College basketball: Creighton beats highest-ranked foe ever in No. 3 Villanova

Marcus Foster scored 28 points, Davion Mintz gave Creighton the lead for good early in overtime, and the Bluejays defeated the highest-ranked opponent in program history with an 89-83 upset of No. 3 Villanova on Saturday.

Creighton (20-9, 9-7 Big East), playing without injured starting forward Ronnie Harrell Jr., ended a three-game conference losing streak and won for the first time in nine games against Villanova since 2014. The Bluejays also avenged a 20-point road loss to Villanova on Feb. 1.

Villanova (25-4, 12-4) squandered an eight-point lead with 4 minutes left and missed seven of its last nine shots before a meaningless layup at the end of overtime.

Mintz scored on his own putback to put the Bluejays ahead 78-76, and Jacob Epperson made it a four-point game with two free throws with 1:45 left in the extra period.

Jalen Brunson lost control of the ball under his basket on the Wildcats’ next possession, and Phil Booth committed a flagrant-1 foul before Mitch Ballock scored for Creighton to make it 84-78.

Khyri Thomas made five straight 3-pointers in the first 11 minutes to set a career high and finished with 24 points. Ballock added 13 and Epperson had all 12 of his points after halftime.

Brunson led the Wildcats with 22 points, Mikal Bridges had 18 and Omari Spellman added 14 points and 10 rebounds.

No. 1 Virginia 66, at Pittsburgh 37: Virginia allowed just seven points in the first half and secured the regular-season Atlantic Coast Conference title outright with a 66-37 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Freshman guard De’Andre Hunter came off the bench to lead the Cavaliers with 14 points in a game that didn’t take big offensive efforts from Virginia’s regulars. Of the five starters, only guard Ty Jerome exceeded his season average with 13 points.

The game was never competitive, as Virginia started on an 8-0 run and Pitt didn’t make a field goal until Jared Wilson-Frame hit a 3-pointer at the midway point of the first half.

Virginia coach Tony Bennett rested most of his regulars in the second half. Reserve Nigel Johnson added 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting.

Parker Stewart led Pitt with 12 points, all on 3-pointers. Pitt had next to no presence inside. The Panthers were outscored 28-8 in the paint and out-rebounded 36-24. Seven of Pitt’s 11 made field goals were from beyond the arc.

at No. 5 Duke 60, Syracuse 44: Marvin Bagley III had 19 points in his return from a sprained knee, and No. 5 Duke beat Syracuse 60-44 on Saturday night for its fifth straight win.

Wendell Carter Jr. added 16 points for the Blue Devils (24-5, 12-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who forced 17 turnovers. The Orange matched their season-low scoring total, set Feb. 3 in a loss to No. 1 Virginia.

Duke pulled away down the stretch after leaning hard on the two freshman big men in a game in which the outside shooters from both teams struggled from the perimeter against their dueling zone defenses. The teams combined to miss their first 23 3-pointers.

Bagley, the ACC’s leading scorer (21.2 ppg) and rebounder (11.4 rpg), missed four games after injuring his right knee in a loss at North Carolina on Feb. 8.

Tyus Battle, who ranks third in the league with an average of 20.1 points per game, scored 12 to lead the Orange (18-11, 7-9), who lost their third in four games.

No. 8 Kansas 74, at No. 6 Texas Tech 72: Devonte Graham scored 26 points and No. 8 Kansas set an NCAA record with its 14th straight regular-season conference championship, clinching at least a tie for the Big 12 title with a 74-72 victory against sixth-ranked Texas Tech on Saturday.

Graham hit a tiebreaking jumper with 1:30 remaining to help Kansas (23-6, 12-4) to its fourth straight win and a two-game lead over the Red Raiders, who have lost three in a row for the first time this season. The Jayhawks never trailed.

All 14 of the titles have come under coach Bill Self, who finished second in his first season at KU. Four of the previous 13 championships were shared. UCLA won 13 straight Pac-10 titles from 1967-79.

The current skid for the Red Raiders (22-7, 10-6) started when leading scorer Keenan Evans injured a toe in the first half of a loss to Baylor that pulled Kansas even in the Big 12 race. The senior guard scored six points in his third straight game in single digits since the injury.

Zhaire Smith scored 20 points and fellow freshman Jarrett Culver had 18 for Texas Tech, which dropped its second straight game since reaching the highest ranking in school history. The Red Raiders surpassed last week’s No. 7 ranking that matched the 1995-96 team.

No. 6 Gonzaga 79, at BYU 65: Johnathan Williams scored 16 points, and No. 6 Gonzaga clinched another West Coast Conference championship with a 79-65 victory over BYU on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs (27-4, 17-1) have won at least a share of 18 of the past 19 regular-season conference championships, including each of the past six seasons.

Zach Norvell Jr. had 15 points and five rebounds for Gonzaga, which got off to a fast start and also played well right after halftime.

Yoeli Childs led BYU (22-9, 11-7) with 19 points and eight rebounds. Elijah Bryant overcame a cold start to contribute 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists.

at Florida 72, No. 12 Auburn 66: KeVaughn Allen bounced back from his first scoreless game in more than three years with 24 points, including two huge 3-pointers in the closing minutes as Florida beat No. 12 Auburn 72-66 on Saturday night.

Jalen Hudson added 19 points for the Gators, including a pivotal three-point play with 26.8 seconds remaining. Chris Chiozza hit Hudson with a bounce pass on a back-door cut. He got fouled making the layup and then sank the free throw to put Florida up 69-66.

Auburn’s Jared Harper and Bryce Brown missed off-balance 3-pointers in the final minute, and the Gators closed it out from the charity stripe.

It was Florida’s 11th consecutive win in the series and a huge boost to the team’s NCAA Tournament resume.

The Gators (18-11, 9-7 Southeastern Conference) had dropped three straight and six of eight in league play. Coach Mike White’s team had been free-falling since early January, and a fourth loss in a row probably would have left the Gators needing help down the stretch to make the NCAAs.

The win over the Tigers (24-5, 12-4) could be enough to put Florida in the 68-team field for the second straight season.

No. 13 Wichita State 84, at SMU 78: Markis McDuffie scored a season-high 26 points off the bench, including nine during the first four minutes of the second half, to lead No. 13 Wichita State to an 84-78 win over SMU on Saturday.

The Shockers (23-5, 13-3 American Athletic Conference) have won six straight games and are one-half game behind first-place Cincinnati. Wichita State will host Cincinnati on March 4 in the regular-season finale for both teams.

SMU (16-13, 6-10) lost for the sixth time in seven games since leading scorer Shake Milton (18 points per game) was sidelined with a hand injury.

No. 17 Michigan 85, at Maryland 61: Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman scored 22 of his career-high 28 points in the decisive first half, and No. 17 Michigan easily defeated Maryland 85-61 on Saturday in College Park for its fifth consecutive victory.

Using runs of 9-0 and 16-3, the Wolverines built a 54-24 halftime lead and cruised to the finish. Michigan went 17 for 28 from the floor in the first half, including 11 for 19 from three-point range.

The Wolverines (24-7, 13-5 Big Ten) have clinched the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament, but can earn a No. 4 seed and a double bye if Nebraska loses to Penn State on Sunday.

Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 17 for Maryland, which suffered its most lopsided home loss since a 104-72 defeat against Duke on Jan 3, 1998.

The Terrapins (19-12, 8-10) were 15-2 at home and lost to Michigan on the road by just one point on Jan. 15, which made the blowout that much more surprising.

at No. 15 Clemson 75, Georgia Tech 67: Gabe DeVoe scored 25 points and Shelton Mitchell added 14 as he returned from two games missed with a concussion, leading No. 15 Clemson to a 75-67 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday.

The Tigers (21-7, 10-6 Atlantic Coast) ended the game on a 29-14 run after leading scorer Josh Okogie picked up his fourth foul for the Yellow Jackets (11-18, 4-12) with 11:44 to go.

Georgia Tech missed 11 of its last 12 shots and turned the ball over four times in the final seven minutes to lose their seventh straight game and 11th of 12.

The Tigers ended a three-game losing streak, two of them while Mitchell was recovering from a concussion suffered in the final minute at Florida State on Feb. 14.

No. 19 Tennessee 73, Ole Miss 65: Admiral Schofield scored 23 points, Jordan Bowden scored 15, Lamonte Turner scored 13 and No. 19 Tennessee earned a 73-65 win over Mississippi on Saturday.

The Volunteers (21-7, 11-5 SEC) jumped out to a 29-9 lead in the first 10 minutes and held off a rally by Ole Miss in the second half to earn the key road victory.

Neither team shot well from the floor with Tennessee shooting 39 percent and Ole Miss shooting 34 percent.

The Rebels (12-17, 5-11) struggled from long distance. Ole Miss shot 4 percent (1-for-23) from three-point range. Terence Davis, who was 1 for 7 on 3s, connected in the second half.

Breein Tyree led the Rebels with 17 points, Bruce Stevens scored 14 and Davis finished with 13.

at No. 21 West Virginia 85, Iowa State 70: Jevon Carter scored 24 points and made some history as No. 21 West Virginia pulled away for an 85-70 victory over Iowa State on Saturday.

With 15:59 left in the first half, Carter picked up his first assist of the game, setting up a 3-pointer by Esa Ahmad to become the first major-conference player in NCAA history to record more than 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 steals in a career.

West Virginia (21-8, 10-6 Big 12) was held in check early by the short-handed Cyclones. Iowa State played only five starters and two reserves and led the Mountaineers by as much as four with 11 minutes left in the first half.

WVU clawed back to tie the game at 28 with 3:39 left, and then closed out the half on an 11-2 run to take a 39-30 halftime lead. The Mountaineers opened the second half with an 8-2 run, and the Cyclones never recovered.

Ahmad had 18 points and 11 rebounds for his second career double-double. Sagaba Konate added 14 points along with six blocks, and Daxter Miles scored 14 points.

Lindell Wigginton led Iowa State (13-15, 4-12) with 29 points. Terrence Lewis added 12 points and Cameron Lard grabbed 10 rebounds.

at No. 22 Saint Mary’s 67, Santa Clara 40: Jock Landale had 19 points and eight rebounds in his final home game, and No. 22 Saint Mary’s beat Santa Clara 67-40 on Saturday.

Emmett Naar added 12 points and Calvin Hermanson had 10 on Senior Day for Saint Mary’s (27-4, 16-2 West Coast Conference). Jordan Ford scored 13.

The Gaels have won three straight since their school-record 19-game winning streak ended with back-to-back losses.

A matchup of the top two scorers in the WCC fizzled out quickly when Santa Clara’s KJ Feagin limped off the court with a sprained left ankle with 7:16 left in the first half. He did not return.

Landale had an uneven game in his final appearance at McKeon Pavilion. He missed five of his first nine shots and at times looked uncomfortable in the paint against 267-pound Santa Clara center Emmanuel Ndumanya before helping the Gaels pull away in the second half.

at No. 24 Middle Tennessee 79, UAB 54: Nick King scored 22 points, Giddy Potts had 17 and No. 24 Middle Tennessee celebrated its first game as a ranked team with a 79-54 victory over UAB on Saturday night.

The Blue Raiders (23-5, 15-1 Conference USA) entered the AP poll for the first time on Monday, but hadn’t played since an 87-70 victory at Louisiana Tech last Saturday. They showed no signs of any rust, jumping to a 40-19 halftime lead against the Blazers.

Potts made five of Middle Tennessee’s 11 3-pointers. Brandon Walters scored 16 points, and Antwain Johnson had 11.

Zack Bryant led UAB (17-12, 8-8) with 13 points.

at Oregon 98, No. 14 Arizona 98

SOUTHLAND

MEN

at Loyola Marymount 74, Pacific 71: James Batemon had seven of his 23 points in the final minute and a half, and the Lions (10-19, 5-13 West Coast Conference) rallied from 16 down. Batemon’s three-pointer with 1:27 left gave the Lions the lead for good at 70-68, his layup with 34.5 seconds pushed the lead to four and his two free throws capped the scoring.

at Pepperdine 75, Portland 64: Kameron Edwards scored 14 of his 22 points in a pivotal first half and the Waves (5-25, 2-16 WCC) ended an eight-game losing streak.

UC Santa Barbara 82, at Cal State Northridge 73: Leland King II had 25 points and 12 rebounds as the Gauchos (21-7, 10-4 Big West) rebounded from consecutive losses. Tavrion Dawson scored 22 points with nine rebounds to lead the Matadors (6-23, 3-12), who have lost nine of 10.

at UC Davis 64, UC Riverside 63: TJ Shorts II scored 16 points and went baseline to baseline to make the winning layup with a second left. Chance Murray scored 24 points to lead the Highlanders (8-19, 3-10 Big West), who took their first lead of the second half on Menno Dijkstra’s three with seven seconds left.

at Cal State Fullerton 81, Long Beach State 71: Kyle Allman scored 25 points and Khalil Ahmad added 15 points and seven assists as the Titans (16-10, 9-5 Big West) defeated the 49ers (13-17, 7-7 Big West). Temidayo Yussuf had a strong game for the 49ers with 13 points and eight rebounds.

WOMEN

at USC 65, Colorado 53: Aliyah Mazyck scored 24 points, Kristen Simon had her fourth straight double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and the Trojans (19-10, 9-9 Pac-12 Conference) closed the regular season with a win. Mazyck made five three-pointers, giving her 85 this season to tie Ashley Corral’s USC season record.

at No. 10 UCLA 78, Utah 71 (OT): Jordin Canada had 22 points and 14 assists and fellow senior Monique Billings had 24 points and 10 rebounds in the Bruins’ overtime win. Utah’s Tilar Clark got her own rebound and made a layup with 1.4 seconds left, sending the game to OT. But Canada scored six of UCLA’s 13 points in the extra session.