College basketball: No. 1 Kansas, No. 9 Baylor upset in Big 12 quarterfinals

Desmond Bane had 16 points, hitting three free throws with 2.5 seconds left, to help Texas Christian stun top-ranked Kansas 85-82 in the Big 12 Conference tournament quarterfinals Thursday in Kansas City, Mo.

The eighth-seeded Horned Frogs (19-14) blew an 11-point halftime lead, and still trailed 80-76 with just more than one minute left. But a parade of free throws knotted the game, and Alex Robinson’s driving layup gave TCU the lead back with 31 seconds left.

Frank Mason answered with a pair of free throws for Kansas (28-4), but the Horned Frogs got the ball to Bane in the corner and he was fouled by Svi Mykhailiuk while putting up a shot.

He calmly drained all of them, and Devonte Graham’s long 3 at the buzzer bounced harmlessly off the rim as the Horned Frogs leaped off their benched to celebrate a massive upset of the No. 1 seed.

They’ll play No. 23 Iowa State, which topped Oklahoma State earlier, in Friday’s semifinals.

Kenrich Williams had 13 points, Robinson had 13 and Brandon Parrish had 12 for the Horned Frogs, who caught a break when Jayhawks Coach Bill Self suspended Josh Jackson for the game.

Jackson was cited for traffic violations in the latest incident involving the star freshman.

Kansas State 70, No. 9 Baylor 64: Barry Brown had 21 points, D.J. Johnson added 13 as the Wildcats not only clinched a spot in the semifinals but most likely an NCAA berth.

It was the second time the sixth-seeded Wildcats (20-12) have beaten the Bears (25-7) this season, giving them precisely the kind of marquee victory that the selection committee favors.

They’ll get a chance for another against No. 11 West Virginia in the semifinals. Al Freeman had 16 points to lead Baylor.

No. 23 Iowa State 92, Oklahoma State 83: Monte Morris was an assist shy of the second triple-double in Big 12 tournament history, leading Cyclones to the win. Morris finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for fourth-seeded Iowa State (21-10).

Juwan Evans poured in 29 points as he tried to keep the Cowboys (21-11) afloat. But except for his backcourt mate Jeffrey Carroll, who had 21 points, the sophomore guard didn’t get much help. The result was the fifth-seeded Cowboys’ 10th straight loss to the Cyclones.

No. 11 West Virginia 63, Texas 53: Jevon Carter scored 21 points while the Mountaineers cranked up their trademark defense to cruise into the conference semifinals, where they will play ninth-ranked Baylor or Kansas State.

Second-seeded West Virginia (25-7) forced the Longhorns (11-22) into 14 turnovers, held them scoreless for the final 5:34 of the game and turned freshman forward Jarrett Allen into a non-factor on offense.

ACC

No. 6 North Carolina 78, Miami 53: Isaiah Hicks had 19 points to lead the Tar Heels to victory in the conference tournament quarterfinals in New York. Top-seeded North Carolina (27-6) got 12 points from ACC player of the year Justin Jackson and held the Hurricanes to 36%, setting up a semifinal Friday night against Duke. Bruce Brown had 21 points and seven rebounds for the Hurricanes (21-11).

No. 14 Duke 81, No. 10 Louisville 77: Jayson Tatum scored 25 points and Grayson Allen provided an emotional lift during a second-half comeback to help the Blue Devils to victory. Deng Adel scored 21 points for Louisville (24-8).

No. 16 Florida State 74, Virginia Tech 68: Dwayne Bacon scored all but two of his 17 points in the second half and the Seminoles (25-7) finally overpowered the Hokies. Florida State reached the semifinals for the first time since their 2012 championship and will play No. 21 Virginia or No. 22 Notre Dame in the semifinals. Zach LeDay led the Virginia Tech (22-10) with 22 points and nine rebounds.

BIG TEN

Michigan 75, Illinois 55: Flying into town only a few hours before tip off because of travel trouble a day earlier, and wearing yellow practice jerseys instead of the game uniforms that got stuck on their abandoned airplane, the Wolverines raced to an early lead on the way to victory in the conference tournament in Washington. Derrick Walton scored 19 points for No. 8-seeded Michigan (21-11), which meets regular-season conference champion Purdue next in the quarterfinals on Friday. Tracy Abrams led Illinois (18-14) with 23 points.

Michigan State 78, Penn State 51: Miles Bridges and Nick Ward had 15 points and nine rebounds apiece as the Spartans breezed to the win. Fifth-seeded Michigan State (19-13) will next face No. 4 seed Minnesota in the quarterfinals. Tony Carr and Lamar Stevens each scored 16 points for the Nittany Lions (15-18).

Indiana 95, Iowa 73: James Blackmon Jr. and the Hoosiers buried the Hawkeyes under a barrage of long distance shots in the second half. It was 48-all before Blackmon, Devonte Green and Josh Newkirk combined to connect five times from behind the arc during a 30-11 blitz. The 10th-seeded Hoosiers will next face second-seeded Wisconsin. Jordan Bohannon led seventh-seeded Iowa (18-14) with 24 points.

Northwestern 83, Rutgers 61: Vic Law scored 10 of his 16 points as the Wildcats (22-10) went on a run of 31 consecutive points in the first half of the rout. Sixth-seeded Northwestern, which also got 16 points from Scottie Lindsey, will face third-seeded and 25th-ranked Maryland in the quarterfinals. Nigel Johnson led Rutgers (15-18) with 21 points.

BIG EAST

No. 2 Villanova 108, St. John’s 67: Donte DiVincenzo had 25 points, Kris Jenkins added 24 and the Wildcats (29-3) cruised into the conference semifinals at Madison Square Garden. Villanova, which set team tournament records for points and margin of victory, will face Seton Hall on Friday. Bashir Ahmed and Marcus LoVett each scored 12 points for the Red Storm (14-19).

Seton Hall 82, Marquette 76: Myles Powell scored 17 points and capped a 17-2 second-half spurt with a three-pointer as the defending champion Pirates (21-10) won for the eighth time in their last 10 games. Andrew Rowsey had 23 points to lead the Golden Eagles (19-12), who are looking for their first NCAA tournament berth since 2013.

SEC

Georgia 59, Tennessee 57: J.J. Frazier scored four of his 17 points down the stretch, and the Bulldogs held off the Volunteers in the conference tournament at Nashville, Tenn. FYante Maten returned from a four-game injury absence to score 12 points and grab five rebounds for Georgia (19-13), which will play Kentucky in the quarterfinals Friday. Jordan Bone had 14 points and Lamonte Turner 13 for Tennessee (16-16).

In other games: Joe Toye scored a career-high 18 points on five-of-eight shooting from beyond the three-point arc as Vanderbilt shook off a sluggish start in beating Texas A&M, 66-41; Dazon Ingram scored 17 points, Corbin Collins added 14 and Alabama shot well throughout to roll past Mississippi State, 75-55.