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College Basketball Roundup : Purdue Wins Big Ten Title Outright for First Time Since ’69

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From Times Wire Services

Junior center Melvin McCants scored a career-high 24 points, including 3 free throws in the closing minutes, as No. 2 Purdue survived frigid shooting down the stretch to beat No. 10 Michigan, 80-67, at West Lafayette, Ind., and clinch its first outright Big Ten championship since 1969.

The Boilermakers, seemingly in control leading, 65-53, with less than nine minutes to play, went nearly 6 1/2 minutes without scoring before McCants made two free throws with 2:36 left. Gary Grant, who scored 16 points for Michigan, helped the Wolverines pull within 65-63 before the free throws.

But Purdue outscored Michigan, 8-2, to make it 73-65 with 1:09 left.

Purdue is 26-2 overall and 15-1 in Big Ten play. Michigan is 23-6 and 12-4.

Indiana 85, Ohio State 77--Jay Edwards scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, and Dean Garrett finished with 15 points as the Hoosiers beat the Buckeyes in a Big Ten game at Bloomington, Ind.

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The decision gave Indiana Coach Bob Knight 210 conference victories, tying him with former Indiana coach Branch McCracken for second on the league’s all-time list. Former Purdue coach Piggy Lambert had 213 conference victories.

Indiana is now 17-9 and 9-7. The Buckeyes, who got 19 points from Jerry Francis, are 15-11 and 8-8.

Oklahoma 113, Nebraska 93--Harvey Grant scored 26 points as the fourth-ranked Sooners won the Big Eight title by beating the Cornhuskers at Norman, Okla.

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The Sooners, 27-3 overall, ended the regular season with a 12-2 league record, one game ahead of Kansas State (11-3). Nebraska heads into the Big Eight postseason tournament 13-17 and 4-10.

Kansas St. 92, Missouri 82--Mitch Richmond scored 25 points and William Scott added 17 as the Wildcats bid farewell to Ahearn Field House in Manhattan, Kan.

The victory in the regular-season finale pushed K-State to 20-7 overall and 11-3 in the Big Eight. Missouri is 18-9 and 6-7.

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Ahearn, the biggest building in Kansas when it opened in 1950, will be replaced next season by the $17 million Bramlage Coliseum.

Kansas 75, Oklahoma St. 57--Danny Manning, playing his final home game at Allen Field House in Lawrence, Kan., scored 31 points as the Jayhawks defeated the Cowboys.

Manning hit double figures for the 46th game in a row. A sellout crowd of 15,800 rewarded Manning with a roaring two-minute standing ovation when he left the game with 1:26 remaining.

The two-time Big Eight Player of the Year and owner of 15 school and conference records played in all 139 games for Kansas the past four years, averaging 21 points per game and starting all but one.

Kansas (20-10, 9-5) finished third in the Big Eight. The Cowboys finish 14-15, 4-10.

Clemson 97, Georgia Tech 94--Jerry Pryor hit a short jumper with 1:10 left in the second overtime, and Tim Kincaid made two free throws with four seconds left as the Tigers stunned the No. 13 Yellow Jackets in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Clemson, S.C.

The victory was Clemson’s second straight over a top 20 team. The Tigers (14-13, 4-10) beat No. 9 Duke Wednesday. The Yellow Jackets fell to 21-8 and 8-6.

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After Pryor put the Tigers ahead, Georgia Tech’s Dennis Scott, who hit three-pointers to force both overtimes, missed a 12-foot jumper from the lane with seven seconds left. Kincaid was fouled and sank both free throws.

Georgia Tech played without center Tom Hammonds, who suffered an ankle injury against North Carolina Wednesday night.

Texas El Paso 83, BYU 80--Tim Hardaway scored 4 of his 24 points in the second overtime to lead the Miners to an upset victory over the No. 15 Cougars in a Western Athletic Conference finale at Provo, Utah.

UTEP (21-8, 10-6) almost lost the game at the foul line, hitting just 20 of 37 attempts, but Hardaway sank 4 of 5 free throws in the final 1:23.

BYU, the WAC regular-season champion, drops to 24-4, 13-3. This marked the fourth consecutive time BYU has lost its final game of the regular season.

BYU made 29 of 37 free throws, including 20 straight during one stretch, but missed 5 in the second overtime, including 3 on the front end of one-and-one situations.

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Mike Smith had 25 points for the Cougars, while Jeff Chatman added 22 and grabbed 18 rebounds.

Kentucky 78, Mississippi 71-- Rex Chapman scored 29 points to help the eighth-ranked Wildcats clinch the Southeastern Conference title with a win at Oxford, Miss.

Kentucky held off several Ole Miss challenges to finished the regular season 22-5 and 13-5. Ole Miss finishes 12-15 and 6-12.

Mississippi St. 73, Vanderbilt 68--Reginald Boykin scored 18 points to help the Bulldogs (14-14, 6-12) upset the 18th-ranked Commodores (18-9, 10-8) in an SEC game at Starkville, Miss.

Mississippi State will face Georgia in the opening round of the SEC tournament Thursday at Baton Rogue, La. Vanderbilt plays LSU on Friday.

Florida 52, Alabama 45--Vernon Maxwell scored 15 points and Pat Lawrence hit a jump shot to put Florida ahead for good with 6:19 remaining as the Gators (21-9, 11-6) defeated the Crimson Tide (14-16, 6-12) at Gainesville, Fla.

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Maxwell, playing in his last home game, took sole possession of second place on the SEC’s all-time scoring list with a four-season total to 2,343. The late Pete Maravich holds the conference record of 3,667 points, set in three years (1968-70) at LSU.

DePaul 77, Louisville 58--Stanley Brundy scored 26 points and Rod Strickland added 19 as the Blue Demons defeated the Cardinals at Rosemont, Ill.

The loss halted Louisville’s seven-game winning streak. The Cardinals, champions of the Metro Conference, closed out the regular season with a 20-10 record. DePaul, with one game remaining, is 20-7.

Georgetown 102, Seton Hall 98--Mark Tillmon scored 10 points in the second overtime and Charles Smith had 8 to lift the Hoyas to a Big East victory at Landover, Md.

Jaren Jackson finished with a career-high 38 points, and Tillmon had 35 as the Hoyas improved to 19-8 and 9-7. Mark Bryant scored 30 points for the Pirates (20-11, 8-8), who had a five-game winning streak snapped.

TOURNAMENTS

SUN BELT

South Alabama 78, Alabama Birmingham 73--Jeff Hodge scored 28 points at Richmond, Va., to help the Jaguars advance past the first round of the tournament for the first time since 1982.

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Alabama Birmingham, defending conference champion, finished the season 16-15 and 7-8, marking the first time the school has lost 15 games. The previous single-season high for losses was 14 in 1978-79, the program’s first year of competition. The Blazers have played in the NCAA tournament the past six years.

South Alabama (15-13, 9-6) advanced to a tournament semifinal meeting today against regular-season champion North Carolina Charlotte, a 73-72 victor over Jacksonville.

Old Dominion 86, W. Kentucky 84--Sophomore Darrin McDonald scored a career-high 27 and Bernard Royster hit an off-balance scoop shot with 38 seconds left as the Monarchs (18-10, 10-5) advanced to the semifinals. Today, they play Virginia Commonwealth, an 82-60 winner over South Florida.

MISSOURI VALLEY

Wichita St. 74, Tulsa 66--Dwight Praylow scored 16 points as the Shockers (20-8) eliminated the Hurricane (8-20) in the first round at Peoria, Ill. Wichita State will play Illinois State (18-11) in the semifinals today. Illinois State, making 28 of 31 free throws, defeated Drake, 72-60.

In today’s other semifinal, Creighton, an 89-87 winner over Southern Illinois, will face Bradley (24-4).

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