Tre Donaldson converted a driving layup with 0.4 seconds left Saturday, lifting No. 22 Michigan to an 81-80 win over No. 11 Maryland in the Big Ten Conference tournament semifinals in Indianapolis.
Derik Queen made two free throws with 5.3 seconds remaining to give the second-seeded Terrapins (25-8) an 80-79 edge. Donaldson then slalomed down the middle of the floor, split defenders in the lane and finished a 12-point, nine-assist performance with the game-winner.
Vladislav Goldin led the third-seeded Wolverines (24-9), who play fifth-seeded Wisconsin on Sunday for the tournament title, with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Danny Wolf added 21 points, 14 boards and four assists, while Nimari Burnett chipped in with 10 points.
Queen poured in a game-high 31 points for Maryland, going 9-for-9 at the foul line. Selton Miguel added 16, while Julian Reese contributed 13. Ja’Kobi Gillespie finished with 10 points and nine assists.
Michigan shot 47 percent from the field and annihilated the Terrapins 47-18 in rebounding, scoring 18 points off 18 offensive boards. Maryland countered by forcing 19 turnovers and cashing them in for 29 points. The game featured 15 lead changes and 12 ties.
No. 1 Duke 73, No. 13 Louisville 62
CHARLOTTE — Tyrese Proctor finished with 19 points as the Blue Devils cranked out a victory against the Cardinals to win their second Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship in three years despite being without its top player again.
Duke won its 23rd ACC tournament title in 36 appearances in the final, boosted by 18 points from Kon Knueppel and 15 from Sion James. Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, the ACC Player of the Year, was out for the second straight game after he exited in the first half of Thursday’s quarterfinal against Georgia Tech with an ankle injury. Khaman Maluach’s eight points and 10 rebounds also helped the Blue Devils (31-3).
Terrence Edwards Jr. pumped in 29 points and Chucky Hepburn added 14 for second-seeded Louisville (27-7), which lost for only the second time since December.
No. 2 Houston 72, Arizona 64
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Milos Uzan scored a career-high 25 points to lead the top-seeded Cougars to a victory over the third-seeded Wildcats in the championship game of the Big 12 tournament.
It was the first time in the 29-year history of the Big 12 championship that the final game did not include at least one team from the former Big 8 Conference. Houston (30-4) won the regular season with a 19-1 record, claiming the league title by four games over second-place Texas Tech and five games over Arizona. The Cougars got 17 points from Emanuel Sharp, who was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
Arizona (22-12) got 19 points from Caleb Love, 14 from Jaden Bradley and 11 from KJ Lewis.
No. 8 Tennessee 70, No. 3 Auburn 65
Zakai Zeigler scored 20 points, Jordan Gainey had 15 and the Volunteers held off the Tigers in the first semifinal game of the SEC tournament in Nashville.
Chaz Lanier added 12 points for the fourth-seeded Volunteers (27-6), who will play No. 4-ranked Florida in the championship game Sunday afternoon.
Johni Broome had 23 points for the top-seeded Tigers (28-5), Miles Kelly contributed 13 and Denver Jones scored 10.
No. 4 Florida 104, No. 5 Alabama 82
Walter Clayton Jr. recorded 22 points, six assists and three steals and the second-seeded Gators earned a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game with a domination of the third-seeded Crimson Tide in Nashville.
Clayton matched his season best with six 3-pointers as No. 4 Florida (29-4) took a big step toward landing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Gators will face fourth-seeded Tennessee (27-6) in Sunday’s title game. Alijah Martin and Will Richard scored 16 points apiece for Florida, which outscored the Crimson Tide 57-37 in the second half. Thomas Haugh and Denzel Aberdeen each scored 11 points as the Gators recorded a season high for points.
Chris Youngblood scored 14 points for No. 5 Alabama (25-8), while Mouhamed Dioubate had 12 points and 12 rebounds, Clifford Omoruyi also scored 12 points and Jarin Stevenson had 10. Crimson Tide star Mark Sears had just nine points on 3-of-10 shooting.
No. 6 St. John’s 82, Creighton 66
NEW YORK — RJ Luis Jr scored 27 of his 29 points in the second half as the top-seeded Red Storm pulled away for a victory over the second-seeded Bluejays to secure its first Big East conference tournament championship since 2000.
The Red Storm (30-4) won their ninth straight game by overcoming an early eight-point deficit a day after rallying from a 15-point deficit to beat Marquette in the semifinals. Selected the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Luis was 1 of 5 in the first half before making 10 of 13 shots as St. John’s dominated the second half. The Red Storm made 14 straight shots to turn a 41-38 deficit with 12:53 left into a 70-55 bulge with 5:16 remaining.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 15 on 7-of-10 shooting for the Bluejays (24-10), who lost their fifth title game in five tries since joining the Big East from the Missouri Valley in the 2013-14 season. Jackson McAndrew added 14 as Creighton shot 43.3 percent and misfired on 20 of 26 3-point attempts.
No. 16 Memphis 78, Tulane 77
Dain Dainja scored 23 points with 11 rebounds and the Tigers escaped with a win over the Green Wave in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament in Fort Worth, Texas.
PJ Haggerty added 18 points and nine rebounds for Memphis (28-5), which is the top seed in the tournament. The Tigers advanced to Sunday’s conference title game, where they will face third-seeded UAB, which beat second-seeded North Texas Saturday.
Rowan Brumbaugh scored 22 points to lead fourth-seeded Tulane (19-14). Kam Williams scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Asher Woods chipped in 15 points.
No. 18 Wisconsin 77, No. 7 Michigan State 74
John Tonje poured in 32 points as the Badgers snapped the Spartans’ eight-game winning streak with a Big Ten tournament semifinal victory in Indianapolis.
Tonje delivered 11 points in five minutes during a defining second-half stretch for the Badgers (26-8), who advanced to the title game as the No. 5 seed for the second year in a row. They will face No. 22 Michigan, who rallied to beat No. 11 Maryland 81-80 in the other semifinal matchup. John Blackwell added 14 points. Carter Gilmore contributed 10, five assists and three blocks, including a crucial rejection in the final seconds off the bench for Wisconsin.
Freshman Jase Richardson paced top-seeded Michigan State (27-6) with 21 points and seven rebounds. Jeremy Fears Jr. added 14 points and six assists and Tre Holloman scored 10.
–Field Level Media
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