Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Top-25 men’s basketball highlights

Virginia guard London Perrantes helps his team cut down the nets after securing first ACC regular-season title since 1980-81. (Associated Press)
Associated Press

Malcolm Brogdon scored eight of his 19 points during a decisive second-half run and No. 12 Virginia clinched the top seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament by beating No. 4 Syracuse 75-56 on Saturday in Charlottesville, Va.

The victory was the 13th in a row for the Cavaliers, and secured their first outright ACC regular-season championship in 33 years.

Akil Mitchell added 12 points and nine rebounds and Mike Tobey and Justin Anderson scored 11 each for the Cavaliers (25-5, 16-1 ACC), who won their only outright ACC regular-season title 33 years ago – 1980-81 – when Ralph Sampson was a sophomore. The victory was their 13th in a row and the final buzzer brought hundreds streaming onto the court.

Tyler Ennis and C.J. Fair scored 13 each for the Orange (26-3, 13-3), who lost for the third time in four games. Syracuse played much of the game without ailing Jerami Grant (sore back).

(4) Wichita State 68, Missouri State 45: Cleanthony Early scored 19 points, Ron Baker added 13 and the Shockers (31-0, 18-0 Missouri Valley) will continue to pursue perfection after rolling to a victory over the Bears (19-11, 9-9) in Wichita, Kan.

Wichita State became the first team since Saint Joseph’s in 2004 to enter its league tournament unbeaten. The Shockers will have a first-round bye in St. Louis next week.

Oklahoma State 72, (5) Kansas 65: Marcus Smart scored 20 of his 21 points in the second half to help the Cowboys (19-10, 7-9) beat the Jayhawks (22-7, 13-3) in Stillwater, Okla.

Andrew Wiggins scored 15 points for Kansas, which already had clinched the Big 12 title outright before tipoff because Texas and Iowa State lost.

Xavier 75, (9) Creighton 69: Justin Martin had 19 points and a career-high 16 rebounds and the Musketeers (20-9, 10-6) led most of the way during a victory over the Bluejays (23-5, 13-3) in Cincinnati.

Creighton couldn’t catch up despite 27 points by Doug McDermott, who leads the nation in scoring.

VCU 67, (10) Saint Louis 56: Treveon Graham had 17 points and eight rebounds, and the Rams (22-7, 10-4 Atlantic 10) added a quality win to their NCAA tournament resume by beating the Billikens (25-4, 12-2) in Richmond, Va.

The loss was Saint Louis’ second consecutive defeat following a school-record, 19-game winning streak.

UConn 51, (11) Cincinnati 45: Shabazz Napier scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Huskies (23-6, 11-5 American Athletic Conference) to a upset of the Bearcats (24-5, 13-3) in Hartford, Conn.

UConn won despite going without a field goal for the game’s final 7 1/2 minutes.

Kansas State 80, (15) Iowa State: Shane Southwell had 13 points and the Wildcats (20-9, 10-6 Big 12) overcame a huge game by Cyclones star Melvin Ejim to beat Iowa State (22-6, 10-6) in Manhattan, Kan.

TheWildcats can still earn the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.

Ejim added 30 points and pulled down 16 rebounds.

(16) Michigan 66, Minnesota 56: Nik Stauskas scored 21 points and Glenn Robinson III provided an emotional lift with his dunks the Wolverines clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title with a win over the Gophers in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Michigan can clinch its first outright conference title since 1986 with a win Tuesday at Illinois or next Saturday at home against Indiana.

South Carolina 72, (17) Kentucky 67: Brenton Williams scored 24 points as the Gamecocks (11-18, 4-12 SEC) held off the Wildcats (21-8, 11-5) in Columbia, S.C.

With his team down by 12 points, Kentucky coach John Calipari was ejected after getting a second technical with 10:21 remaining in the game

Oklahoma 77, (24) Texas 65: Isaiah Cousins scored a career-high 24 points and the Sooners (21-8, 10-6) gained ground in the race for second place in the Big 12 with a win over the Longhorns (21-8, 10-6) in Norman, Okla.