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Roundup: Kansas defeats Texas for Big 12 tourney title

Kansas forward Markieff Morris (21) and guard Tyshawn Taylor (10) celebrate during the Jayhawks’ win over Texas in the Big 12 finals. (Associated Press)
Associated Press
Kansas forward Markieff Morris (21) and guard Tyshawn Taylor (10) celebrate during the Jayhawks’ win over Texas in the Big 12 finals. (Associated Press)

Tyshawn Taylor and Marcus Morris sparked a quick start Saturday and the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks (32-2) raced past the No. 10 Texas Longhorns (27-7) 85-73 in the Big 12 title game at Kansas City, Mo.

Jordan Hamilton had 21 points for second-seeded Texas (27-7), which beat Kansas 74-63 and snapped the Jayhawks’ team-record 69-game home-court winning streak in January.

Morris had 17 points. Taylor had a season-high 20 points and five assists.

Texas dropped to 0-6 in Big 12 championship games.

Big East

(21) Connecticut 69, (14) Louisville 66: Kemba Walker capped the best five days an individual and team may have had in college basketball, scoring 19 points to lead the Huskies (26-9) to a victory over the Cardinals (25-8) in the Big East championship at New York.

Walker took home the MVP award after leading ninth-seeded UConn to five wins in as many days – the last four over teams ranked in the Top 25.Preston Knowles had 18 points for Louisville and missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

Big Ten

(1) Ohio St. 68, Michigan 61: Jared Sullinger had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and the Buckeyes (31-2) boosted their bid for the NCAA tournament’s top overall seed with a victory over the Wolverines (20-13) in the Big Ten semifinals at Indianapolis.

Penn State 61, Michigan St. 48: Talor Battle scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half to help the Nittany Lions (19-13) defeat the Spartans (19-14) in the Big Ten tournament semifinals at Indianapolis and advance to the final for the first time.

Atlantic Coast Conference

(5) Duke 77, Virginia Tech 63: Nolan Smith scored 27 points and the Blue Devils (29-4) claimed a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game by beating the Hokies (21-11) in the semifinals at Greensboro, N.C.

Kyle Singler added 13 points. (6) UNC 92, Clemson 87 (OT): Freshman phenom Harrison Barnes had a season-high 40 points as the Tar Heels (26-6) escaped again at the ACC tournament, rallying past the Tigers (21-11) in overtime at Greensboro, N.C.

Mountain West

(7) San Diego St. 72, (8) BYU 54: Billy White put on an offensive display, scoring 21 points, and bedeviled national scoring leader Jimmer Fredette in leading the Aztecs (32-2) past the Cougars (30-4) for the Mountain West Conference title at Las Vegas.

Fredette had 30 points.

Southeastern

(12) Florida 77, Vanderbilt 66: Kenny Boynton scored 24 points, Erving Walker added 17 and the Gators (26-6) recovered from another slow start to beat the Commodores (23-10) in the Southeastern Conference semifinals at Atlanta.

(15) Kentucky 72, Alabama 58: Brandon Knight scored 10 straight points to blow open a Southeastern Conference tournament game, and the Wildcats (24-8) looked like a young team peaking at just the right time with a semifinal victory over the Tide (21-11) at Atlanta.

Atlantic 10

Richmond 58, (24) Temple 54: Kevin Anderson scored 22 points and the Spiders (26-7) beat three-time defending champion Owls (25-7) in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament at Atlantic City, N.J.

Dayton 64, St. Joseph’s 61: Chris Wright had 17 points, 15 rebounds and five assists and the Flyers (22-12) advanced to the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament championship game for the first time since 2004 with a victory over the surprising Hawks (11-22) at Atlantic City, N.J.

Conference USA

Memphis 67, UTEP 66: Joe Jackson made two free throws with 7 seconds left and the Tigers (25-9) rallied past the Miners (25-9) at El Paso, Texas, to win the Conference USA championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Mid-American

Akron 66, Kent St. 65 (OT): Steve McNees blocked Carlton Guyton’s last-second 3-point attempt, giving the Zips (23-12) a win over the Golden Flashes (23-11) in overtime in the Mid-American Conference championship at Cleveland and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Big West

UC Santa Barbara 64, Long Beach St. 56: Orlando Johnson scored 23 points to lead the Gauchos (18-13) to a win over the top-seeded 49ers (22-11) in the championship game of the Big West tournament at Anaheim, Calif.

America East

Boston University 56, Stony Brook 54: John Holland hit two free throws with 2.4 seconds left to cap a 27-point performance and lift the Terriers (21-13) into the NCAA tournament with a win over the Seawolves (15-17) in the America East championship at Boston.

Mid-Eastern

Hampton 60, Morgan St. 58: Brandon Tunnell scored 20 points, including four free throws in the final 35 seconds, and the Pirates (24-8) secured their first NCAA tournament berth in five years with a victory over the Bears (17-14) – after a missed 3-pointer at the buzzer – in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title game at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Southland

Texas-San Antonio 75, McNeese St. 72: Jeromie Hill scored 25 points to lead the Roadrunners (19-13) past the Cowboys (21-11) in the Southland Conference championship at Katy, Texas, earning an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

Southwestern Athletic

Alabama St. 65, Grambling 48: Tremayne Moorer scored 14 points, lifting the Hornets (17-17) to a victory over the Tigers (12-21) to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship at Garland, Texas, and a trip to the NCAA tournament.