No. 7 Texas Rolls Past Kansas

Texas keeps winning at home and moving closer to its first Big 12 Conference title in seven years.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 18 points on near-perfect shooting, and a stellar defensive effort on Kansas’ Brandon Rush sent the No. 7 Longhorns to an 80-55 victory Saturday night at Austin, Texas, pushing the No. 16 Jayhawks a game back in the chase for the regular-season conference title.

Aldridge made his first eight shots, not missing until Texas had a 20-point lead late in the second half. In all, he made nine of 10 shots, grabbed eight rebounds and had four blocks.

P.J. Tucker added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Longhorns (24-4, 12-2), who tied a school record for the most wins in a regular season.

The Longhorns also got 20 points off the bench, 12 from freshman point guard A.J. Abrams, to stay undefeated at home in conference play. Texas shot 55% and outrebounded Kansas, 36-19, in ending the Jayhawks’ 10-game winning streak

“We got a terrific effort from everyone,” Texas Coach Rick Barnes said. “But we know we’ve got another week left in the regular season.”

Texas hasn’t won the Big 12 since 1999, Barnes’ first season in Austin.

Julian Wright scored 18 to lead the Jayhawks (20-7, 11-3). Rush, their leading scorer this season, had a miserable night, making one of eight shots to finish with three points.

No. 4 Memphis 78, Tulsa 67 -- Shawne Williams scored nine points during a game-deciding run over the final six minutes to lead the Tigers past the visiting Golden Hurricane.

Tulsa (10-15, 5-7) stayed close until Williams began scoring inside as Memphis (26-2, 12-0) outscored the Golden Hurricane, 18-3, down the stretch to win its 15th game in a row and earn at least a share of the Conference USA regular-season title.

No. 5 Gonzaga 75, San Diego 59 -- Those who question whether the Bulldogs (24-3, 13-0 West Coast Conference) can win if Adam Morrison has an off day got their answer.

J.P. Batista had 26 points and 11 rebounds and Morrison was held to a season-low 11 points in the victory over the Toreros (16-7, 6-7) that extended the nation’s longest home winning streak to 37 games.

Morrison, the nation’s leading scorer at 29 points a game, was held in check by San Diego’s Corey Belser and made only three of 11 shots.

No. 6 George Washington 78, Fordham 67 -- The Colonials (24-1, 14-0 Atlantic 10) extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 16 games by beating the Rams (12-15, 7-7) at New York. They also tied the school record for wins set in 1953-54 and matched in 1997-98.

The Colonials played their first game without second-leading scorer and rebounder Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who injured his knee against La Salle on Wednesday night and will sit out the final two games of the regular season.

No. 9 Pittsburgh 81, Providence 68 -- The Panthers (21-4, 10-4 Big East) led by as many as 18 in the first half before the Friars (12-13, 5-9) got to within 55-49 midway through the second half at Pittsburgh.

But the Panthers held on, with star guard Carl Krauser making a three-pointer and a layup to put the lead in double digits. Reserve guard Antonio Graves made a three-pointer with a little more than three minutes left to extend the lead to 75-59.

Arkansas 73, No. 10 Tennessee 69 -- The Razorbacks (19-8, 8-6 Southeastern Conference) handed the Volunteers (20-5, 11-3) their first loss at home this season and in so doing, further bolstered their case for an NCAA tournament bid.

Jonathon Modica made two free throws with 25.8 seconds left to give Arkansas a 72-69 lead.

No. 11 Boston College 74, No. 15 North Carolina State 72 -- Sean Marshall’s three-point play early in the second overtime gave the visiting Eagles (22-6, 9-5 ACC) the lead for good. The Wolfpack (21-7, 10-5) had two chances in the waning seconds, but Sean Williams blocked a three-point shot by Engin Atsur and Atsur missed an off-balance shot right before the buzzer.

No. 14 West Virginia 68, Louisville 64 -- The Mountaineers (19-8, 10-4 Big East) used timely shooting to hand the visiting Cardinals (17-10, 5-9) their fifth loss in eight games. They were able to break the Cardinals’ pressure and make 16 of 25 two-point shots in a game in which they missed 23 of 31 three-point attempts.

No. 22 Oklahoma 71, Kansas State 70 -- Taj Gray scored the go-ahead basket with 1:15 to play at Norman, Okla., and the Sooners (19-6, 10-4 Big 12) held off the Wildcats (14-11, 5-9) for their third consecutive one-point victory.

The Wildcats had one last chance for the win, but Dramane Diarra missed a contested putback from the right side at the final buzzer. Kansas State has lost nine games by five points or less, surpassing the 1938-39 and 1977-78 teams for the most losses by that margin in school history.

No. 23 Georgetown 68, Syracuse 53 -- The Hoyas (19-7, 10-5 Big East), who had lost five in a row to the Orange (18-8, 7-7), wore them down in the second half at Washington.

After Syracuse pulled to within three with 13:31 left on Eric Devendorf’s layup, Georgetown answered with a 13-4 run over the next five minutes.

Darrel Owens finished it off with a fastbreak layup off a steal by Brandon Bowman and a three-pointer to make it 58-46.

No. 24 Louisiana State 71, Kentucky 67 -- Darrel Mitchell and Glen Davis each made two free throws in the final seconds to help the host Tigers (20-7, 12-2) beat the Wildcats (19-10, 8-6) and move into sole possession of first place in the overall SEC standings ahead of Tennessee.

Southern Illinois 46, No. 25 Northern Iowa 45 -- The Salukis (19-10, 12-6 Missouri Valley Conference) held off the visiting Panthers (22-87, 11-7).

No. 25 Nevada 75, Utah State 57 -- The Wolf Pack (22-5, 11-3) clinched at least a share of the Western Athletic Conference regular-season title for the third consecutive year by beating the Aggies (19-7, 9-5) at Logan, Utah.

OTHER GAMES

Guard Brandon Heath made eight three-point baskets and scored a season-high 32 points to help San Diego State (19-8, 12-3) clinch a share of the Mountain West Conference regular season title with a 73-66 victory over host New Mexico (16-11, 7-7).... Georgia Tech (11-15, 4-11) defeated Wake Forest, 76-61, to end a three-game losing streak and keep the Demon Deacons (14-14, 2-12) winless in ACC road games. Wake Forest and Georgia Tech are the only teams without a conference win on the road.