Tar Heels nip Virginia Tech
Tyler Hansbrough scored 28 points and made a disputed defensive stop in the final seconds as No. 1 North Carolina avoided an upset at the Atlantic Coast Conference basketball tournament, holding off Virginia Tech 79-76 on Friday in Atlanta.
Hansbrough scored the go-ahead basket with 36.1 seconds left and then he tied up J.T. Thompson in the lane for a jump ball that gave North Carolina (28-3) possession with 5.2 seconds to go. Coach Seth Greenberg of Virginia Tech (18-14) threw his jacket in disgust, believing Thompson was fouled.
(4) Memphis 74, Houston 49: At Memphis, Tenn., Robert Dozier scored 16 points and the Tigers (30-3) beat the Cougars (21-11) in the Conference USA tournament semifinals.
(5) Louisville 69, (10) Villanova 55: At New York, Earl Clark scored 17 points and the Cardinals (27-5) beat the Wildcats (26-7) to reach the Big East tournament championship.
(7) Michigan State 64, Minnesota 56: At Indianapolis, Chris Allen scored 17 points, and the Spartans (26-5) beat the Golden Gophers (22-10) in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament.
Maryland 75, (8) Wake Forest 64: At Atlanta, Greivis Vasquez scored 22 points and the Terrapins (20-12) advanced to the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, beating the Demon Deacons (24-6).
(9) Duke 66, Boston College 65: At Atlanta, Gerald Henderson scored the go-ahead basket with 34.8 seconds remaining and the Blue Devils (26-6) held on for an ACC tournament victory over the Eagles (22-11).
(14) Missouri 67, Oklahoma State 59: At Oklahoma City, Zaire Taylor scored a season-high 19 points as the Tigers (27-6) beat the Cowboys (22-11) to move on to the Big 12 championship game.
(18) Syracuse 74, West Virginia 69 (OT): At New York, the Orange (26-8), less than 24 hours after winning the second-longest Division I game, played just one extra period in a victory over the Mountaineers (23-11) in the semifinals of the Big East tournament.
Temple 55, (19) Xaxier 53: At Atlantic City, N.J., Dionte Christmas scored 20 points and the Owls (21-11) beat the Musketeers (25-7) in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.
(20) LSU 67 Kentucky 58: At Tampa, Fla., Marcus Thornton scored 21 points and the Tigers (26-6) beat the Wildcats (20-13) to advance to the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
(22) Florida State 64, Georgia Tech 62: At Atlanta, Derwin Kitchen scored the go-ahead layup with 7.7 seconds left as the Seminoles (24-8) beat the Yellow Jackets (12-19) to deny Georgia Tech a second straight ACC tournament upset.
(24) Purdue 79, Penn State 65: At Indianapolis, Robbie Hummel scored 20 points and the Boilermakers (23-9) beat the Nittany Lions (22-11) in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.
San Diego State 64, (25) BYU 62: At Las Vegas, Lorrenzo Wade scored 24 points as the Aztecs (23-8) beat the Cougars (25-7) in the Mountain West Conference tournament semifinals.
WAC tournament
Utah State 71, New Mexico State 70: At Reno, Nev., Tyler Newbold rolled in a 15-foot jump shot with 3.1 seconds left and the top-seeded Aggies (29-4) beat New Mexico State, also the Aggies (17-15), in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
Nevada 77, Louisiana Tech 68: At Reno, Nev., Luke Babbitt scored 23 points to help the Wolfpack (21-11) to a win over the Bulldogs (15-18) in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
Patriot League
American 73, Holy Cross 57: At Washington, Garrison Carr scored 24 points to lead the Eagles (24-7) past the Crusaders (18-14) and into the NCAA tournament.