Arizona forward Tobe Awaka (30) shoots during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against UCF in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Brayden Burries had 21 points, Tobe Awaka had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and second-ranked Arizona blew most of a big first-half lead before pulling away again for a 81-59 victory over UCF in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday.

Koa Peat also had 12 points for the No. 1 seed Wildcats (30-2), who will take a seven-game winning streak into a matchup with No. 7 Iowa State — which beat No. 16 Texas Tech in its quarterfinal — on Friday night for a spot in the conference championship game.

Themus Fulks had 14 points to lead eighth-seeded UCF (21-11). Jordan Burks had 10.

There was a scary moment in the second half when the Knights’ John Bol fell to the floo r clutching his chest. The 7-foot-2 sophomore from South Sudan had to be helped to the locker room and the exact nature of the problem was unclear.

The Wildcats looked fresh and feisty from the moment the ball was tipped, perhaps taking advantage of UCF’s tired legs following its second-round overtime win over Cincinnati, and roaring to a 35-8 lead over the first 13 minutes of the game.

The Knights actually outscored the Wildcats the rest of the first half Thursday, but they still faced a massive 46-30 deficit.

NO. 1 DUKE 80, FLORIDA STATE 79

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Isaiah Evans made seven 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 32 points, Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year Cameron Boozer added 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Duke survived a scare from Florida State to beat the Seminoles in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

The Seminoles had a chance at an upset after Chauncey Wiggins blocked Boozer with seven seconds left, but Robert McCray V’s 3 at the buzzer rimmed out.

Maliq Brown came up with two huge defensive plays to turn the momentum of the game for Duke, had a 19-2 run in the second half after trailing by eight with 13 minutes left. Brown had 12 rebounds.

The Blue Devils (30-2) outrebounded Florida State 46-25 but needed to overcame 28 points from Lajae Jones and 25 from McCray for their ninth straight win. The Seminoles were 11 of 28 on 3s.

Evans, who played high school basketball at nearby North Mecklenburg High, had 28 points against the Seminoles in Duke’s 91-87 victory in January. He was 11 of 20 from the field on Thursday night and 7 of 16 from beyond the arc.

NO. 5 HOUSTON 73, BYU 66

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kingston Fleming scored 17 points as Houston held off AJ Dybantsa and defeated BYU in the Big 12 quarterfinals.

Dybantsa played all 40 minutes, finishing with 26 points, but he was held to 3-of-10 shooting in the second half. He came into the game just 25 points shy of Kevin Durant’s record of 92, set in the 2007 Big 12 tournament. His 3-pointer with 4 seconds left gave him the record.

BYU was playing in its third game in as many days, while Houston was playing in its first since Saturday.

Emanuel Sharp scored 13 points for Houston (27-5), Joseph Tugler added 12 and Chris Cenac Jr. had 10.

BYU (23-11) also got 15 points from Robert Wright.

NO. 6 UCONN 93, XAVIER 68

NEW YORK (AP) — Tarris Reed Jr. had 17 points and 14 rebounds as UConn cruised past Xavier in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament, bouncing back from a costly loss last weekend in the regular-season finale.

The Huskies (28-4) led by 22 in the first half against Xavier (15-18), which got as close as 13 early in the second before coach Dan Hurley’s team pulled away again and left no doubt. Solo Ball’s 3-pointer with just over 5 1/2 minutes remaining pushed the margin to 25.

UConn’s talent was too much for the 10th-seeded Musketeers, who beat No. 7 seed Marquette 89-87 in the first round Wednesday night. Reed was one of three Huskies players in double figures, with Ball scoring 19 points and Alex Karaban 15.

UConn outrebounded the Musketeers 40-28 and outscored them 42-16 in the paint while shooting 57% from the field. Richard Pitino’s group was just 19 of 51 for 37% shooting, with Filip Borovicanin leading all scorers with 22 points.

NO. 7 IOWA ST. 75, NO. 16 TEXAS TECH 53

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Joshua Jefferson had 18 points and 13 rebounds, longtime running mate Tamin Lipsey scored 20 and Iowa State used a big second-half run to bury Texas Tech in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.

The fifth-seeded Cyclones (27-6) fell behind by 12 early in the game, pulled ahead by halftime, then used a 19-3 run shortly out of the break to earn a Friday night date with eighth-seeded UCF or second-ranked and No. 1 seed Arizona for a spot in the title game.

LeJuan Watts had led the Red Raiders (22-10) with 12 points. Christian Anderson had 10 before he appeared to strain a muscle while slipping on the glass court being used by the Big 12 for its postseason tournament with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the game.

Several players in both the women’s and men’s tourneys have complained of its slick nature.

The teams traded haymakers to start the game — No. 4 seed Texas Tech opened on a 17-5 run and Iowa State countered a few minutes later with a 15-2 charge of its own — before the game settled into a back-and-forth battle between top 20 teams.

NO. 10 VIRGINIA 81, NC STATE 74

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Malik Thomas scored 16 points, Thijs De Ridder added 15 points and Virginia defeated N.C. State for the third time this season in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Coach Ryan Odom earned the win on the same floor where he led 16th-seeded UMBC to a historic and shocking upset over then-No. 1 overall seed Virginia in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

Jacari White added 13 points as the Cavaliers (28-5) shot 54.8% from the field in the second half and made 6 of 13 3-point attempts to pull away.

Paul McNeil Jr. had 26 points and Van-Allen Lubin added 14 for the Wolfpack (20-13).

NC State had lost by 15 points at home and 29 points on the road earlier this season to Virginia and never led either game. Wolfpack coach Will Wade said before the game his team has “been outclassed” by the Cavaliers.

NO. 13 ST. JOHN'S 85, PROVIDENCE 72

NEW YORK (AP) — Zuby Ejiofor had 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as St. John’s opened the defense of last year’s Big East Tournament title by blowing out Providence in the quarterfinals.

Bryce Hopkins added 14 points and 13 boards against his former team, helping the top-seeded Red Storm (26-6) advance to play fourth-seeded Seton Hall or No. 5 seed Creighton in the first semifinal game Friday evening at Madison Square Garden.

Oziyah Sellers had 14 points and reserve Ian Jackson also scored 14 for the Johnnies, who topped the Friars 30-4 in bench points and outrebounded them 51-30 in what’s expected to be Kim English’s final game as Providence coach.

Multiple reports citing anonymous sources last week indicated the school informed English he will be fired after the season, his third at Providence.

St. John’s scored the first nine points and led throughout, building a 23-point cushion in the opening half. No. 9 seed Providence (15-18) trimmed it to 11 after halftime, but the Johnnies pushed it back to 24 with a little more than four minutes left.

NO. 14 KANSAS 78, TCU 73

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Darryn Peterson scored 24 points in a season-high 37 minutes and Kansas beat TCU in the last quarterfinal of the Big 12 tournament.

The Jayhawks will face No. 5 Houston, which defeated BYU 73-66 in the quarterfinals, in the second semifinal Friday night.

Peterson struggled from the floor, missing 12 of his 17 shots, including a breakaway two-handed dunk with the Jayhawks leading 68-63 with just over four minutes left. But he made up for it from the line, going 13 for 16.

Flory Bidunga added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Kansas (23-9), while Bryson Tiller and Elmarko Jackson also had 13 points.

David Punch scored 24 points for TCU (22-11). Liutauras Lelevicius had 14 and Jayden Pierre added 11.

NO. 18 PURDUE 91, NORTHWESTERN 68

CHICAGO (AP) — Braden Smith had 16 assists to climb into second on the NCAA career list, and Purdue outmuscled Northwestern for a victory that moved the Boilermakers into the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

Trey Kaufman-Renn and Oscar Cluff each scored 19 points for Purdue (24-8), and Cluff also grabbed 10 rebounds. The Boilermakers outrebounded the Wildcats 35-23 and enjoyed a 38-18 advantage in points in the paint.

Smith is up to 1,045 assists in 142 career games, passing Ed Cota (1,030) and Chris Corchiani (1,038) with another smooth performance for the Boilermakers. Bobby Hurley is No. 1 with 1,076 assists in 140 games for Duke from 1989-93.

Next up for Purdue is No. 11 Nebraska on Friday. The second-seeded Cornhuskers had a bye through the first three rounds.

Nick Martinelli had 25 points for Northwestern (15-19), which advanced with wins over Penn State and Indiana on the first two days of the tournament. Jayden Reid finished with 19 points and nine assists.

CLEMSON 80, NO. 19 NORTH CAROLINA 79

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Nick Davidson scored 17 points, and Clemson nearly allowed an 18-point second-half lead to slip away before holding on to beat North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Dillon Hunter had 14 points and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final minute for the Tigers (24-9), who had six players finish in double figures in scoring.

Henri Veesaar had a mammoth game for the Tar Heels with 28 points and 17 rebounds, while Derek Dixon finished with 16 points including three late 3s to help North Carolina (24-8) climb back into the game.

UMASS 87, NO. 20 MIAMI (OHIO) 83

CLEVELAND (AP) — Miami (Ohio) dropped its Mid-American Conference Tournament opener to UMass, spoiling the last perfect record in Division I men’s basketball.

Daniel Hankins-Sanford made a tiebreaking layup with 29 seconds remaining, and the Minutemen escaped with victory in a quarterfinal game that had 12 lead changes and 10 ties.

The RedHawks (31-1) were the fifth men’s Division I program this century to go undefeated during the regular season. Now it’s the second to get tripped up in its conference tournament. St. Joseph’s lost to Xavier in the 2004 Atlantic 10 quarterfinals but was still a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Miami was the first squad since Gonzaga in 2020-21 to not have a loss going into a conference tournament.

The RedHawks had eight one-possession games during the regular season, including their last three coming into the MAC Tournament.

There were some doubts about the RedHawks earning an at-large berth. Those quieted after a win over Ohio last Friday but might perk up again after this.

NO. 23 WISCONSIN 85, WASHINGTON 82

CHICAGO (AP) — John Blackwell scored a career-high 34 points with six 3-pointers and Wisconsin hung on to beat Washington in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Nick Boyd added 23 points with five 3-pointers while Andrew Rohde hit two free throws in the closing seconds to stretch it to a three-point game after the Badgers (23-9) let an 18-point lead in the second half shrink to one. The Huskies’ Zoom Diallo missed a pull-up 3 just before the buzzer.

Wisconsin will face No. 9 Illinois, which had a bye through the first three rounds, in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Washington’s Hannes Steinbach cut it to 81-79 with a driving layup with just two minutes remaining. Diallo made it a one-point game a minute later when he got fouled on a reverse layup and hit the second three throw after missing the first.

Blackwell then pulled up in the paint and scored for Wisconsin to make it 83-80 with 49 seconds remaining. Diallo cut it to one with a driving layup with 17 seconds left after the Huskies’ Quimari Peterson missed a 3.

Rohde made it 85-82 when he hit those two free throws with eight seconds remaining, and the Badgers hung on when Diallo missed the potential tying 3 from the top of the key.

MIAMI 78, NO. 24 LOUISVILLE 73

CHARLOTTE (AP) — Malik Reneau scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half, Tru Washington added 17 and Miami beat Louisville to advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals.

Reneau was 5 of 9 from the field and 7 of 8 from the foul line after halftime.

Tre Donaldson scored 14 points for Miami (25-7), which moves on to face No. 10 Virginia in Saturday’s semifinals.

Ryan Conwell had 22 points and nine rebounds and J’Vonne Hadley added 19 points for the Cardinals (24-10).

Miami avenged a 92-89 loss to Louisville just five days earlier. This time, points weren’t as easy to come by.

Louisville, playing its second game in two days after failing to secure a top-four seed and a double bye despite its national ranking, led 38-37 at the break after a physical first half that saw three Cardinals players leave with bloodied faces.

The Hurricanes used a swarming defense to take control early in the second half. Dante Allen came up with a steal and fastbreak layup for a three-point play to give Miami a 49-41 lead.

Miami scored 17 points off turnovers.

NO. 25 TENNESSEE 72, AUBURN 62

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nate Ament scored 27 points as the Tennessee Volunteers rallied from an 11-point deficit and beat Auburn to reach the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

The fifth-seeded Volunteers (22-10) will play No. 22 Vanderbilt on Friday afternoon for a slot in the semifinals.

Ament started and played 32 minutes after sitting out the last two games with an injured right knee and ankle. Tennessee wouldn’t have had a chance without the freshman.

Auburn led 49-39 on a bucket by Keyshawn Hall when Ament started a 22-2 run for Tennessee by scoring the first 10 points. Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s layup then tied it up at 51 with 7:34 left, and Amari Evans’ free throw gave the Vols their first lead since the opening minutes.

Ament, who scored 17 of his 27 in the second half, capped the spurt with a free throw off a technical foul on Auburn coach Steven Pearl for a 61-51 lead with 3:56 left.

Gillespie finished with 15 points for Tennessee.

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News from © The Associated Press, 2026