College basketball roundup: Jayhawks close in on Big 12 title

No. 3 Kansas never seems to be too far behind to rally for victories.

After another comeback victory against a top-10 team, the Jayhawks are probably too far ahead in the standings for anyone to keep them from winning their 13th consecutive Big 12 title.

Landen Lucas made two free throws with 11 seconds left, and Kansas didn’t allow No. 4 Baylor to get the ball to Johnathan Motley on the last possession, as the Jayhawks grabbed a stranglehold on the Big 12 race with a 67-65 victory Saturday at Waco, Texas.

“As far as a mental toughness team, I would take this team and go to the house and let it ride however it goes,” Kansas Coach Bill Self said.

Five days after overcoming a 14-point deficit in the final 2:43 of regulation and then winning in overtime at home against No. 9 West Virginia, the Jayhawks only had to come back from six points down in the final 31/2 minutes this time.

“We were down by more than that last game,” said Frank Mason III, who led Kansas with 23 points. “We just showed toughness and leadership as far as the older guys and I think the younger guys did a great job of following.”

The Jayhawks (24-3, 12-2) have a three-game lead in the Big 12 standings with four games to play. With one more win, Kansas will match the UCLA teams of the 1960s and ’70s by winning 13 consecutive conference championships.

Motley had 19 points for Baylor (22-5, 9-5), which has lost four of its last six games.

at No. 1 Gonzaga 82, Pacific 61: Nigel Williams-Goss had 18 points and seven assists as the Bulldogs remained the only undefeated team in Division I. Five players scored in double figures for Gonzaga (28-0, 16-0 West Coast).

No. 2 Villanova 92, at Seton Hall 70: Jalen Brunson had 22 points and a career-high 10 assists and the Wildcats (26-2, 13-2) clinched a tie for an unprecedented fourth straight Big East Conference regular-season title.

at No. 8 Louisville 94, Virginia Tech 90: Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points to lead the Cardinals (22-5, 10-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a wild victory. On a day when both teams put on a shooting clinic, the Hokies (18-8, 7-7) lost despite shooting 59.2% from the field, including 65.4% (17 of 26) from beyond the arc.

at No. 9 West Virginia 83, Texas Tech 74 (2 OT): Jevon Carter scored a season-high 24 points to lead the Mountaineers (21-6, 9-5 Big 12), who let a late lead slip away and played overtime for the second straight game. Unlike the loss at Kansas on Monday, West Virginia got the momentum back with some help from Texas Tech, which went scoreless for more than four minutes spanning both overtimes.

at Pittsburgh 80, No. 17 Florida State 66: Senior Sheldon Jeter scored a career-high 29 points as the Panthers (15-12, 4-10 ACC) pulled away down the stretch to upset the Seminoles (21-6, 9-5).

at No. 10 North Carolina 65, No. 14 Virginia 41: Justin Jackson scored 20 points and the Tar Heels (23-5, 11-3 ACC) held the Cavaliers to 27.8% shooting, including two of 20 on three-pointers.

No. 12 Duke 99, at Wake Forest 94: Luke Kennard scored 23 points, Jayson Tatum added 19 and the Blue Devils (22-5, 10-4 ACC) shot 59% to win their seventh in a row. John Collins had a career-high 31 points for the Demon Deacons.

SOUTHLAND

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at Loyola Marymount 82, Pepperdine 61: Steven Haney tied a career high with seven three-pointers and scored 25 points, andthe Lions made 16 of 28 from long range en route to a win over the Waves. Haney finished seven for 12 from beyond the arc, Brandon Brown went four for five to finish with 14 points, and Buay Tuach made three of six and scored 13 points for Loyola Marymount (13-14, 6-10 West Coast). Lamond Murray Jr. led Pepperdine (9-19, 5-11) with 18 points, Taylor added 17 and Jeremy Major 13.

Long Beach State 66, at UC Santa Barbara 48: Evan Payne made four three-pointers and scored 22 points to help the 49ers beat the Gauchos. Justin Bibbins had 14 points and seven assists and Roschon Prince added 11 points and eight rebounds for Long Beach State (13-16, 8-5 Big West). Eric Childress led UC Santa Barbara (4-21, 2-11) with 13 points. Long Beach State had a 12-3 run capped at 63-44 by Justin Bibbins’ pair of free throws with 2:04 left. The Gauchos got the deficit no closer than seven in the second half.

WOMEN TODAY

Washington State at No. 18 UCLA 11 a.m.

No. 9 Washington at USC 3 p.m.