25-8). Lamont West led West Virginia with 16 points. Derek Culver had 14.

No. 18 Buffalo 85, Central Michigan 81

CLEVELAND

C.J. Massinburg dropped a spinning layup and made four free throws in the final 32 seconds as No. 18 Buffalo moved into the Mid-American Conference Tournament title game with a win over Central Michigan in the semifinals. Massinburg, the MAC Player of the Year and Buffalo’s senior leader, scored 21 points and Davonta Jordan added 16 for the Bulls.

No. 19 Wisconsin 66, Nebraska 62

CHICAGO

Nate Reuvers scored 14 points, D’Mitrik Trice hit a clutch 3-pointer with 58 seconds left and No. 19 Wisconsin beat pesky Nebraska to advance to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Khalil Iverson also scored 14 points as the Badgers (23-9) won for the sixth time in seven games .

No. 22 Auburn 73, South Carolina 64

NASHVILLE, TENN.

Jared Harper scored 27 points and No. 22 Auburn showcased its record-setting 3-point attack to beat South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Bryce Brown had 19 points and Samir Doughty added 10 for Auburn. Chris Silva led South Carolina with 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Felipe Haase and Tre Campbell each added 12 points.

No. 24 Cincinnati 82, SMU 74

MEMPHIS, TENN.

Jarron Cumberland had two late three-point plays and finished with 26 points to help No. 24 Cincinnati beat SMU in the American Athletic Conference quarterfinals. Justin Jenifer and Tre Scott added 17 points, with Jenifer making all six shots — five from 3-point range — for the second-seeded Bearcats. Scott also had 12 rebounds. Jahmal McMurray added 18.

No. 25 Villanova 71, Xavier 67, OT

NEW YORK

Phil Booth scored 28 points, Jermaine Samuels hit a trio of critical 3-pointers and No. 25 Villanova rallied past Xavier in overtime to reach its fifth consecutive Big East championship game. In a scintillating opener to the semifinal doubleheader, Villanova (24-9) erased a seven-point deficit in the last 3 minutes of regulation. Booth and fellow senior star Eric Paschall each scored five points in the extra period. Paul Scruggs scored a career-high 28 points and Zach Hankins added 18 for the fourth-seeded Musketeers (18-15).

Associated Press