NO. 1 VIRGINIA 75, LOUISVILLE 58
NEW YORK -- Kyle Guy and No. 1 Virginia looked like healthy favorites in their postseason debut, beating Louisville 75-58 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
Guy scored 19 points in his speedy return from a sprained left knee and the top-seeded Cavaliers (29-2) weathered a second-half charge. They'll play 19th-ranked and fourth-seeded Clemson in the first semifinal tonight in Brooklyn.
Devon Hall had 14 points as Virginia methodically dismantled a Louisville team desperate for a big upset to augment its NCAA Tournament credentials. Instead, the ninth-seeded Cardinals (20-13) will sweat out Selection Sunday hoping for an at-large bid.
Guy sprained his left knee last Saturday in the regular-season finale against Notre Dame and went scoreless in 18 minutes. But the sophomore guard, Virginia's leading scorer and a first-team All-ACC selection, started against the Cardinals as expected, wearing a large, black brace on his knee.
Coming off curls and firing from long range, he shot 7 of 14 from the field -- including 4 for 6 on three-pointers -- in 36 minutes. Guy also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, and his three-point play with 2:35 left made it 69-54 soon after Louisville had sliced the margin to four.
Virginia opened a 17-point lead late in the first half and was still up 13 before the Cardinals went on an 11-2 spurt to trim the deficit to 56-52 with 8:55 remaining. But reserve forward Mamadi Diakite scored six consecutive Cavaliers points inside, putting in his own airball after it slipped out of Louisville's grasp, and Virginia regained control.
Hunter had 12 points for the Cavaliers and Ty Jerome, from nearby New Rochelle in the suburbs, added 11. Diakite scored 10, helping Virginia to a 42-16 advantage in the paint.
Ray Spalding led Louisville with 16 points, and Deng Adel had 13. The Cardinals stayed in it for a while by making nine threes, but shot just 36.7 percent overall against the nation's stingiest scoring defense.
In other ACC Tournament games Thursday, Marvin Bagley III had 33 points and 17 rebounds, Grayson Allen made his first five three-pointers and No. 5 Duke rolled to an 88-70 victory over Notre Dame in the quarterfinals. … Gabe DeVoe scored 25 points and Shelton Mitchell had 21 as No. 19 Clemson beat Boston College 90-82 to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2011. … Theo Pinson scored a career-high 25 points and had 11 rebounds, lifting No. 12 North Carolina while its other stars were struggling, and the Tar Heels beat No. 24 Miami 82-65 to set up a second consecutive semifinal meeting with Duke.
BIG 12
Kansas prevails
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas had just been battered by Oklahoma State for the second time this season, a humiliating loss in Stillwater that sent the Jayhawks into the Big 12 Tournament rubbing their bruised egos.
Then the Cowboys raced out to a 10-point lead in their quarterfinal matchup.
Rather than fold, though, the ninth-ranked Jayhawks showed the kind of toughness they've been missing much of this season. Malik Newman scored a career-high 30 points, their backup big men made up for the absence of injured center Udoka Azubuike, and Coach Bill Self's squad pulled away in the second half for an 82-68 victory over the Cowboys.
Svi Mykhailiuk added 13 points and Devonte Graham had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists for the No. 1 seed Jayhawks (25-7), who were swept by the Cowboys (19-14) in the regular season. But they rose to the occasion when it mattered, setting up a date with Kansas State today.
Jeffrey Carroll scored 17 points and Kendall Smith had 14 for the No. 8 seed Cowboys, who can only hope their opening-round victory over Oklahoma solidified their spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Azubuike sprained the MCL in his left knee in practice Tuesday, causing him to miss the entire weekend. The Jayhawks hope to have him back for the NCAA Tournament next week.
Mitch Lightfoot and Silvio De Sousa combined for 14 points and 14 rebounds in his place.
In other Big 12 Tournament games Thursday, Barry Brown scored the goahead layup for Kansas State with 11.2 seconds left in overtime, and Alex Robinson missed two free throws at the other end for TCU, allowing the Wildcats to escape with a 66-64 victory in the quarterfinals. … Keenan Evans scored 25 points and No. 14 Texas Tech held off Texas for a 73-69 victory in the quarterfinals. … Esa Ahmad had 21 points, Daxter Miles Jr. added 19 and No. 18 West Virginia cruised to a 78-65 victory over Baylor to advance to the semifinals.
PACIFIC-12
Arizona rolls
LAS VEGAS -- Arizona was not particularly crisp on offense and big man Deandre Ayton missed shots that normally fall for him.
None of it slowed the Wildcats on their way to the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals.
Scrappy and suffocating on defense, No. 15 Arizona rolled over Colorado 83-67 in the Pac-12 quarterfinals.
Ayton missed numerous shots near the rim, fouling out after scoring 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting and grabbing six rebounds. The Wildcats (25-7) were disjointed at times on offense, unable to find seams in Colorado's zone defense.
But Arizona was superb on defense most of the day, though, holding Colorado to 5-of-20 shooting from three-point range and nabbing 11 steals, including four by Rawle Alkins.
Allonzo Trier scored 22 points, and Dusan Ristic had 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Wildcats move on to face UCLA in today's semifinals.
Colorado (17-15) managed to hang with the Wildcats well into the second half despite playing a tough opening-round game the day before. The Buffaloes suffered a huge blow with about 13 minutes left, when point guard McKinley Wright IV went down with a right ankle injury. Arizona reeled off 14 consecutive points and the Buffaloes never recovered.
George King had 19 points, and Lucas Siewart 16 for Colorado.
In other Pacific-12 Tournament games Thursday, Aaron Holiday had 34 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds, lifting UCLA to an 88-77 victory over Stanford in the quarterfinals. ... Chimezie Metu had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Southern Cal defeated Oregon State 61-48.
BIG EAST
Xavier runs off
NEW YORK -- Sean O'Mara put an exclamation point on Xavier's runaway victory with a two-handed jam in the final seconds and Paul Scruggs cupped a hand to his right ear as the school band played the team off a winner.
Trevon Bluiett scored 27 points, Kaiser Gates had 16 and No. 3 Xavier looked every bit the top seed in the Big East Tournament in an 88-60 victory over St. John's.
Xavier (28-4) flexed its muscle in a dominant second half on the Red Storm's home court at Madison Square Garden. Xavier plays Providence in a tournament semifinal today. Providence beat Xavier 81-72 on Jan. 6.
Xavier lost only three times during conference play to take its first Big East title and the top seed into MSG. The Musketeers snapped out of a sluggish first half in a hurry in the second to win for 13th time in their last 14 games.
Bluiett buried a three from the top of the arc for a 45-35 lead. Bluiett was high-fived by his teammates, who bounced around him headed into a timeout. Mack sternly pointed Bluiett toward the huddle, then smacked him on the rear for a good job.
Gates followed with another three-pointer and O'Mara's block led to Quentin Goodin's fast-break bucket to help the Musketeers finally build some separation. Gates and JP Macura hit consecutive threes for a 56-42 lead and the Musketeers showed again why they expect to play deep in March. Xavier has reached the Sweet 16 six times in the last 10 years and set a school record in victories this season.
In other Big East Tournament games Thursday, Jay Wright became the winningest coach in Villanova history with 414, and the No. 2 Wildcats opened defense of their tournament championship in a 94-70 victory over Marquette. … Kyron Cartwright hit two go-ahead free throws with 1:32 left in overtime and added a crucial basket with 16 seconds to go and Providence took a big step toward a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth with a 72-68 victory over Creighton in the quarterfinals. … Tyler Wideman scored on a putback with 4 seconds to play and sixth-seeded Butler stunned third-seeded Seton Hall 75-74 in the quarterfinals.
Sports on 03/09/2018