MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sophomore Avery Anderson III scored a career-high 31 points to lead No. 17 Oklahoma State to an 85-80 victory over No. 6 West Virginia on Saturday in their Big 12 regular-season finale.
The Cowboys (18-7, 11-7 Big 12) made up for the loss of two starters by finding holes in the defense for easy layups, shooting 58% from the floor and outhustling West Virginia for rebounds.
Oklahoma State was without star freshman Cade Cunningham, who injured his left ankle late in a loss to No. 3 Baylor on Thursday. Isaac Likekele also sat out for the sixth time in seven games with a hand injury.
Freshman Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe added 18 points for Oklahoma State. Kalib Boone added 12 points while his twin brother, Keylan, scored 11.
Taz Sherman led West Virginia (18-8, 11-6 Big 12) with 20 points. Derek Culver added 14 points, Miles McBride scored 12 and Emmitt Matthews 11.
West Virginia went 13 of 14 from the free-throw line over a five-minute stretch to take a 73-72 lead with 3:43 left. The Mountaineers never led again.
West Virginia had a chance to tie it near the end, but Keylan Boone stole McBride’s pass into the lane with 11 seconds left. Anderson then hit two free throws for the final margin.
No. 4 ILLINOIS 73, No. 7 OHIO STATE 68
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ayo Dosunmu returned after missing three games with a concussion and facial injuries to score 19 points as No. 4 Illinois rallied to get its second straight road win over a top 10 team after routing No. 2 Michigan on Tuesday.
Andre Curbelo also had 19 points as Illinois won for the 11th time in 12 games and enters next week’s Big Ten Tournament with a double-bye.
E.J. Liddell led the Buckeyes with 19 points, and Duane Washington Jr. and Justice Sueing each had 15.
Illinois led by 10 during first half but a late put-back by Liddell cut the advantage to 41-37 at the break.
The teams traded punches in the second half, but Ohio State had trouble making shots down the stretch, missing its last 10 attempts.
No. 8 ALABAMA 89, GEORGIA 79
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Herbert Jones had two baskets in a 9-0 run to open the second half as No. 8 Alabama matched its school record for Southeastern Conference wins.
Jahvon Quinerly led five Alabama scorers in double figures with 18 points. John Petty Jr. had 15 and Jaden Shackelford finished with 14.
Alabama (21-6, 16-2) has 16 SEC wins in the 1986-87 season and will take a three-game winning streak into next week’s SEC Tournament.
Alabama led 82-79 before Keon Ellis sank a 3-pointer with 46 seconds remaining. It was one of eight 3s in the second half for the Crimson Tide after they managed only two in the first half.
Georgia (14-11, 7-11) led by 14 in the first half but couldn’t maintain the pace. Sahvir Wheeler led the Bulldogs with 18 points. Freshman K.D. Johnson had 16.
PROVIDENCE 54, No. 10 VILLANOVA 52
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — David Duke made a tiebreaking tip-in with 2.8 seconds left as Providence held on after blowing a 20-point lead.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had an open look at a 3-pointer after a long inbounds pass, but the shot hit the front of the rim and the buzzer sounded before Jermaine Samuels tipped it in.
Already without point guard Collin Gillespie, who tore his MCL on Wednesday, the Big East champion Wildcats, ranked No. 10, lost backup Justin Moore to an ankle injury in the first half.
Duke and Nate Watson scored 20 points apiece, and Noah Horchler had 10 points and 13 rebounds for Providence (13-12, 9-10 Big East). The Friars have won five of their last seven games against ranked teams.
Samuels scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half, making back-to-back layups to start a 14-2 run that gave the Wildcats (16-5, 11-4) a 50-49 lead with less than three minutes left.
Robinson-Earl had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Wildcats, who clinched the Big East regular-season title with a victory on Wednesday night.
NOTRE DAME 83, No. 11 FLORIDA STATE 73
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Prentiss Hubb scored 22 points and Dane Goodwin had 15 as Notre Dame beat a ranked team for the first time over three years.
The Fighting Irish (10-14, 7-11 ACC) had five players score in double figures. They also went 28 for 34 at the free-throw line, compared to 15 for 20 for the Seminoles (15-5, 11-4).
Notre Dame’s last win over a ranked team was a 67-66 victory over Wichita State in November 2017. They had dropped 28 such games in a row.
Cormac Ryan, Nikola Djogo and Nate Laszewski had 11 points apiece for Notre Dame, which had dropped four in a row. Juwan Durham had nine points and nine rebounds.
Scottie Barnes led Florida State with 17 points. RaiQuan Gray added 15 points and 10 rebounds. M.J. Walker had 12 points on 4-for-16 shooting.
No. 21 VIRGINIA 68, LOUISVILLE 58
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Sam Hauser scored 24 points and Trey Murphy III added 17 as No. 21 Virginia clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship.
Assured of least a No. 2 seed entering the regular-season finale, the Cavaliers (17-6, 13-4) received a huge opening for bigger things when first-place and No. 11 Florida State lost 83-73 earlier in the day at Notre Dame.
Virginia then methodically took care of the Cardinals (13-6, 8-5) to leapfrog the Seminoles despite a blowout loss at FSU in the season’s lone meeting on Feb. 15.
Hauser finished 9 of 14 from the field, making his first four in the second half, and grabbed eight rebounds. Murphy shot 7 of 12 and Jay Huff added 10 points.
David Johnson had 14 points and Jae’Lyn Withers 12 for Louisville, which shot 37% and was beaten 32-22 in the paint.
No. 23 PURDUE 67, INDIANA 58
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Zach Edey scored 20 points and Jaden Ivey added 17 as No. 23 Purdue won its ninth straight game in the in-state rivalry.
It’s the Boilermakers’ best run in the series since they beat Indiana nine in a row from 1929-35 boosted by Wooden, a star player who went on to coaching fame.
Purdue (18-8, 13-6 Big Ten) heads into next week’s Big Ten Tournament with five consecutive wins. Edey also had nine rebounds.
Aljami Durham had 14 points and Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with 12 points and five rebounds to lead the Hoosiers. Indiana (12-14, 7-12) finished conference play for the fifth consecutive season without a winning record — the first time that has happened since 1911-19.
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