By Field Level Media
March 15 – Big East Player of the Year Devin Carter had 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead seventh-seeded Providence to a 78-73 victory over No. 8-ranked Creighton on Thursday in the Big East quarterfinals at New York.
The Friars fended off a late comeback attempt by the second-seeded Bluejays to hang on for the victory. Providence is headed to its second Big East tournament semifinals in three years. The Friars will oppose 10th-ranked and third-seeded Marquette on Friday.
Josh Oduro had 17 points and nine rebounds for Providence, while Jayden Pierre finished with 15 points, four rebounds and seven assists.
Ryan Kalkbrenner played a key role in the Bluejays’ comeback effort with his play on both ends, finishing with 19 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. Trey Alexander also had 19 points for the Bluejays.
No. 1 Houston 60, TCU 45
Emanuel Sharp scored 14 points and Jamal Shead added 12 as the top-ranked Cougars put on a defensive display against the Horned Frogs in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals in Kansas City, Mo.
Houston, the No. 1 seed in the event, advances to play fourth-seeded Texas Tech in Friday’s semifinals. The Cougars’ stifling defense held TCU to just 23.3 percent shooting and 2 of 20 from beyond the arc.
Micah Peavy led the eighth-seeded Horned Frogs with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
No. 2 UConn 87, Xavier 60
Donavan Clingan scored 11 of his 13 points after halftime as the top-seeded Huskies recovered from a slow start to dominate ninth-seeded Xavier in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.
Tristen Newton also scored 13 points for the Huskies, who outscored Xavier 53-27 in the final 20 minutes. Alex Karaban, Cam Spencer and Samson Johnson added 12 points apiece and Stephon Castle contributed 10 as the Huskies shot 58.3 percent overall and scored 54 points in the paint.
Xavier finished with a losing record for the first time since 1995-96, when it was in its first season in the Atlantic 10. Quincy Olivari led the Musketeers with 17 points.
No. 4 North Carolina 92, Florida State 67
RJ Davis scored 18 points and Armando Bacot added 14 points and 10 rebounds as the top-seeded Tar Heels cruised past the Seminoles in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals in Washington, D.C.
Cormac Ryan added 14 points and reserve Seth Trimble had 12 points for the Tar Heels, who shot 52.3 percent. Harrison Ingram provided nine points and 10 rebounds. North Carolina will play in Friday night’s first semifinal against fourth-seeded Pitt, which beat No. 3 seed Wake Forest on Thursday.
Primo Spears came off the bench to lead ninth-seeded Florida State with 17 points.
No. 6 Arizona 70, Southern California 49
KJ Lewis scored a team-high 15 points off the bench and the No. 6-ranked Wildcats held the Trojans to their lowest score of the season in a Pac-12 tournament quarterfinal game in Las Vegas.
Oumar Ballo had 10 points and 13 rebounds for his 10th double-double in the past 11 games. Jaden Bradley scored 12, Caleb Love added 11, and Pelle Larsson had 10. No. 1 seed Arizona held the ninth-seeded Trojans to 16 first-half points and 35.7 percent shooting for the game. The Wildcats will play Friday against Oregon, which beat UCLA 68-66 on Thursday night.
Kobe Johnson led the Trojans with 14 points, and Isaiah Collier contributed 13. Boogie Ellis, who was averaging a team-high 16.9 points, shot 2 of 11 from the field and finished with six points before fouling out with 7:25 to go.
No. 7 Iowa State 76, Kansas State 57
Robert Jones led four Cyclones in double figures with 18 points as second-seeded Iowa State defeated the 10th-seeded Wildcats in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
The Cyclones advance to a semifinal against third-seeded and 14th-ranked Baylor. Iowa State also got 16 points, nine rebounds and three steals from Tre King.
Tylor Perry led Kansas State with 18 points. The Wildcats also received 13 points from Arthur Kaluma and 12 from Will McNair Jr.
No. 10 Marquette 71, Villanova 65 (OT)
Kam Jones scored 18 points, David Joplin provided six of his 14 points in overtime and the Golden Eagles survived a challenge from the Wildcats to prevail in the Big East tournament quarterfinals.
The third-seeded Golden Eagles advanced to face seventh-seeded Providence in the semis despite being without Tyler Kolek, last season’s Big East Player of the Year, due to an oblique injury. Stevie Mitchell put up 15 points, Chase Ross scored 11 and Joplin added a team-high eight rebounds for Marquette, which had to play five extra minutes to pull out the win after a would-be game-winning shot was waved off.
Eric Dixon had 19 points and 11 rebounds for sixth-seeded Villanova, which put up a fight one night after barely escaping last-place DePaul. Mark Armstrong tallied 15 points, TJ Bamba had 12 points and Justin Moore finished with four points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
NC State 74, No. 11 Duke 69
DJ Horne scored 18 points and the 10th-seeded Wolfpack continued their surprising run by knocking off the second-seeded Blue Devils to reach the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Washington.
Mohamed Diarra recorded career highs of 14 points and four blocked shots and also had 16 rebounds for the Wolfpack, who won their third game in three days during the tournament. Michael O’Connell scored 12 points for the Wolfpack, who will play Friday against third-seeded Virginia, which beat 11th-seeded Boston College 66-60 on Thursday.
Kyle Filipowski registered 28 points, 14 rebounds and three steals before fouling out for the second-seeded Blue Devils, who lost their second straight game. Mark Mitchell had 18 points and eight rebounds and Tyrese Proctor added 10 points but was just 4 of 16 from the field.
No. 14 Baylor 68, Cincinnati 56
RayJ Dennis scored 13 points for the Bears, who put it all together in the second half to defeat the Bearcats in the quarterfinals in the Big 12 Conference tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
Jalen Bridges and Yves Missi added 12 points each for Baylor, the third seed in the tourney. The Bears made 19 of 22 free throws, outscoring Cincinnati by 12 points at the line.
Dan Skillings Jr. poured in a game-high 15 points for the Bearcats, with Jizzle James and John Newman III adding a dozen apiece.
No. 15 South Carolina 80, Arkansas 66
Collin Murray-Boyles scored 24 points on 11-for-15 shooting and the Gamecocks pulled away from the Razorbacks in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament in Nashville, Tenn.
B.J. Mack added 19 points and nine rebounds for No. 5 seed South Carolina, which earned its fourth win in its past five games. Ta’Lon Cooper added 11 points. The Gamecocks will play No. 4 seed Auburn in the quarterfinals Friday.
Khalif Battle scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead No. 12 seed Arkansas. Makhi Mitchell contributed 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting off the bench for the Razorbacks, who fell short one day after outlasting No. 13 seed Vanderbilt for an overtime win.
No. 18 Utah State 87, Fresno State 75
Great Osobor had 29 points and 17 rebounds to help the top-seeded Aggies beat the ninth-seeded Bulldogs in a Mountain West Conference quarterfinal in Las Vegas.
Darius Brown II finished with 17 points and 11 assists for Utah State, which has won six in a row. The Aggies will play fifth-seeded San Diego State in the semifinals.
Jalen Weaver scored 19 points off the bench, Isaiah Hill had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Isaiah Pope finished with 12 points for Fresno State, which dropped eight of its last nine.
No. 22 Washington State 79, Stanford 62
Isaac Jones led a balanced scoring effort with 16 points as the Cougars advanced to the Pac-12 tournament semifinals with a win over the Cardinal in Las Vegas.
The second-seeded Cougars will play in a semifinal Friday against third-seeded Colorado, which beat sixth-seeded Utah 72-58 on Thursday night. Washington State’s Myles Rice had 14 points, six assists and six rebounds while Jaylen Wells finished with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Spencer Jones scored 22 points for 10th-seeded Stanford, and Brandon Angel tallied 15 points and six rebounds.
Colorado State 85, No. 23 Nevada 78
Jalen Lake scored 16 points and Isaiah Stevens added 15 as the seventh-seeded Rams upset the second-seeded Wolf Pack in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament in Las Vegas.
Nique Clifford added 14 points and 10 rebounds as Colorado State knocked off the No. 23 team in the nation and strengthened its case for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. In the tournament semifinals Friday, the Rams will face sixth-seeded New Mexico, which beat third-seeded Boise State 76-66 on Thursday night.
Jarod Lucas led Nevada with 18 points, and Kenan Blackshear added 16.
Duquesne 65, No. 24 Dayton 57
Jimmy Clark III scored a team-high 16 points while leading the Dukes to a win over the Flyers in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic-10 tournament Thursday in New York.
Dae Dae Grant added 11 points for sixth-seeded Duquesne , which advances to play St. Bonaventure in the semifinals Saturday. The Dukes won their sixth straight game.
DaRon Holmes II led third-seeded Dayton with 24 points and 13 rebounds. The Flyers, presumably still an at-large NCAA Tournament recipient, will await their seeding Sunday.
No. 25 Texas Tech 81, No. 20 BYU 67
Pop Isaacs scored 22 points as the Red Raiders knocked out the Cougars in a Big 12 quarterfinal game in Kansas City, Mo.
Chance McMillian added 17 points off the bench for the Red Raiders, who face No. 1-ranked Houston in the semifinals on Friday. Houston beat TCU 60-45 on Thursday.
Jaxson Robinson sank four 3-pointers and finished with 18 points for BYU.
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