College men: Wolfpack move on
Sidney Lowe was the star point guard on Jim Valvano’s North Carolina State team that won the ACC title in 1983, earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament and then became the lowest seed to win it all.
Lowe would love to do it again – this time as a coach.
Gavin Grant scored 20 points, Courtney Fells added 16 and the Wolfpack (18-14) beat Virginia Tech (21-11) 72-64 on Saturday in Tampa, Fla., to send the first-year coach to the ACC title game.
(8) North Carolina 71, Boston College 56: At Tampa, Fla., Brandan Wright scored 20 points and the Tar Heels (27-6) defeated the Eagles (20-11).
Big 12 Conference
(2) Kansas 67, Kansas State 61: At Oklahoma City, Mario Chalmers scored 16 points and the Jayhawks (29-4) defeated the Wildcats (22-11) to win and advance to the Big 12 championship game.
(15) Texas 69, Oklahoma State 64: At Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant had 26 points and hit the decisive 3-pointer in the final minute to help the Longhorns (24-8) hold off the Cowboys (22-12).
Southeast Conference
(6) Florida 80, Mississippi 59: At Atlanta, Corey Brewer scored 22 points, Lee Humphrey added 17 and the Gators (28-5) beat the Rebels (20-12) in the conference semifinals.
Arkansas 81, Mississippi State 72: At Atlanta, Gary Ervin scored 15 points to lead the Razorbacks (21-12) past the Bulldogs (18-13).
Big Ten Conference
(1) Ohio State 63, Purdue 52: At Chicago, Greg Oden had 17 points, a tournament-record 19 rebounds and four blocks as the Buckeyes (29-3) beat the Boilermakers (21-11) to move on to the conference title game.
(3) Wisconsin 53, Illinois 41: At Chicago, Alando Tucker set the school’s career scoring record and finished with 21 points to lead the Badgers (29-4) past the Illini (23-11).
Big East Conference
(9) Georgetown 65, (13) Pittsburgh 42: At New York, Roy Hibbert scored 18 points and the Hoyas (26-6) cruised past the Panthers (27-7) to win the conference tournament.
Conference USA
(5) Memphis 71, Houston 59: At Memphis, Tenn., Chris Douglas-Roberts and Antonio Anderson each scored 17 points and the Tigers (30-3) defeated the Cougars (18-15) in the conference championship.
Mountain West
(25) UNLV 78, (23) BYU 70: At Las Vegas, Michael Umeh scored 18 points and Wink Adams 15 as the Rebels (28-6) defeated the Cougars (25-8) to win the conference championship.
Atlantic 10
George Washington 78, Rhode Island 69: At Atlantic City, N.J., Carl Elliott scored 17 points and three teammates also scored in double figures to lead the Colonials (23-8) to a win over the Rams (19-14) in the conference title game.
Mid-American
Miami (Ohio) 53, Akron 52: At Cleveland, Doug Penno made a controversial 3-pointer off the glass as the horn sounded to give the RedHawks (18-14) a win over the Zips (19-12) in the conference championship.
America East
Albany 60, Vermont 59: At Burlington, Vt., Jamar Wilson scored 22 points and Jason Siggers added 14 to send the Great Danes (23-9) to the NCAA tournament with a win over the Catamounts (25-7).
Southwestern Athletic
Jackson State 81, Mississippi Valley State 71: At Birmingham, Ala., Trey Johnson scored 33 points to lead the Tigers (21-13) to a win over the Delta Devils (18-15) in the conference title game.
MEAC
Florida A&M 58, Delaware State 56: At Raleigh, N.C., Brian Greene’s buzzer-beating alley-oop layup lifted the Rattlers (21-13) to a victory over the Hornets (21-12) and earned them a bid into the NCAA tournament.
Big West
Long Beach State 94, Cal Poly 83: At Anaheim, Calif., Aaron Nixon had 29 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to the 49ers (24-7) to a victory over the Mustangs (19-11) in the conference championship and earned a bid into the NCAA tournament.
D-II record set
Winona State set an NCAA Division II record by winning its 53rd consecutive game, a 100-73 victory over St. Cloud State at Winona, Minn. Winona State has not lost since Jan. 7, 2006.