Miller has another big game as No. 2 Alabama tops Arkansas

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Brandon Miller scored24 points and Mark Sears made seven of eight free throws over thefinal 1:04 to help No. 2 Alabama top Arkansas 86-83 onSaturday.

Miller delivered his second straight huge game for the CrimsonTide (25-4, 15-1 Southeastern Conference) since police alleged incourtroom testimony that he brought a gun to former teammate DariusMiles, who is charged with capital murder in a fatal shooting.

The week’s details cast a different light on Miller’s regularpregame introduction, which is a Tide staffer giving him a patdown. Coach Nate Oats said after the game that intro for Miller isnow over.

Fellow freshman Nick Smith Jr. of Arkansas (19-10, 8-8), anotherpotential NBA draft lottery pick who helped keep the Razorbacks init with a late 3-pointer, scored 24 points. Davonte Davis added 21points for Arkansas, Council scored 20, and the rest of the teamcombined for 18 points.

Jahvon Quinerly had 16 points and seven assists for the Tide,and Noah Clowney had 10 points and 13 rebounds.

NO. 1 HOUSTON 76, EAST CAROLINA 57

GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Marcus Sasser scored 22 points to helpHouston clinch outright possession of the American AthleticConference regular-season title.

Tramon Mark added 20 points for the Cougars (27-2, 15-1), whileJ’Wan Roberts had 17 points and 12 rebounds in Houston’s ninthstraight victory.

East Carolina (14-14, 5-10) had an energetic home crowd for thefirst-ever visit from a No. 1-ranked team to Minges Coliseum, aswell as the program’s first game against a top-ranked opponent inmore than 31 years. But the Cougars never trailed and led for allbut 56 seconds. Ezra Ausar scored 15 points to lead thePirates.

NO. 3 KANSAS 76, WEST VIRGINIA 74

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Dajuan Harris was one point shy of acareer high, scoring 17 points to help lift Kansas over WestVirginia.

The Jayhawks’ stifling defense kept West Virginia fromattempting a shot in the final 20 seconds. The Mountaineers’ JoeToussaint traveled on their final possession of the game. Basketsby K.J. Adams and Kevin McCullar extended the Jayhawks’ lead to75-68 late as they grinded out the victory.

Harris led Kansas (24-5, 12-4 Big 12) with 7-of-9 shooting fromthe field and had six assists and six steals.

Erik Stevenson led West Virginia (16-13, 5-11) with 23 points.Tre Mitchell scored 20, Kedrian Johnson scored 15 and EmmittMathews Jr. had 13.

NO. 17 INDIANA 79, NO. 5 PURDUE 71

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Jalen Hood-Schifino scored acareer-high 35 points and Trey Galloway added 10 of his 13 in thesecond half to lead Indiana over Purdue.

The Hoosiers (20-9, 11-7 Big Ten) snapped a seven-game losingstreak in West Lafayette and pulled their first season sweep inthis bitter rivalry since 2012-13.

Zach Edey led the Boilermakers with 26 points and 16 reboundsand Fletcher Loyer added 14 points. Purdue (24-5, 13-5) has lostthree of four and blew a chance to clinch a share of the conferencecrown in front of its home fans, who stood outside in chillytemperatures and snaking lines for hours before tip-off.

NORTH CAROLINA 71, NO. 6 VIRGINIA 63

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Pete Nance scored 22 points to leadNorth Carolina past Virginia.

Nance shot 7 of 10 from the floor and was 4 of 4 from behind thearc, the most 3-pointers the fifth-year forward has made in ACCplay. He added two assists and four blocks.

R.J. Davis notched the fourth double-double of his career with16 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina (18-11, 10-8 AtlanticCoast Conference), which got a much-needed boost to its NCAATournament resume with a Quadrant 1 win — the first of the seasonfor the Tar Heels.

Jayden Gardner had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead Virginia(21-6, 13-5), which lost its second in a row. Armaan Franklin added14 points.

ARIZONA STATE 89, NO. 7 ARIZONA 88

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Desmond Cambridge Jr. hit a 60-foot shot atthe buzzer and Arizona State rallied from a 10-point deficit tobeat Arizona.

The Wildcats (24-5, 13-5 Pac-12) built a 10-point lead midwaythrough the second half before going more than six minutes withouta field goal as Arizona State pulled ahead by one.

The Sun Devils (20-9, 11-7) went up 86-85 on Warren Washington’slayup with just a minute left, but Pelle Larsson put Arizona backup on a layup with 29 seconds left. Arizona State’s DJ Horne misseda jumper with 4 seconds left and the Sun Devils had a final shotafter Oumar Ballo hit one of two free throws.

Catching the ball with 2.4 seconds left, Cambridge launched ashot from beyond half-court to finish with 19 points and give theSun Devils a big boost in their bid to make the NCAATournament.

NO. 9 BAYLOR 81, NO. 8 TEXAS 72

WACO, Texas (AP) — Jalen Bridges had 17 points for ninth-rankedBaylor, which overcame a huge deficit with an impressive run rightafter freshman standout Keyonte George left injured early and beatBig 12 co-leader Texas.

Adam Flagler had 14 points for the Bears (21-8, 10-6). DaleBonner added 13 points, including seven in an quick spurt afterhalftime while Flo Thamba had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Dylan Disu had a season-high 24 points for Texas (22-7, 11-5),which twice got even early in the second half but never couldregain the lead.

NO. 10 MARQUETTE 90, DEPAUL 84

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kam Jones and Tyler Kolek each scored 22 pointswhile helping Marquette clinch a share of its first Big Eastregular-season championship in a decade.

Kolek also had 14 assists as Marquette (23-6, 15-3) rolled to a49-28 halftime lead and hung on after DePaul (9-20, 3-15) got closedown the stretch. Marquette has won nine of its last 10, whileDePaul has lost 10 straight.

This is Marquette’s first conference title in 2013, when theGolden Eagles shared the Big East crown with Georgetown andeventual national champion Louisville.

Umoja Gibson led DePaul with 20 points and eight assists. NickOngenda added 16 points and 12 rebounds.

NO. 11 TENNESSEE 85, SOUTH CAROLINA 45

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Josiah-Jordan James came back frommissing four games with an injury to score 18 points to leadTennessee to a rout of South Carolina.

James, who suffered an ankle injury against Vanderbilt on Feb.8, shot 4 of 7 on 3-pointers for the Volunteers (21-8, 10-6Southeastern Conference). Jahmai Mashack scored 14 points, ZakaiZeigler had 13 points and 11 assists, and Olivier Nkamhoua and UrosPlavsic scored 10 each.

Hayden Brown led the Gamecocks (10-19, 3-13) with 18 points.

NO. 12 GONZAGA 77, NO. 15 SAINT MARY’S 68

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Drew Timme scored 19 points and Gonzagaearned a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season titlewith a win over Saint Mary’s.

Anton Watson had 17 points and Malachi Smith added 13 off thebench for the Bulldogs, who have won or shared the conference titlein 11 straight seasons. Gonzaga (25-5, 14-2) also reached the25-win mark for the 16th season in a row — and avenged a loss tothe Gaels earlier this month in Moraga.

Logan Johnson led the Gaels (25-6, 14-2) with 27 points.

Because the teams shared the regular-season title, the WCC willuse the NCAA’s NET rankings to determine the top seed for theconference tournament.

FLORIDA STATE 85, NO. 13 MIAMI 84

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Matthew Cleveland’s 3-pointer as timeexpired capped Florida State’s comeback from a 25-point second-halfdeficit and a win over Miami.

Jordan Miller had given Miami the lead on a 3-pointer with 4.9seconds left. But Cleveland let fly from about 25 feet and the ballswished to give the Seminoles (9-20, 7-11 Atlantic CoastConference) their best moment of the season.

Cleveland and Darin Green Jr. each had 20 points for FloridaState, which also got 13 from Caleb Mills and 11 from JalenWarley.

Miller led Miami (23-6, 14-5) with 21 points. Norchad Omier had15, Isaiah Wong scored 14 and Bensley Joseph added 12 for theHurricanes, whose seven-game winning streak and perfect home seasonwere ended.

NO. 18 UCONN 95, ST. JOHN’S 86

NEW YORK (AP) — Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points, Adama Sanogoadded 18 points and nine rebounds, and UConn beat St. John’s.

Andre Jackson Jr. had 15 points, Joey Calcaterra also scored 15to lead a strong effort by Connecticut’s bench and the resurgentHuskies (22-7, 11-7 Big East) avenged an 11-point loss to St.John’s at home last month.

UConn won for the sixth time in seven games, closing in on afirst-round bye in the Big East Tournament.

AJ Storr had 20 points and Posh Alexander added 18 for the RedStorm (17-13, 7-12), who had won three of four.

NO. 14 KANSAS STATE 73, OKLAHOMA STATE 68

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Markquis Nowell had 22 points, eightassists and four steals in Kansas State’s third straight win,beating Oklahoma State.

Keyontae Johnson added 17 points for the Wildcats (22-7, 10-6Big 12), who swept the regular-season series.

Kalib Boone scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half onSenior Day for Oklahoma State. Caleb Asberry scored 13 points andJohn-Michael Wright added 12 for the Cowboys (16-13, 7-9), who havelost four straight.

VILLANOVA 79, NO. 19 CREIGHTON 67

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Eric Dixon scored 18 of his career-high 31points in the first half, Cam Whitmore added 17 and Villanovadefeated Creighton.

Dixon also set a career high with six 3-pointers for Villanova(15-14, 9-9 Big East), which has won five of six.

Arthur Kaluma scored 19 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner had 18 forCreighton (18-11, 12-6). The Bluejays have lost three of fourfollowing an eight-game winning streak.

NO. 22 SAN DIEGO STATE 73, NEW MEXICO 71

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Lamont Butler’s 3-pointer at the buzzergave San Diego State a win at New Mexico.

After Jaelen House’s steal and end-to-end run for a layup with5.6 seconds left gave New Mexico a 71-70 lead, Butler unhurriedlybrought the ball up court before dropping his shot, giving him 10points for the Aztecs (23-5, 14-2 Mountain West).

Darrion Trammell scored 18 points to lead the Aztecs. MattBradley added 11 as San Diego State won its sixth straight.

Jamal Mashburn Jr. finished with 20 points for New Mexico (20-9,7-9) and House had 15.

OKLAHOMA 61, NO. 23 IOWA STATE 50

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Jacob Groves led Oklahoma with 16 points asthe Sooners knocked off Iowa State.

The Sooners (14-15, 4-12 Big 12) had lost nine of their previous11 games but erased an early 11-point deficit and seized controlwith a 17-2 run in the second half.

Groves shot 4 of 5 from the 3-point line. Tanner Groves added 9points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

The Cyclones (17-11, 8-8) shot just 31%. Gabe Kalscheur led IowaState with 12 points.

NO. 24 TCU 83, TEXAS TECH 82

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — JaKobe Coles made two free throws with 4.3seconds remaining, and TCU beat Texas Tech despite blowing a12-point lead in the final eight minutes.

After De’Vion Harmon’s steal and layup put the Red Raiders infront by one with 12 seconds remaining, Coles caught a pass fromEmanuel Miller in the lane and was fouled by Fardaws Aimaq going upfor the shot. The Horned Frogs (19-10, 8-8 Big 12) weren’t in thebonus.

Harmon’s desperation 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded wasn’tclose, ending a four-game winning streak Texas Tech (16-13,5-11).

Mike Miles Jr. scored 24 points for the Horned Frogs, who hadlost five of six and were coming off a loss to No. 3 Kansas athome. Miller had 14 points and 12 rebounds for TCU.

Aimaq scored 19 points, Harmon had 18 and Kevin Obanor finishedwith 17 points and nine rebounds for Texas Tech.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 69, NO. 25 TEXAS A&M62

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Tolu Smith had 17 points and ShakeelMoore had 14 as Mississippi State knocked off Texas A&M.

Cameron Matthews had 11 points for the Bulldogs (19-10, 7-9Southeastern Conference), who held the Aggies to one field goal inthe final 14 minutes and outscored them 34-18 during the same timeperiod.

Wade Taylor IV led Texas A&M (21-9, 13-3) with 21 points,including four 3-pointers, and Henry Coleman III and AnderssonGarcia each had 11.