BOULDER, Colo. — K.J. Simpson and Tristan da Silva led a second-half surge that carried Colorado to a 79-63 upset of No. 2 Arizona on Saturday, matching the highest-ranked opponent ever beaten by the Buffaloes.
Fans stormed the floor after the Buffs (19-10, 11-8 Pac-12) snapped the Wildcats’ nine-game winning streak. The loss by the nation’s second-ranked team behind No. 1 Gonzaga added to a shocking Saturday in which No. 3 Auburn, No. 4 Purdue, No. 5 Kansas and No. 6 Kentucky all lost, as did No. 9 Texas Tech.
Da Silva scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the second half and Simpson scored all but one of his 13 points after halftime.
Arizona (25-3, 15-2) led 37-32 at the break, but the Wildcats’ leading scorer, Bennedict Mathurin, was held scoreless in the second half after scoring 12 points in the first half. Azuolas Tubelis led the Wildcats with 13 points.
The Buffs held the ‘Cats scoreless over stretches of 4:27 and 3:59 in the second half to secure their biggest win since beating No. 2 Oklahoma State 57-53 on Feb. 12, 1992.
(17) TENNESSEE 67, (3) AUBURN 62: Santiago Vescovi scored 14 points and Zakai Zeigler had 11 of his 13 points in the second half to lead the Volunteers (21-7, 12-4 SEC) to a victory over the Tigers (25-4, 13-3) in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Kennedy Chandler had 13 and Josiah-Jordan James added 10 for the Volunteers, who improved their record at home to 15-0 this season.
The Tigers were led by Jabari Smith with 27 points. K.D. Johnson had 18 points as Auburn lost on the road for the third straight time.
Tennessee led by 10 with 2 minutes left in the game, but Auburn chipped away at the lead. Smith had a four-point play with 58 seconds left to cut the difference to three, then Zeigler hit a running jumper to push the lead back to five, 65-60.
MICHIGAN STATE 68, (4) PURDUE 65: Tyson Walker made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3 seconds left, helping the Spartans (19-9, 10-7 Big Ten) top the Boilermakers (24-5, 13-5) in East Lansing, Michigan
The Spartans gave Tom Izzo his 662nd victory, matching Bob Knight’s total at Indiana for the record by a coach at a Big Ten school.
The Boilermakers had won three straight and nine of 10 overall.
(10) BAYLOR 80, (5) KANSAS 70: Flo Thamba had 18 points, Jeremy Sochan had 17 and the Bears (24-5, 12-4 Big 12) overcame a big early deficit to beat the Jayhawks (23-5, 12-3) in Waco, Texas, avenging an embarrassing loss three weeks earlier and keeping the Jayhawks from clinching a share of their 20th Big 12 title.
The Bears didn’t take the lead until the opening minute after halftime, and went ahead to stay at 65-63 on Thamba’s jumper with 4:07 left. That came after Ochai Abaji, who had 27 points for Kansas, made a tying 3-pointer.
The Jayhawks had their four-game winning streak snapped and missed a chance to lay claim to another Big 12 title. They still have three games left, including a game postponed from Jan. 1.
(18) ARKANSAS 75, (6) KENTUCKY 73: JD Notae scored 30 points and Jaylin Williams had 4 of his 16 points in the final 1:22 as the Razorback (23-6, 12-4 SEC) took down the Wildcats (23-6, 12-4) in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in a matchup of teams peaking late in the season.
Notae finished with eight assists, finding Williams for a jump shot to give the Razorbacks a 73-70 advantage with 1:22 to go that the Wildcats could not overcome. Williams finished with his sixth consecutive double-double, grabbing 12 rebounds.
Arkansas has won 13 of its last 14 games, including over then-No. 1 Auburn, to move into a two-way tie with Kentucky for second place in the Southeastern Conference standings with just two more games to play.
(7) DUKE 97, SYRACUSE 72: Mark Williams scored a season-high 28 points, Paolo Banchero had 21 and AJ Griffin added 20 as the Blue Devils (25-4, 15-3 ACC) raced to an early lead and beat the Orange (15-14, 9-9) in Syracuse, New York.
It was the final regular-season meeting between the two winningest coaches in Division I history — Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski (1,195), who’s retiring after the season, and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim (997). It was Krzyzewski’s 200th road win in the Atlantic Coast Conference, extending his record.
Duke is closing in on its first ACC regular-season championship since 2010. The Blue Devils were a game ahead of Notre Dame, which beat Georgia Tech on Saturday night. The Blue Devils have a seven-game road winning streak, the longest active one by a Power 5 team.
TCU 69, (9) TEXAS TECH 66: Mike Miles scored 26 points, Xavier Cork dunked for the go-ahead bucket late and the Horned Frogs (18-9, 7-8 Big 12) boosted their NCAA Tournament hopes by rallying for a upset of Red Raiders (22-7, 11-5) in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Horned Frogs trailed by 11 points early in the second half and went ahead for the first time after the break on a 3-pointer by Francisco Farabello for a 61-60 lead.
(11) PROVIDENCE 72, CREIGHTON 51: A.J. Reeves made seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points to help the Friars (24-3, 14-2) win their first Big East regular-season championship with a victory over the Bluejays in Providence, Rhode Island.
Nate Watson and Al Durham each added 12 points, and Justin Minaya had 11 rebounds for Providence.
Ryan Kalkbrenner paced the Bluejays with 13 points, and Alex O’Connell added 12 points. Creighton shot 23% in the second half.
(12) UCLA 94, OREGON STATE 55: Tyger Campbell scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Bruins (21-6, 13-5 Pac-12) to a win over the Beavers (3-24, 1-6) in Corvallis, Oregon. The Bruins’ junior point guard was 8 of 10 from the field, made four 3-pointers, and had five assists.
(13) WISCONSIN 66, RUTGERS 61: Johnny Davis scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, and the Badgers (23-5, 14-4 Big Ten) took over sole possession of first place in the Big Ten Conference with a victory over the Scarlet Knights (16-12, 10-8) in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Brad Davison added 14 points, Chucky Hepburn had 13 and Tyler Wahl had 11 as the Badgers opened a game lead in the conference over No. 4 Purdue, which was beat by Michigan State earlier in the day.
(19) MURRAY STATE 70, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 68: Justice Hill scored nine straight points in the final three minutes, and the Racers (28-2, 18-0 OVC) beat the Redhawks (13-17, 8-9) in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to cap a perfect Ohio Valley Conference regular season.
Murray State is the sixth team in OVC history to go undefeated in conference play. It is the first to go 18-0, with the conference expanded its league schedule by two games this season. The Racers were also the last OVC team to go unbeaten in conference play during the 2014-15 season.
(20) TEXAS 82, WEST VIRGINIA 81: Timmy Allen scored 15 of his season-high 26 points over the final 10 minutes, and the Longhorns (21-8, 10-6 Big 12) edged the Mountaineers (14-15, 3-13) in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Marcus Carr had 15 points for the Longhorns, and Jase Febres scored a season-high 14.
(24) ALABAMA 90, SOUTH CAROLINA 71: Jaden Shackelford had 21 points and Jahvon Quinerly added 20 to lead the Crimson Tide 19-10, 9-7 SEC) to a victory over the Gamecocks (17-11, 8-8) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The Crimson Tide built a big lead and brushed off a second-half comeback attempt by the Gamecocks. Alabama has won five of its last six games.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
(2) STANFORD 63, WASHINGTON 56: Anna Wilson stole an inbound pass and scored the go-ahead basket with 1:05 to play, and the Cardinals (25-3, 16-0 Pac-12) avoided a major upset in beating the Huskies (7-15, 2-12) in Stanford, California.
Cameron Brink had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Stanford, including two critical boards on the defensive end the final 40 seconds. Lexie Hull added 15 points.
Wilson made three of four free throws in the final 34 seconds to make it a two-possession game when the Huskies called timeout with 22 seconds remaining.
(5) BAYLOR 85, KANSAS 77: NaLyssa Smith scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, and the Bears (23-5, 13-3 Big 12) remained tied for the Big 12 lead with a victory over the Jayhawks (19-7, 10-6) in Waco, Texas.
Smith only had one assist, but that came on Ja’Mee Asberry’s 3-pointer midway through the third quarter that finally put Baylor ahead to stay.
It was Smith’s 19th double-double this season. Asberry finished with 19 points while Queen Egbo had 14 points and nine rebounds.
(9) IOWA STATE 71, TEXAS TECH 55: Ashley Joens scored 24 points as the Cyclones (24-4, 13-3 Big 12) pulled away for a win over the Red Raiders (10-17, 3-13) in Ames, Iowa.
Joens hit nine of 14 of shots and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Cyclones assured themselves at least a share of the conference lead heading into a Monday showdown with Baylor.
Emily Ryan added 11 points and nine assists.
(12) ARIZONA 68, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 59: Taylor Chavez hit five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 18 points and the Wildcats (20-6, 10-6 Pac-12) defeated the Trojans (12-15, 5-12) in Tucson, Arizona.
Shaina Pellington added 14 points, Lauren Ware had 12 with 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season and Sam Thomas scored 10 as the Wildcats found a way to win without leading scorer Cate Reese.
(19) BYU 82, PACIFIC 62: Shaylee Gonzales scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds to spark the Cougars to a rout of Pacific (6-22, 3-14) in Stockton, California.
The Cougars cap a 25-2 regular season and earn the West Coast Conference’s top seed into next week’s tournament in Las Vegas with a 15-1 conference record. BYU earns a bye into the first of two semifinal games on Monday, March 7 in Las Vegas. Pacific, the No. 10 seed into the tournament, faces a first-round game Thursday afternoon.
(20) OKLAHOMA 72, KANSAS STATE 69: Taylor Robertson beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer to give the Sooners (22-6, 11-5 Big 12) a dramatic victory over the Wildcats (18-10, 8-9) in Norman, Oklahoma.
Robertson took a pass from Nydia Lampkin along the left sideline and drilled the 3-pointer as time was running out. The shot capped a wild final four minutes in which six of the last seven made baskets were 3-pointers. Twice Kansas State tied the score with a 3-pointer, including Laura Macke’s shot that tied it with 22 seconds left. The Sooners were 5 for 20 from 3-point distance before making their last three in the closing stretch.
(24) FLORIDA GULF COAST 78, JACKSONVILLE 55: Kierstan Bell and Tishara Morehouse combined to score 44 points to spark the Eagles (26-2, 15-1 ASC) to a win over the Dolphins (15-12, 8-8) in Fort Meyers, Florida close out the regular season with 26 wins in 28 games.
Bell, in her second game back after missing nine games with an injury, and Morehouse combined to score 43 points Thursday in a 69-61 win at Liberty.
(25) OREGON 73, UTAH 65: Sydney Parrish scored 18 points and the Ducks (19-10, 11-6 Pac-12) secured the second seed in the Pac-12 tournament with a win over the Utes (17-10 8-7) in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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