Landen Lucas made two free throws with 11 seconds left and No. 3 Kansas grabbed a stranglehold on the Big 12 race with a 67-65 victory at No. 4 Baylor on Saturday in Waco, Texas.
The Jayhawks (24-3, 12-2) have a three-game lead in the Big 12 standings over Baylor with four games to play. With one more win, Kansas will match the UCLA teams of the 1960s and ’70s by winning its 13th consecutive conference championship.
Baylor (22-5, 9-5) had one more chance, but Manu Lecomte missed on a shot he took surrounded by defenders. As the ball ricocheted off the front of rim and toward the end line as time ran out, Jayhawks guard Devonte Graham threw his arms up in celebration.
Frank Mason III had 23 points for the Jayhawks, including some significant points in a spurt midway through the second half for their first lead. Josh Jackson had 16 points with some highlight dunks.
Johnathan Motley had 19 points for Baylor, which has lost four of its last six games. Lecomte had 16 points and Jo Lual-Acuil 11.
In a raucous Ferrell Center, with all the Baylor fans wearing neon yellow highlighter-colored T-shirts, Kansas never led until Mason’s jumper with 10:56 left made it 49-47. That was part of an 11-0 run that he started with a three-point play after a driving layup while being fouled. Svi Mykhailiuk hit a 3-pointer to make it 52-47 before the Jayhawks went nearly 6 1/2 minutes without a field goal.
That was Mason’s second three-point play in less than a minute, though the previous basket didn’t even make it to the rim. Mason was fouled on the shot by Ish Wainright, while Lual-Acuil was called for goaltending.
Baylor then scored nine straight points, gaining the lead at 54-52 when Lecomte was credited with a basket on a breakaway layup attempt when Mykailiuk was called for goaltending.
When King McClure made two free throws with 3:34 left, the Bears led 65-59. But they didn’t score again, and Kansas was even after two strong baskets by Jackson, a layup and then a one-handed windmill slam, before Graham’s two free throws with 2:16 left, the last points until Lucas’ game-deciding free throws.
No. 2 Villanova 92, Seton Hall 70
Jalen Brunson had 22 points and a career-high 10 assists and No. 2 Villanova clinched a tie for an unprecedented fourth straight Big East Conference regular-season title with a 92-70 victory over Seton Hall on Saturday in Newark, N.J.
The Wildcats (26-2, 13-2) used a 22-1 spurt bridging the halves to take command in winning their seventh straight game and handing Seton Hall (16-10, 6-8) a lopsided loss that leaves it on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.
Kris Jenkins added 22 points, Josh Hart had 19 and Mikal Bridges 15 for Villanova, which shot a season-high 67 percent from the field. Brunson led the way hitting all seven of his shots.
The Wildcats led by as many 27 points in a game that was basically over early in the second half.
Khadeen Carrington, who had a career-high 41 points in an upset of No. 20 Creighton on Wednesday, led the Pirates with 22. Angel Delgado had 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Remarkably, Seton Hall was in the game in the waning minutes of the first half, drawing within 31-30 on a 3-pointer by Desi Rodriguez with 2:47 to go.
Brunson, who scored 18 points in the first half, then took over. He hit 3-pointers to ignite and end an 11-1 run to end the half, and he had assists on a 3-pointer by Bridges and a layup by Jenkins.
Eric Paschall led the 11-1 run to open the second half, hitting two 3-pointers and converting a three-point play that opened a 53-31 lead.
It was show time for Villanova the rest of the way.
No. 8 Louisville 94, Virginia Tech 90
Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points to lead No. 8 Louisville to a wild 94-90 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday in Louisville, Ky.
Ty Outlaw hit a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left to cut Louisville’s lead to 91-88, but the Hokies’ Zach LeDay committed an intentional foul on Louisville as the Cardinals (22-5, 10-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) tried to inbound the ball. Jaylen Johnson made one of the two free throws, then Mitchell made two more with 5.6 seconds left to seal the offensive slugfest.
On a day when both teams put on a shooting clinic, a sophomore guard stood out. Mitchell connected on his first six shots, including three 3-pointers en route to going 8 for 13 from the field and 5 of 7 from the beyond the arc.
Virginia Tech (18-8, 7-7) managed to shoot 59.2 percent from the field, including 65.4 percent (17 of 26) from beyond the 3-point arc. However, the Cardinals shot 51.5 percent themselves, including making 12 of 22 from beyond the arc.
Seth Allen led the Hokies with 25 points and Outlaw had 19.
Quentin Snider finished with 19 points and Johnson added 16 for Louisville.
No. 12 Duke 99, Wake Forest 94
Luke Kennard scored 23 points, Jayson Tatum added 19 and No. 12 Duke held on to beat Wake Forest 99-94 on Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Amile Jefferson had 16 points for the Blue Devils (22-5, 10-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who shot 59 percent and hit 13 3-pointers while winning their seventh straight.
John Collins had a career-best 31 points and 15 rebounds for the Demon Deacons (15-12, 6-9), who have lost three of four.
Bryant Crawford finished with 21 points, and his layup with about 1:20 to play pulled Wake Forest within 93-92, but he missed two other critical drives in the final minute that would have either tied it or given the Demon Deacons the lead.
Grayson Allen missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 1:02 remaining for Duke. Crawford’s first layup rimmed out with about 35 seconds left. Tatum hit two free throws with 31.1 seconds left to push the lead to 95-92, and Crawford missed with his left hand with about 15 seconds to play.
Frank Jackson finished with 12 points, Allen had 11 and Matt Jones scored 10 for the Blue Devils.
No. 18 Cincinnati 80, Tulsa 60
The only thing that Mick Cronin mentioned to his team at halftime was defense. The 18th-ranked Bearcats got the message.
Jacob Evans III scored 13 of his 17 points while host Cincinnati took control in the first half, and the Bearcats clamped down defensively in the second half and pulled away to an 80-60 victory over Tulsa on Saturday.
Cincinnati (24-3, 13-1 American Athletic) has won 24 straight on its home court, including a couple of close escapes this season. The Bearcats put this one away early in the second half, limiting Tulsa to two free throws in the first 6:47.
"In the second half, the kids made a concerted effort to do a much better job," said Cronin, who got his 300th career coaching victory. "They didn’t score a whole lot in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Our defense was way, way better in the second half."
Kyle Washington added 18 points for Cincinnati while Gary Clark had 14 points and eight rebounds.
Junior Etou scored 22 points for Tulsa (12-14, 6-8), which has lost a season-high six in a row. The Golden Hurricane were only 6 of 16 from the field in the second half, a reflection of how much the Bearcats took Cronin’s halftime message to heart.
"He’s just worried about our defense and intensity and effort," Washington said. "He really doesn’t get on us for mistakes. He gets on us for hustle. We make up for it by going 10 times harder."
Washington had two baskets and a free throw during a 10-point run that put Cincinnati in control late in the first half. Evans made two free throws followed by a steal and a layup as Cincinnati pulled ahead 54-34 early in the second half. The Bearcats led by as many as 27 points.
"We weren’t physical enough to come in here and win that game," Tulsa coach Frank Haith said.
(Shannon Ryan)
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