Syracuse takes Big East

The 16th-ranked Syracuse Orange won their first Big East tournament championship since 1992 on Saturday night with a 68-59 victory over West Virginia at Madison Square Garden in New York.

“This was a great tournament win for us, especially for our seniors, to be able to win this thing was a tremendous accomplishment,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “I’m real happy for them.”

Hakim Warrick had 20 points and 13 rebounds – his third double-double in three tournament games – for the Orange (27-6), who hope to be seeded between third and fifth in the NCAA Tournament.

Warrick, the conference player of the year, was selected the tournament MVP. The only other player to have three double-doubles in one tournament was Craig Smith of Boston College last year.

The third-seeded Orange won their fourth Big East tournament title in their 12th championship game appearance.

The loss ended a history-making run for West Virginia (21-10), the first No. 8 seed to reach the championship game. No team had won four games to take the title and the Mountaineers fell one game short of winning their first conference championship since winning the Atlantic 10 in 1984.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Second-ranked North Carolina couldn’t stop Georgia Tech’s Will Bynum, so the Tar Heels must wait at least another year to capture the suddenly elusive ACC title. Bynum scored a career-high 35 points, and the Yellow Jackets (19-10) advanced to the ACC championship game with a 78-75 upset of the top-seeded Tar Heels (27-4) in Washington, D.C. After Bynum capped his magnificent performance by making two foul shots with 9 seconds left, a 3-point try by North Carolina’s Rashad McCants bounced off the rim. Fifth-seeded Georgia Tech, which lost to North Carolina by 22 during the regular season, will play for the league title today against Duke. The Yellow Jackets will seek their first ACC crown in 12 years. Georgia Tech is in the title game for the first time since 1996. One of Georgia Tech’s losses this season was to Gonzaga. … So much for J.J. Redick’s shooting slump. The Duke guard carried his team to its seventh consecutive tournament final with a spectacular individual effort, making seven 3-pointers and scoring 35 points to lead the fifth-ranked Blue Devils (24-5) past North Carolina State 76-69. A day earlier, Redick missed 11 of his first 12 shots and finished 4 for 17 against Virginia. Redick surpassed Ronnie Mayer’s previous school record of 34 points for an ACC tournament game, set in the 1955 semifinals. Freshman Andrew Brackman scored 13 points to pace the Wolfpack (19-13).

Big Ten Conference

Alando Tucker banked in the biggest shot of Wisconsin’s season, hitting a running 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Badgers (22-7) toppled Iowa 59-56 in the conference semifinals in Chicago. After two timeouts with 3.7 seconds to play, Tucker took an inbounds pass from Zach Morley, raced up the right side of the court just in front of Adam Haluska and let it fly. The Hawkeyes (21-11) saw their five-game winning streak end. Wisconsin will play top-ranked Illinois in today’s championship game. Wisconsin won the Big Ten tournament a year ago, beating Illinois in the finals. … There simply was no way top-ranked Illinois would let this game slip away. Playing less than 24 hours after their coach’s mother died, the Illini (31-1) used their defense to beat back a late Minnesota rally and defeat the Golden Gophers (21-10) 64-56 in the other Big Ten semifinal game. Luther Head ignited a first-half comeback and led the Illini with 14 points, earning him a hug from coach Bruce Weber after the game. Weber’s mother, Dawn Weber, died Friday evening after emergency heart surgery.

Big 12 Conference

Ronald Ross scored a career-high 28 points, and Texas Tech reached its first conference final with a 69-63 victory over No. 17 Oklahoma in Kansas City, Mo. Jarrius Jackson added a career-high 22 points for the fourth-seeded Red Raiders (20-9), who led by as many as 11 points in the second half before top-seeded Oklahoma (24-7) made a late run. Texas Tech will play Oklahoma State in the title game today. The Red Raiders drew 27 fouls and shot 24 for 33 from the line, compared to Oklahoma’s 11 for 19. … Joey Graham scored 25 points, four on free throws in the final 41.4 seconds, to help No. 10 Oklahoma State beat No. 9 Kansas 78-75 in the other Big 12 semifinal game. Graham, who set a Big 12 record this season by hitting 39 foul shots in a row, sank two to give the Cowboys (23-6) a three-point lead with 10 seconds left. Then Alex Galindo missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Jayhawks (23-6). Oklahoma State lost to Gonzaga earlier in the season.

Southeastern Conference

Chuck Hayes spun into the lane to hit the winning shot with 7.9 seconds left in overtime, sending the No. 4 Wildcats to the conference championship game with a 79-78 victory over LSU in Atlanta. Brandon Bass hit a shot for the Tigers (20-9) as the buzzer sounded in regulation, forcing overtime with the score tied at 70. LSU built a five-point lead in the extra period, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Wildcats (25-4), who will face Florida in today’s championship game. … David Lee scored 20 points, Matt Walsh hit six free throws in the final 17 seconds and Florida (22-7) held on for a 68-62 victory over No. 20 Alabama (24-7) to make the conference championship game for the second straight year. The Gators will try to avoid a 0-for-40 title drought in today’s final. The Gators took a 58-51 lead on Walsh’s long 3-pointer. Alabama twice cut the deficit to three points after that, but Lee had a fastbreak layup off a pass from Corey Brewer and another drive to the basket in the final minute.

Conference USA

Memphis freshman Darius Washington slumped to the court, covering his head in anguish over his two missed free throws. Nobody, not his coach, his teammates or the guy who fouled him, could console him. Washington missed 2 of 3 free throws with no time left on the clock, allowing No. 6 Louisville (29-4) to escape with a 75-74 victory over the Tigers (19-15) and the conference championship in Memphis, Tenn. Brad Gianiny hit 1 of 2 free throws with 6.7 seconds to give Louisville a two-point lead. Washington was fouled by Francisco Garcia while shooting a 3-pointer at the buzzer. He hit the first, prompting his teammates to dance on the court, but then bounced the next two off the rim.

Mountain West Conference

The selection committee can stop worrying about New Mexico. A lot of NCAA Tournament teams out there probably ought to start, though. The Lobos (26-6) made their invitation to the NCAAs a formality, getting 28 points, 11 rebounds and four straight clutch free throws from Danny Granger in a 60-56 victory over No. 15 Utah (27-5) in the conference title game in Denver. Playing as though their season was at stake – even though it probably wasn’t by this point – the second-seeded Lobos jumped on Andrew Bogut and the top-seeded Utes early and kept them an arm’s distance away most of the way. Bogut finished with 19 points and 16 rebounds.

Western Athletic Conference

Filiberto Rivera scored 17 of his 32 points in the last 6 minutes to help Texas El-Paso hold off Boise State 91-78 in the WAC championship game in Reno, Nev. The second-seeded Minters (27-7) shot 67 percent from the floor in the second half. Coby Karl paced the Broncos (16-18) with 24 points.

Mid-American Conference

Freshman Leon Williams dropped in a layup in the final second as Ohio (21-10), down by 19 points in the second half, rallied for an 80-79 overtime win against Buffalo (22-9) in the conference championship game in Cleveland. Williams finished with a career-high 29 points and 15 rebounds and was named the tourney’s MVP.

Atlantic 10 Conference

T.J. Thompson led a late 12-point run to help George Washington (22-7) win its first Atlantic 10 tournament title with a 76-67 victory over Saint Joseph’s (19-11) in Cincinnati. The Colonials had lost title games in 1991 and 1998, leaving them the only A-10 charter school that had not won the tournament.

America East Conference

Taylor Coppenrath scored 37 points to help guide Vermont (24-6) to an 80-57 victory over Northeastern (21-9) in the conference championship game in Burlington, Vt. The Catamounts’ third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament is especially sweet for Vermont coach Tom Brennan, who is retiring after 19 seasons at the helm.

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Aaron Williams made a 10-foot shot with 2 seconds left and Delaware State (19-13) eked out a 55-53 victory over Hampton (17-13) in Richmond, Va., for the conference championship and its first NCAA Tournament berth.