Memphis wins C-USA

Willie Kemp scored 20 points to help No. 7 Memphis beat Rice 99-63 Thursday night at Memphis, Tenn., and clinch its second straight Conference USA men’s basketball title.

The victory extended Memphis’ winning streak to 16 straight, longest in the nation. Memphis also has won 28 straight at home.

Memphis (24-3, 13-0), which started the game 0 for 7 from 3-point range, ended up shooting 47 percent from outside the arc. Kemp hit 4 of 6 3-pointers.

Jeremy Hunt finished with 16 points for Memphis, while Antonio Anderson and Chris Douglas-Roberts added 14 each. Robert Dozier scored 10 points.

Anderson was also in charge of the defensive assignment on Rice guard Morris Almond, the conference’s leading scorer, and No. 3 in the nation.

He is averaging 27.2 points, but was held to just 15. Almond was 5 for 14 from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds. Cory Pflieger scored 10 for the Owls (13-13, 7-6).

Loyola of Chicago 75, (15) Butler 71: At Indianapolis, Blake Schilb scored 28 points, Tracy Robinson hit five free throws in the final 36 seconds and the Ramblers (20-9, 10-5 Horizon League) held off the Bulldogs (24-5, 12-3) for their first victory over a ranked opponent in 21 years.

(18) Duke 71, Clemson 66: At Clemson, S.C., Jon Scheyer scored 18 points to help the Blue Devils (21-7, 8-6 ACC) win their 21st straight over the Tigers (19-8, 5-8).

Women

(2) Tennessee 75, Arkansas 68 (OT): At Fayetteville, Ark., Candace Parker scored 29 points and the Volunteers (26-2, 13-0 SEC) dodged a huge upset bid with an overtime victory over the Razorbacks (18-11, 3-10).

(4) North Carolina 96, Wake Forest 47: At Chapel Hill, N.C., Camille Little scored 19 points and Ivory Latta had 14 to help the Tar Heels (27-2, 11-2 ACC) cruise to a win over the Demon Deacons (9-18, 0-13).

(5) Ohio St. 78, Penn St. 61: At Columbus, Ohio, Jessica Davenport scored 26 points and Ashlee Trebilcock had 17 to help the Buckeyes (25-2, 14-1) beat the Nittany Lions (13-15, 6-9) to clinch at least a share of their third Big Ten title in a row.

(12) Vanderbilt 68, (7) LSU 58: At Nashville, Tenn., Carla Thomas scored 23 points, and the Commodores (24-4, 10-3 SEC) beat the Tigers (23-6, 9-4) for Vanderbilt’s seventh straight victory.

(8) Stanford 65, UCLA 54: At Stanford, Calif., Jayne Appel scored 24 points to help the Cardinal (24-4, 16-1) overcome the absence of leading scorer Candice Wiggins and clinch at least a share of its seventh straight Pac-10 title with a victory over the Bruins (13-16, 7-10).

(15) Purdue 76, Iowa 52: At West Lafayette, Ind., Katie Gearlds scored 28 points and Erin Lawless added 18 to help the Boilermakers (24-5, 13-2 Big Ten) beat the Hawkeyes (13-15, 5-10).

(17) Middle Tennessee 68, Troy 60: At Troy, Ala., Chrissy Givens had 31 points and 13 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season to lead the Blue Raiders (25-3, 17-0 Sun Belt) over the Trojans (12-15, 5-12) for their 22nd consecutive win.

Illinois 56, (20) Michigan St. 46: At Champaign, Ill., Lori Bjork had 12 points and Chelsea Gordon and Erin Wigley added nine apiece to help the Illini (18-9, 8-7 Big Ten) upset the Spartans (21-7, 12-3).

Delaware 77, (22) James Madison 67: At Newark, Del., Tyresa Smith scored 32 points to help the Blue Hens (23-4, 14-2 Colonial Athletic Association) upset the Dukes (24-3, 15-1), ending James Madison’s 16-game winning streak.

(24) Wis.-Green Bay 73, Wright State 42: At Green Bay, Wis., Kayla Groh and Katy Harty each scored 12 points to lead the Phoenix (22-3, 13-0 Horizon League) to their 19th straight win, over the Raiders (7-17, 5-8).

Drexel needs 5 OTs

Gabriela Marginean scored a school-record 47 points and Drexel beat Northeastern 98-90 in five overtimes at Philadelphia in the longest game in NCAA women’s basketball history.

The 65-minute game eclipsed the previous record of four overtimes, which occurred 11 times, most recently between Northern Illinois and Bowling Green on Feb. 18, 2004. Northern Illinois won that game 102-97.