Isaiah Evans scored 20 points and No. 1 Duke relied on various sources to beat No. 10 Virginia 74-70 and repeat as Atlantic Coast Conference tournament champion in a tense title game Saturday night at Charlotte.
Cayden Boozer, the twin brother of the ACC Player of the Year, matched his career high with 16 points for the second straight night and Cameron Boozer had 13 points for Duke (32-2), which could be the No. 1 overall seed when the NCAA Tournament bracket is unveiled Sunday.
It’s the first time a team has won consecutive ACC tournaments since the Blue Devils won three straight from 2009-11. Cameron Boozer was bothered by Virginia’s defense, shooting 3-for-17 from the field, but he had eight rebounds and eight assists.
Malik Thomas poured in 18 points and Sam Lewis racked up 17 points for second-seeded Virginia (29-5), which was aiming for its first conference tournament title since 2018. Ugonna Onyenso blocked nine shots as part of a record-setting three-game stretch.
No. 2 Arizona 79, No. 5 Houston 74
Koa Peat scored 21 points before fouling out and Brayden Burries also had 21 as the top-seeded Wildcats defeated the second-seeded Cougars in Kansas City, Mo., to win the Big 12 tournament.
Jaden Bradley scored 13 points and Ivan Kharchenkov added 12 for Arizona, which won its ninth straight game. The Wildcats (32-2) are in the running for the No. 1 overall seed after winning their first Big 12 championship in their second year in the league, avenging last year’s title game loss to Houston.
Joseph “JoJo” Tugler scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Houston (28-6), which had a five-game winning streak snapped. Mercy Miller had 13 points and seven rebounds.
No. 3 Michigan 68, No. 23 Wisconsin 65
Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg hit a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to lift the top-seeded Wolverines to a victory over the fifth-seeded Badgers in the Big Ten Conference tournament semifinals at Chicago.
Lendeborg finished with 12 points for ranked Michigan (31-2), which advances to the Sunday title game Purdue. Aday Mara racked up 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocks as the Wolverines defeated the only Big Ten team they failed to knock off during the regular season.
Austin Rapp paced Wisconsin (24-10) with 18 points. The Badgers rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to take a four-point lead, but their five-game winning streak ended.
No. 22 Vanderbilt 91, No. 4 Florida 74
Tyler Tanner scored 20 points and dished out eight assists, Duke Miles scored 15 with seven assists and the fourth-seeded Commodores earned a victory over the top-seeded Gators in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament at Nashville.
Vanderbilt (26-7) advances to the Sunday title game against Arkansas (25-8). Jalen Washington scored 17 points for the Commodores.
Thomas Haugh had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead the Gators (26-7), who saw their 12-game winning streak come to an end. Florida also received 15 points from Boogie Fland.
No. 13 St. John’s 72, No. 6 UConn 52
Zuby Ejiofor totaled 18 points, nine rebounds, seven blocks and three steals as the top-seeded Red Storm started quickly, never let up and earned a victory over the second-seeded Huskies to win the Big East tournament title in New York.
St. John’s (28-6) won its fifth conference tournament title and achieved the feat in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history. Bryce Hopkins scored 18 and Oziyah Sellers contributed 14 for the Red Storm, who scored the game’s first 10 points.
UConn (29-5) missed its last 13 field-goal attempts over the final eight minutes. Tarris Reed Jr. led the Huskies with 17 points.
No. 17 Arkansas 93, Ole Miss 90
The third-seeded Razorbacks got 29 points from Meleek Thomas, 24 from Darius Acuff Jr. and double-doubles from Trevon Brazile and Malique Ewen to escape with an overtime victory over the 15th-seeded Rebels in the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinals at Nashville.
Ewen scored 14 and pulled down a game-high 13 boards while Brazile scored 16 with 10 rebounds for Arkansas (25-8).
Reserve AJ Storr scored a team-high 24 points for Ole Miss (15-20), which included a basket with one second left to send the game into overtime. Malik Dia chipped in 16 points for the Rebels, who nearly pulled off their fourth upset in as many days.
No. 18 Purdue 73, UCLA 66
Oscar Cluff had 17 points with 14 rebounds and the seventh-seeded Boilermakers advanced to the Big Ten Conference championship game with a semifinal victory over the sixth-seeded Bruins in Chicago.
Purdue (26-8) topped UCLA (23-11) behind two first-half runs as well as Cluff’s dominant play in the paint over the closing five minutes. Fletcher Loyer scored 14 points for the Boilermakers, and Trey Kaufman-Renn totaled 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Trent Perry scored 15 points and had a career high-tying nine assists for UCLA. Tyler Bilodeau, who injured his right knee in the Bruins’ Friday win, did not play, and Donovan Dent exited in the first half with calf injury.
