Fight to the top
Blood poured from his nose and onto his lip, chin and the court. The latest bruised face of college basketball’s nastiest rivalry belongs to North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough.
Hansbrough had 26 points and 17 rebounds before suffering an injury that looked worse than it really was in the closing seconds of the No. 8 Tar Heels’ (25-6, 11-5) 86-72 win over 14th-ranked Duke (22-9, 8-8) on Sunday in Chapel Hill, N.C., clinching the top seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
The injury came with 14.5 seconds left, when Hansbrough leaped for a layup. After the ball left his hand, he was struck in the face by Gerald Henderson’s right elbow.
Hansbrough crumpled to the ground, his nose bleeding onto the floor and down his face, before he jumped to his feet menacingly and had to be restrained from Duke’s players while he was taken to the locker room. The officials reviewed the play and ejected Henderson, then later said in a joint statement that under NCAA rules he would be suspended for one game.
(5) Florida 85, Kentucky 72: At Gainesville, Fla., Joakim Noah and Taurean Green scored 17 points apiece and the Gators (26-5, 13-3) beat Kentucky (20-10, 9-7), becoming the first Southeastern Conference team to win six in a row against the Wildcats.
Green was 6 of 11 from the floor and 3 of 4 from 3-point range. He added five assists.
Creighton 67, (11) Southern Illinois 61: At St. Louis, Anthony Tolliver had 15 points and 13 rebounds to help Creighton (22-10) upset the Salukis (27-6) in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, earning the Bluejays their seventh NCAA tournament appearance in nine years.
Nate Funk added 19 points and four assists and Nick Porter had 15 points and six assists for the second-seeded Bluejays, who won the conference tournament for the sixth time in nine seasons.
(16) Louisville 86, Seton Hall 71: At Louisville, Ky., Edgar Sosa scored 18 points to lead five Louisville players in double figures and the Cardinals (22-8, 12-4) beat the Pirates (13-16, 4-12) to clinch second-place in the Big East.
Terrence Williams and David Padgett scored 15 points apiece, Derrick Caracter added 13 and Jerry Smith had 10 points for the Cardinals.
Clemson 75, (21) Virginia Tech 74: At Blacksburg, Va., K.C. Rivers scored 22 points, including the decisive basket with 18 seconds remaining, to lead the Tigers to a victory over Virginia Tech and prevent the Hokies from capturing a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s regular-season title.
Cliff Hammonds added 17 points for the Tigers (21-9, 7-9) in the ACC regular-season finale for both teams.