No. 11 Syracuse, No. 15 North Carolina fall in ACC tournament

T.J. Warren scored 28 points and Ralston Turner banked in a key three-point shot to help North Carolina State upset No. 11-ranked Syracuse, 66-63, Friday in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament at Greensboro, N.C.

The Orange (27-5) had one wild final possession, missing six shots, including four hurried three-point shots to fall to the seventh-seeded Wolfpack (21-12).

In another ACC quarterfinal upset, Talib Zanna had 19 points and a career-high 21 rebounds to help fifth-seeded Pittsburgh build a 20-point second-half lead and hold on to beat No. 15-ranked North Carolina, 80-75. The fourth-seeded Tar Heels (23-9) cut their deficit to 78-75 with 11.4 seconds left, but James Robinson then made two free throws for the Panthers (25-8). Pitt will play No. 6 Virginia (26-6) in the semifinals.

Third-seeded Duke wasted a 13-point lead with 12 minutes left in its quarterfinal but regrouped to defeat Clemson, 63-62. The Tigers (20-12) took their only lead at 62-61, but Rodney Hood made two free throws with 3.8 seconds left to lift the No. 7 Blue Devils. Duke will play North Carolina State next.

Atlantic 10

Jordan Gathers, nephew of the late Loyola Marymount star Hank Gathers, made a three-point shot from the top of the key at the buzzer to lift St. Bonaventure over No. 18 St. Louis, 71-68, in a quarterfinal upset at Brooklyn, N.Y.

The ninth-seeded Bonnies (18-14) will play fourth-seeded St. Joseph’s in the semifinals. Virginia Commonwealth (25-7), ranked No. 23, will play George Washington (24-7) in the other semifinal.

Big 12

Georges Niang scored 25 points before leaving with a gash above his right eye, and No. 16 Iowa State chalked up a 94-83 semifinal victory over No. 10 Kansas (24-9) at Kansas City, Mo. It’s the first time the Cyclones (25-7) have advanced to the conference tournament title game since 2000.

Big Ten

Jordan Morgan made a layup with 7.9 seconds left to give No. 8 Michigan a 64-63 victory over Illinois in the quarterfinals at Indianapolis. Illinois (19-14) had a chance to win it when Tracy Abrams drove in for a layup, expecting contact, but the ball hit the front of the rim and bounced off.

The Wolverines (24-7) will play No. 24 Ohio State next. The Buckeyes (25-8) rallied from a three-point halftime deficit to beat Nebraska, 71-67.

No. 22 Michigan State (24-8) will play No. 12 Wisconsin (26-6) in the other semifinal.

Mountain West

Dwayne Polee II had 18 points and six rebounds to lead No. 8 San Diego State to a 59-51 victory over Nevada Las Vegas in the semifinals at Las Vegas. The Aztecs scored 12 points off turnovers by the Rebels (19-3). San Diego State (29-3), will play the winner of the game between New Mexico and Boise State in the title game.

SEC

No. 1 Florida (30-2) was tied at halftime with Missouri before pulling away for a 72-49 quarterfinal victory at Atlanta. The Gators will play Tennessee (21-11) in the semifinals. Kentucky (23-9) will play Georgia (19-12) in the other semifinal. The Bulldogs slipped past Mississippi, 75-73.

AAC

No. 21 Connecticut moved out to an eight-point lead late in the second half and then held on for a 58-56 victory over No. 13 Cincinnati (27-6) in a semifinal at Memphis, Tenn. The Huskies (26-7) will play No. 5 Louisville (28-5) in the title game.

Big East

Doug McDermott’s 32 points led No. 14 Creighton to a 86-78 victory over Xavier (21-12) in a semifinal at New York. The Blue Jays (26-6) will play Providence (22-11) in the title game.