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TOP 25-SCHEDULE
Villanova and Oklahoma stunned...Creighton's McDermott clicks for 35
UNDATED (AP) — It's one and done for the top seed in the Big East tournament. Regular season champ Villanova saw its hopes for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament field damaged when it lost to Seton Hall 64-63.
Sterling Gibbs hit a step-back jumper at the buzzer and Seton Hall to stun the No. 3 Wildcats in a Big East quarterfinal.
Eugene Teague had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the eighth-seeded Pirates, who advanced to the Big East tournament semifinals for the first time in 13 years. Seton Hall is 17-16. Villanova fell to 28-4.
In other tournament action involving ranked teams;
— Nick Johnson scored 14 points and T.J. McConnell added 13 as No. 4 Arizona overwhelmed Utah in record breaking fashion 71-39 to match the most lopsided game in Pac-12 tournament history. The 29-3 Wildcats set marks for fewest points allowed, fewest field goals (12) and lowest shooting percentage (25). Arizona also held the Utes to 13 points in the first half, another record. The Wildcats matched UCLA's 32-point win over Oregon State in 2006 to move into Friday's semifinals.
— Chris Jones scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half when fifth-ranked Louisville started their 92-31 rout of Rutgers in the American Athletic Conference tournament. It was the lowest scoring game by Rutgers since scoring 37 against Louisville in 2011. The Scarlet Knights had 17 turnovers in the first half compared to seven field goals. Louisville plays Houston in the AAC semifinals.
— Xavier Thames scored 15 points and had 7 assists to help eighth-ranked San Diego State crush Utah State 73-39 in the Mountain West tournament. The Aztecs play UNLV in Friday's Mountain West semifinals.
— Andrew Wiggins scored 30 points to lead No. 10 Kansas to a 77-70 win over Oklahoma State in overtime in the Big 12 tournament. Naadir Tharpe made four foul shots in the extra session to seal the victory for the top-seeded Jayhawks (24-8), who will face fourth-seeded Iowa State in Friday night's semifinals.
— Sean Kilpatrick scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Justin Jackson added 14 points as No. 13 Cincinnati escaped with a 61-58 victory over Central Florida in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament.
— Number-14 Creighton (KRAY'-tuhn) cruised past Butler 84-62 to reach the Big East semifinals. Doug McDermott led the Bluejays with 35 points and five rebounds.
— Melvin Ejim had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Dustin Hogue added 19 points and 10 boards and the No. 16 Iowa State held on for a 91-85 victory over Kansas State in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals. The Wildcats lost despite shooting 54 percent.
— Baylor opened a 21-point lead and upset 17th-ranked Oklahoma 78-73 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 championship. The Sooners made just 12 of 35 attempts from 3-point land as the Bears won their fifth in a row. Isaiah Austin had 18 points, five rebounds and five blocks.
— Number-19 Memphis fell to 21st-ranked Connecticut 72-53. Niels Griffey canned six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 24 for the Huskies, who will play Cincinnati in the AAC semifinals.
— The 20th-ranked New Mexico Lobos beat Fresno State 93-77 to reach the Mountain West semifinals. Cameron Bairstow and Alex Kirk each scored 21.
— LaQuinton Ross scored 19 points and Aaron Craft finished with 16, helping No. 24 Ohio State hang on for a 63-61 victory over Purdue in the Big Ten tournament. Nebraska is next up for the Buckeyes in the Big Ten semifinals.
— Jherrod Stiggers had five 3-pointers and scored 19 points to help Houston upset No. 25 SMU 68-64 in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Bulls steamroll Rockets by 24...Thunder revenge time
UNDATED (AP)— Mike Dunleavy scored all of his 21 points in the second half, Joakim Noah (JOH'-keem NOH'-ah) flirted with another triple-double and the Chicago Bulls posted a 111-87 wire-to-wire victory over the Houston Rockets, who have lost two straight.
Noah finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in 34 minutes. He was headed for his fourth triple-double of the season, but sat down with about three minutes left because of the lopsided score.
Kirk Hinrich scored 19 points for Chicago, going 5 for 6 on 3-pointers. Jeremy Lin was high man for Houston with 21.
In other NBA action:
— After being stunned by the Lakers last Sunday, the Oklahoma City Thunder got revenge. The Thunder built a 24-point lead after three quarters and crushed the Lakers 131-102. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant scored 29 points apiece.
— Atlanta downed Milwaukee 102-97. Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 22 points and eight assists. Kyle Korver scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter as the Hawks won back-to-back games for the first time in nearly six weeks.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Seven straight for the B's...Stamkos lights the lamp
UNDATED (AP) — Tuukka (TOO'-kuh) Rask made 21 saves and the Boston Bruins beat the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 for their seventh consecutive victory.
Zdeno Chara (ZAY'-noh CHAH'-rah) and Jarome Iginla (juh-ROHM' ih-GIHN'-luh) scored for Boston. The Bruins took over the top spot in the Eastern Conference with 93 points, one more than Pittsburgh.
In other NHL action:
— Steven Stamkos scored his first goal since returning from a major injury, Ryan Callahan had his first goal with Tampa Bay, and the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 5-4. Stamkos missed 45 games with a broken shin.
__ Alex Pietrangelo (puh-TRAN'-geh-loh) started a four-goal third period and Jaden Schwartz scored twice to help the NHL-leading St. Louis Blues beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-2. The Bluyes have won six of seven in building a four-point lead over Anaheim in the race for best record in the league.
— Carolina, desperately fighting for an Eastern Conference wild card berth, rallied with three goals in the final 8:12 to beat Buffalo 4-2. Alexander Semin (SEHM'-ihn) and Jiri Tlusty (YIH'-ree T'LOO'-stee) scored in a 1:55 span in the third period to give the 'Canes the lead.
— San Jose edged Columbus 4-3 in a shootout. Joe Pavelski had the lone shootout goal. Patrick Marleau scored twice for the Sharks in regulation.
— Zach Parise (puh-REE'-see) broke a tie goal early in the third period, and Darcy Kuemper stopped 29 shots to break the franchise rookie victory record in the Minnesota Wild's 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers.
NHL-STARS-PEVERLEY
Peverely released from hospital
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Dallas Stars forward Rich Peverley is out of the hospital and spending time with his teammates three days after he collapsed on the bench during a game.
The team says Peverley was released from St. Paul University Hospital in Dallas on Wednesday night. He was with the team during practice Thursday at headquarters in suburban Frisco.
Peverley is out for the season and will soon go to Cleveland for a procedure to fix an irregular heartbeat that was diagnosed in training camp.
NFL-MOVES
Patriots land Revis...Martin officially a 49er...Sproles to the Eagles
UNDATED (AP) — New England has agreed to contract terms with three-time All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis, according to his business manager.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers released the three-time All-Pro on Wednesday before he was due a $1.5 million bonus. Revis was cut after efforts to trade him and his $16 million salary failed.
The Patriots wasted little time in finding a replacement for Aqib Talib (ah-KEEB' tah-LEEB') who left for a six-year contract worth a reported $57 million with the Denver Broncos.
Elsewhere around the NFL:
— Jonathan Martin is officially a member of the San Francisco 49ers. Martin passed his physical to complete a trade that sent the offensive tackle from the Miami Dolphins to the Niners to be reunited with his college coach, Jim Harbaugh. Martin left the Dolphins last fall after accusing teammate Richie Incognito of bullying in a scandal that overshadowed Miami's 8-8 season.
— Oakland has signed free agent defensive end Justin Tuck to a two-year contract. Tuck joins the Raiders following nine seasons with the New York Giants during which he helped the team win two Super Bowl titles. Tuck has made two Pro Bowls and has 60.5 career sacks, 20 forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries in 127 career games.
— Carolina has released all-time receiving leader Steve Smith after he spent 13 years with the team. The decision comes one day after Smith's agent, Derrick Fox, told The Associated Press that the 13-year NFL veteran was not going to play for the Panthers next season.
The Panthers were unable to trade Smith, who was set to cost $7 million under this year's salary cap. Fox said the Panthers never asked the 34-year old Smith to restructure his current contract.
— Philadelphia has acquired running back and kick returner Darren Sproles from the New Orleans Saints for a fifth-round draft pick. Sproles is coming off one of his least productive seasons. He ranked in the bottom five among punt returners with a 6.7 yards per return average and was third-worst among kick returners with an average of 21.3. Sproles had 71 catches for 604 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 220 yards and two scores.
— The Bengals have released linebacker James Harrison, leaving the former Defensive Player of the Year looking for his third team in three seasons. The 35-year-old linebacker Harrison played in 15 games, starting 10, and finished 12th on the team in tackles. He had two sacks and one interception.
— The Arizona Cardinals have signed wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. to a three-year contract and agreed to terms on a two-year deal to keep linebacker Matt Shaughnessy.
— The San Diego Chargers agreed to terms on a two-year contract with backup quarterback Kellen Clemens and signed inside linebacker Kavell Conner to a three-year contract.
— Tennessee has signed quarterback Charlie Whitehurst to a multi-year contract in a deal that reunites him with Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt (WIHZ'-en-hunt). The 31-year-old Whitehurst spent the last two years as Philip Rivers' backup in San Diego, where Whisenhunt worked as offensive coordinator in 2013.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-FIESTA BOWL
Longtime bowl CEO sentenced to 8 months in prison
PHOENIX (AP) — A former longtime Fiesta Bowl chief executive has been sentenced to eight months in federal prison on Thursday after acknowledging that he participated in an illegal campaign contribution scheme.
John Junker was sentenced after pleading guilty two years ago to a conspiracy charge in the scheme in which bowl employees made illegal campaign contributions to politicians and were reimbursed by the nonprofit bowl.
Bowl employees were reimbursed at least $46,000 for such contributions.
MLB-SPRING TRAINING
Rollins in rift with Sandberg...Giambi sidelined
UNDATED (AP) — Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins has been benched for a third straight game in what appears to be a problem with manager Ryne Sandberg. Sandberg was not available for comment early Thursday. After the Phillies' 6-5 win over Baltimore on Wednesday, Sandberg had "no comment" when asked about Rollins' energy and positivity.
Rollins said he's healthy and unsure why manager Sandberg decided to bench him this week.
Elsewhere around the camps;
— Cleveland's Jason Giambi (jee-AHM'-bee) will be sidelined for about three-to-four weeks with a broken rib in his right side. The 43-year old was struck by a pitch in an exhibition game last week. The extent of the injury was revealed in an MRI that was taken after the discomfort increased.
— The Brewers will give Yovani Gallardo (gy-YAR'-doh) his fifth consecutive season opener start on March 31 against Atlanta. He will set a Brewers record for starts in consecutive openers and pull within one of Milwaukee's overall mark for openers set by Ben Sheets.
GOLF-VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Foursome tied for the lead
PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — Matt Every, Greg Chalmers, Danny Lee and Pat Perez shot 3-under 68's to share the lead after the first round of the Valspar Championship. Robert Garrigus (GEHR'-ih-guhs) is in a group that trail by one shot. Honda Classic runner-up Russell Knox was among those at 70.
Justin Rose, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 7, opened with a 71.
TENNIS-INDIAN WELLS
Li into semifinals
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Li Na (lee nah) beat Dominika Cibulkova (doh-mih-NEE'-kuh see-bool-KOH'-vuh) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in a rematch of their Australian Open final. That moves the Chinese star into the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open.
Sloane Stephens, the last American woman left in the field, lost Flavia Pennetta (FLAH'-vee-uh pehn-EHT'-uh) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 and will face Li in the semifinals. No. 2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska (ahg-nee-ESH'-kuh rahd-VAHN'-skuh) and Simona Halep (HAL'-ehp) meet in the other semifinal Friday.
SPORTS-MEDIA
Fowler replaces Musburger on Saturday nights
NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Fowler is taking over play-by-play responsibilities for the marquee Saturday night college football game on ABC.
ESPN announced that Fowler had signed a nine-year contract extension through 2023. The network said earlier that Brent Musburger was leaving "Saturday Night Football" and doing games for SEC Network.
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