Kansas State tops No. 6 Iowa State 65-58; No. 1 Houston claims Big 12 regular-season title
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Arthur Kaluma scored 23 points, Cam Carter added 21 and Kansas State beat sixth-ranked Iowa State 65-58 on Saturday, giving the Wildcats’ flickering NCAA Tournament hopes a big boost heading into the Big 12 Tournament.
David N’Guessan added 11 points and a career-high 16 rebounds on senior day for the Wildcats (18-13, 8-10 Big 12), who blew most of a 17-point, second-half lead before holding on for their third win over a top-10 team this season.
Kansas State also beat No. 4 Kansas and No. 9 Baylor at home, where it went 15-3 this season.
Curtis Jones had 16 points and Keshon Gilbert and Tamin Lipsey 13 apiece for the Cyclones (24-7, 13-5), who couldn’t replicate their rally from 14 down to beat BYU earlier in the week and had their four-game winning streak snapped.
NO. 1 HOUSTON 76, NO. 14 KANSAS 46
HOUSTON (AP) — Jamal Shead had 13 points, six rebounds and eight assists, Damian Dunn added 12 points and Houston claimed the Big 12 Conference regular-season title in its first season in the league.
L.J. Cryer scored 11 points and J’Wan Roberts had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars (28-3, 15-3), who shot 44% for the game and hit 11 of 29 shots from long distance, while forcing 18 turnovers and converting them into 30 points.
The Cougars closed out their regular season by winning their ninth straight game and extending their home winning streak to 22 games.
Hunter Dickinson had 11 points and six rebounds for Kansas (22-9, 10-8), but left with 11:08 remaining holding his right shoulder after battling for a rebound. Kevin McCullar Jr., who tweaked his knee earlier in the week against Kansas State, was scoreless in 15 minutes in the first half. He didn’t play in the second half.
NO. 15 KENTUCKY 85, NO. 4 TENNESSEE 81
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Antonio Reeves and Reed Sheppard each scored 27 points as Kentucky spoiled Tennessee’s late season run.
The Wildcats (23-8, 13-5 Southeastern Conference) have now five in a row and seven of eight. Sheppard came off the bench to hit six 3-pointers in the second half and seven for the game. Justin Edwards scored 16.
The Volunteers (24-7, 14-4) were led by SEC Player of the Year candidate Dalton Knecht, who had a career-high 40 points. Zakai Zeigler had 17 points and nine assists. Jonas Aidoo had 11 points, eight rebounds and five blocks.
NO. 10 CREIGHTON 66, VILLANOVA 67
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Trey Alexander hit a fadeaway jumper with 0.2 seconds left and finished with 17 points as Creighton survived a furious late rally and beat Villanova.
Baylor Scheierman scored 11 of his 18 points in Creighton’s dominating first half. Ryan Kalkbrenner added 14 points for Creighton (23-8, 14-6 Big East), which clinched the No. 2 seed in the Big East Tournament.
Eric Dixon scored 25 points and Justin Moore had 17 points for Villanova (17-14, 10-10), which lost a game that it needed in an effort to better its chances at an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Now, the Wildcats likely will need a deep run in the conference tournament.
NO. 16 ALABAMA 92, ARKANSAS 88, OT
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Mark Sears scored 22 points and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. had 20, including a game-tying 3-pointer with 22 seconds to go to force overtime as Alabama rallied past Arkansas.
Sam Walters scored seven of his 10 points in OT, including a go-ahead 3-pointer, for Alabama (21-10, 13-5 Southeastern Conference), which never led in regulation and secured a double bye in the SEC Tournament with the win.
Khalif Battle led Arkansas (15-16, 6-12) with 22 points and Makhi Mitchell scored 18. Tramon Mark scored 13 and Travon Brazille had 12.
NO. 17 SOUTH CAROLINA 93, MISSISSIPPI STATE 89, OT
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — B.J. Mack had 25 points and Collin Murray-Boyles scored 19 to lead South Carolina.
Mack had seven points in overtime for South Carolina (25-6, 13-5 Southeastern Conference), which won for the second time in ovetime. Meechie Johnson had 16 points.
Freshman Josh Hubbard had 28 points for the Bulldogs (19-12, 8-10), who dropped their fourth straight game. Cameron Matthews had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Dashawn Davis added 16 points and Tolu Smith had 14 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.
TULSA 76, NO. 24 SOUTH FLORIDA 67
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Freshman PJ Haggerty scored 26 of his career-high 32 points in the second half and Tulsa stopped South Florida’s 15 game winning streak.
Cobe Williams added 23 points for Tulsa (16-14, 7-11 American Athletic Conference), which held USF to 30% shooting in the second half and rallied from a 37-31 halftime deficit.
South Florida (23-6, 16-2) was led by Kasean Pryor’s 29 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Youngblood had 12 points and Selton Miguel 11 for the Bulls.
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