Kansas holds off Texas, 90-86

No. 3 Kansas fought back from a 16-point deficit and defeated No. 15 Texas, 90-86, Saturday at Lawrence, Kan., clinching its fifth Big 12 Conference championship.

Texas’ freshman sensation Kevin Durant made all but four of his first 14 shots and scored 25 points in the first half and the Longhorns took a 54-42 halftime lead.

But Durant, who leads the conference in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, injured his left ankle with about 11 minutes left in the second half and was not the same after he returned from the locker room a few minutes later.

Making only three of eight shots in the second half, Durant finished with 32 points for the Longhorns (22-8, 12-4).

Texas Coach Rick Barnes said Durant turned the ankle in practice on Friday.

“But he felt like he could play,” Barnes said. “It would have tightened up, so we wanted to get him back in there. You saw him. He was limping a little bit and couldn’t move the way he normally does.”

Kansas (27-4, 14-2) trailed, 51-35, late in the first half. But Mario Chalmers, Julian Wright and Russell Robinson sparked a 24-7 run, capped by Wright’s putback with 16:01 left, to give the Jayhawks a 59-58 lead.

With a minute to play, Robinson’s two free throws gave Kansas an 88-80 lead. But then Durant and A.J. Abrams made three-point baskets, pulling the Longhorns to within 88-86.

Wright’s free throw stretched the lead to 89-86, and then the 6-8 sophomore made the defensive play of the game. He blocked D.J. Augustin’s three-point attempt with five seconds left.

No. 20 Marquette 75, No. 12 Pittsburgh 71 -- A victory at Milwaukee would have given the Panthers (25-6, 12-4) a share of the Big East regular-season title.

Earlier in the day, No. 9 Georgetown clinched at least a share of the conference championship with a 59-46 victory over Connecticut. The Golden Eagles (23-8, 10-6) made 11 of 12 free throws in the final minute.

Winthrop 84, Virginia Military 81 -- The Eagles’ almost-annual success in the Big South Conference championship has only increased expectations for them and Coach Gregg Marshall.

The top-seeded Eagles (28-4) beat the Keydets (19-14) in the tournament final at Rock Hill, S.C., to clinch their seventh trip to the NCAA tournament in Marshall’s nine years as coach.

Some believed Winthrop would have made the tournament with an at-large bid even with a loss. Marshall didn’t think so, even though the Eagles had an 18-game winning streak

WOMEN

No. 24 North Carolina State 70, No. 1 Duke 65 -- Ashley Key made a go-ahead jump shot with 1:19 left and the Wolfpack (23-8) upset the Blue Devils (30-1) in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament at Greensboro, N.C. Key’s basket made the score 66-65.