Michigan takes title with 84-53 win at Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Nik Stauskas scored 24 points and No. 12 Michigan shot 70 percent from the 3-point line to win its first Big Ten title outright since 1986 with an 84-53 victory against Illinois on Tuesday night.
The Wolverines (22-7, 14-3 Big Ten) were 16 of 23 from 3-point range, including Stauskas' career-high seven.
Michigan had the game in hand by halftime with a 52-30 lead. The Wolverines hit five consecutive 3-pointers midway through the half to break the game open. The 15-point run turned widened Michigan's 20-17 lead to a comfortable 32-17.
Caris LeVert added 15 points for Michigan.
The Illini (17-13, 6-11) had won three in a row and had held four consecutive opponents to fewer than 50 points. The loss was their worst at home in the 51-year history of the arena now called the State Farm Center.
Rayvonte Rice led Illinois with 16 points.
No. 1 Florida beats South Carolina 72-46
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Michael Frazier II set a Florida record with 11 3-pointers to finish with a career-high 37 points and help the top-ranked Gators move a game from a perfect Southeastern Conference regular season with a 72-46 victory against South Carolina on Tuesday night.
Frazier kept the Gators (28-2, 17-0 SEC), who won their school-record 22nd in a row, in the game when his teammates struggled in the opening half. He added some on-target icing to the victory when Florida took control with a 23-5 run midway through the second half.
Frazier broke the 28-year-old Florida mark of Joe Lawrence, who made nine 3s against California on Dec. 27, 1986.
Mindaugus Kacinas had 12 points to lead South Carolina (11-19, 4-13), which was coming off a win against Kentucky.
The Gators can become the first team besides Kentucky to finish undefeated in SEC play since Alabama went 14-0 in 1956.
No. 7 Syracuse stunned 67-62 by Georgia Tech
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Trae Golden scored 16 points, including six clutch free throws in the final seconds, and Georgia Tech stunned struggling No. 7 Syracuse 67-62 on Tuesday night.
Syracuse (26-4, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) had lost three of four coming into the game and dropped three more spots in the rankings after starting the season with 25 consecutive wins and spending three weeks at No. 1.
Georgia Tech (14-16, 5-12) snapped a four-game losing streak.
It was the second consecutive home loss for Syracuse and cost the Orange a great chance to lock up a high seed in the conference tournament next week.
It was the final home game in the careers of seniors C.J. Fair and Baye Moussa Keita, and it was one they will long remember - for all the wrong reasons despite Fair's 28 points, which matched his career high.
Daniel Miller had 15 points and Robert Carter Jr. added 12 for Georgia Tech.
Georgetown beats No. 13 Creighton 75-63
WASHINGTON -- D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera had 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds Tuesday night, and Georgetown frustrated Doug McDermott until late in the game, holding off a rally led by the nation's leading scorer in a 75-63 win against No. 13 Creighton.
Markel Starks added 17 points and 11 assists, and Jabril Trawick had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Hoyas (17-12, 8-9 Big East), who shot 54 percent and advanced their cause as a bubble team for the NCAA tournament. They also still have a chance to be one of the six teams in the overhauled, 10-team Big East to get a bye in next week's conference tournament.
McDermott scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, making a series of 3-pointers that helped cut a 16-point deficit to five. He was 3 for 10 from the field in the first half and 9 for 23 for the game, including 4 for 11 from 3-point range.
Baylor gets NCAA boost, wins 74-61 against No. 16 Iowa State
WACO, Texas -- Brady Heslip scored 18 points, including five 3-pointers in the second half, and Baylor got a much-needed boost to its NCAA tournament hopes with a 74-61 victory against No. 16 Iowa State on Tuesday night.
There were 15 lead changes and four ties before Heslip put the Bears (20-10, 8-9 Big 12) ahead with a tiebreaking 3 with 2:14 left - the start of a game-ending 13-0 run. After a turnover by Iowa State, Kenny Chery hit a long jumper and then had another.
Iowa State (22-7, 10-7), in the mix for the No. 2 seed in next week's Big 12 tournament, lost its second road game in four days.
Cory Jefferson, like Heslip a Baylor senior playing his final home game, had 21 points and seven rebounds.
DeAndre Kane had 20 points for Iowa State and Dustin Hogue added 12. Melvin Ejim had only six points, 13 below his Big 12-leading average.
No. 25 Kentucky survives Alabama 55-48
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Julius Randle had 12 points and 11 rebounds and No. 25 Kentucky rallied past Alabama 55-48 on Tuesday night to end a two-game losing streak.
Needing a bounce after Saturday's loss at South Carolina with a huge hurdle looming this weekend at No. 1 Florida, the Wildcats (22-8, 12-5 Southeastern Conference) used a 15-2 second-half run to build a 43-34 lead. They added several smaller runs to hold off the stubborn Crimson Tide (12-18, 6-11) in their regular season home finale.
Kentucky avoided its first three-game losing streak under coach John Calipari and clinched second place in the conference.
It wasn't easy or pretty for the Wildcats, whose 33 percent shooting reflected their generally tentative play. But a couple of timely dunks by Dakari Johnson and 3-pointers by Aaron and Andrew Harrison keyed the run that helped put away Alabama.
Trevor Releford had 13 points for Alabama.
Johnson and James Young had nine points for Kentucky.
