Update on the latest in sports:


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 9-10 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

T25 BASKETBALL-TOURNAMENTS

Finalists and champions

UNDATED (AP) — Providence, UCLA, Louisville, Iowa State and New Mexico have claimed an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament by winning their conference tourneys.

Providence has its first Big East crown since 1994. Bryce Cotton scored 23 points and the Friars neutralized Creighton in the first half of a 65-56 victory over the 14th-ranked Bluejays. Providence held the Bluejays to a season-low 17 points in taking a nine-point halftime lead.

National scoring leader Doug McDermott finished with 27 points for Creighton, nine coming before intermission.

UCLA is the Pac-12 tournament champion following a 75-71 upset against fourth-ranked Arizona. Kyle Anderson finished with 21 points, 15 rebounds and five assists, while Jordan Adams added 19 points to the Bruins' 26th victory.

Wildcats guard Nick Johnson led all scorers with 22 points.

Fifth-ranked Louisville has won the inaugural American Athletic Conference tournament by downing No. 21 Connecticut 71-61. Montrezl Harrell led the Cardinals with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Russ Smith chipped in 19 points and five steals.

Louisville won each of its tournament games by at least 10 points.

DeAndre Kane scored 17 points and Georges Niang (nee-ANG') added 13 and No. 16 Iowa State beat Baylor 74-65 and won its first Big 12 tournament title in 14 years. Naz Long and Dustin Hogue had 12 points apiece, and Melvin Ejim (EH'-jihm) finished with 10 points and nine rebounds for the fourth-seeded Cyclones.

No. 20 New Mexico rules over the Mountain West Conference following a 64-58 triumph against eighth-ranked San Diego St. Cameron Bairstow provided 17 points and nine rebounds for the 27-6 Lobos, who also got 16 points from Kendall Williams.

Top-ranked Florida has advanced to the SEC title game while running its team-record winning streak to 25 games.

Patric Young scored 16 points and the Gators chomped away at a seven-point halftime deficit to beat Tennessee 56-49. Scottie Wilbekin (WIHL'-beh-kihn) finished with 14 points and Casey Prather had 12 to help Florida pick up its 31st victory and improve to 20-0 in the conference.

Next up for the Gators is unranked Kentucky, which earned a 70-58 victory against Georgia. Aaron Harrison broke out of shooting slump with 22 points and Julius Randle added 12 and 11 rebounds.

It will be sixth-ranked Virginia against No. 7 Duke in the ACC title game on Sunday. Joe Harris scored 12 points and Anthony Gill hit a pair of key free throws with 8 ½ seconds left as the Cavaliers topped Pittsburgh 51-48 to reach the conference title game for the first time in 20 years. Jabari Parker scored 20 points and Rasheed Sulaimon (SOO'-lih-mahn) added 16 to lead the Blue Devils past North Carolina State 75-67 and into the final.

Sunday's Big Ten final will have state rivals Michigan taking on Michigan State. Nik Stauskas had 18 points and the eighth-ranked Wolverines squandered a 12-point, second-half lead before rallying for a 72-69 win against No. 24 Ohio State. The 22nd-ranked Spartans got 18 points from Adreian Payne in an 83-75 win over No. 12 Wisconsin in the other Big Ten semifinal.

No. 23 VCU has a meeting with Saint Joseph's in the Atlantic 10 title game on Sunday. Treveon Graham scored 22 points and Briante Weber added 16 as the Rams reached the league title game for the fourth time in five seasons by silencing George Washington 74-55. Saint Joseph's is in the tournament finale for the first time in six years after Halil Kanacevic (kah-nah-SEH'-vihch) had 26 points and 17 rebounds in the Hawks' 67-48 rout of St. Bonaventure.

Checking out the other tournaments:

— DJ Evans scored 16 points and Peter Hooley had 15 as Albany defeated Stony Brook 69-60 in the America East title game, putting the Great Danes in the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.

— Daniel Mullings contributed 18 points and nine boards as New Mexico State won the WAC (wak) title for the third straight year, clobbering Idaho 77-55.

— Tulsa is in the NCAA tourney for the first time in 11 years after James Woodard scored 27 points to lead the Golden Hurricane to a 69-60 victory against Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA final.

— Kyle Tresnak scored 27 points and Davion Berry added 19 in Weber State's 88-67 romp over North Dakota 88-67 in the Big Sky tournament finale.

— Aaric Murray had 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead Texas Southern to a 78-73 win over Prairie View in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game.

— The Southland Conference title belongs to Stephen F. Austin following Thomas Walkup's 19-point performance in a 68-49 trouncing of Sam Houston State.

— Western Michigan earned its first trip to the NCAA tournament in 10 years as David Brown provided 32 points and Tucker Haymond had 21 in a 98-77 pounding of Toledo in the Mid-American Conference title game.

— The MEAC (MEE'-ak) title belongs to North Carolina Central after Jeremy Ingram poured in 29 points to lead the Eagles past Morgan State 71-62.

— Sunday's Sun Belt title game is set after Georgia St. clobbered Arkansas St. 72-45 before Louisiana-Lafayette nipped Western Kentucky 73-72.

NBA-SCHEDULE

Pacers widen lead...76ers fall again...Noah lifts Bulls

UNDATED (AP) — The Indiana Pacers staged a 25-point comeback that allowed them to increase their lead in the NBA's Eastern Conference.

Paul George had 30 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as Indiana rallied from 25 down in the second quarter to beat Detroit 112-104 in overtime. Evan Turner had 20 points for the Pacers, who trailed by six entering the fourth quarter before posting their third straight win. Indiana also widened its lead in the East to 3 ½ games over Miami.

Also in the NBA:

— Philadelphia tied a team record with its 20th straight loss as Mike Conley scored 19 points and Zach Randolph added 14 to lead Memphis to a 103-77 laugher against the 76ers. The streak matches the team mark set in 1972-73, when the 76ers established an NBA record with 73 losses.

— Chicago was a 94-87 winner against Sacramento behind Joakim (JOH'-keem) Noah's 23 points and 11 rebounds. Taj Gibson scored seven of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls avenged a 27-point loss to the Kings last month.

— Drew Gooden got 11 of his 21 in the final quarter and the Wizards overcame a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit for a 101-94 win over Brooklyn. John Wall had a team-high 33 points for the Wizards, who held the Nets without a field goal for the final 6:22.

— Atlanta picked up its third straight win as Paul Millsap contributed 24 points and 11 rebounds to a 97-92 decision over Denver. Jeff Teague added 15 points and 10 assists to help the Hawks remain 3 ½ games ahead of New York for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth.

— Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points and Tim Hardaway added 20 in the Knicks' season-high sixth consecutive win, a 115-94 romp over Milwaukee. New York shot 55 percent and led by as many as 25 against a team that fell to a league-worst 13-53.

NBA-NETS

Nets retain Collins

NEW YORK (AP) — Jason Collins has been signed for the rest of the season by the Brooklyn Nets. The NBA's first openly gay player has finished his second 10-day contract, which meant the Nets had to sign him for the remainder of the season if they wanted to keep him. He's proven to have been a reliable big man on a team that has lost center Brook Lopez for the season and has recently been without Kevin Garnett because of back spasms.

NHL-SCHEDULE

Miller time in Busch country...Bruins improve Eastern position

UNDATED (AP) — Ryan Miller continues to play well since the St. Louis Blues acquired him from Buffalo.

Miller is 6-0-1 following the trade after turning back 30 shots in a 4-1 triumph at Nashville. He blanked the Predators until Eric Nystrom scored with 3:10 remaining.

Patrik Berglund scored twice for the Blues, who've won seven of eight and improved to 19-0-2 against the Central Division.

The Boston Bruins were able to stretch both their winning streak and their lead in the NHL's Eastern Conference.

The B's picked up their eighth straight win as Jarome Iginla (juh-ROHM' ih-GIHN'-luh) scored twice and backup goalie Chad Johnson made 29 saves in a 5-1 triumph over Carolina. Milan Lucic had a goal and two assists for the Bruins, whose longest winning streak in 2 ½ years has them three points ahead of second-place Pittsburgh in the East.

The Penguins were blanked 4-0 in Philadelphia as Steve Mason made 25 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and 23rd of his career. Matt Read furnished a pair of goals for the Flyers, who remain in a five-way battle for second place in the Metropolitan Division.

Also on ice:

— Francis Bouillon (BOOL'-yahn) scored 86 seconds into overtime to complete Montreal's remarkable comeback in a 5-4 win over Ottawa. The Senators led 4-1 until Lars Eller, Brian Gionta (jee-AHN'-tah) and David Desharnais (day-ahr-NAY') scored in the final 3:22 of regulation, the last coming with one second left.

— Ben Bishop earned his fifth shutout of the year and set a Tampa Bay single-season record by picking up his 31st victory in a 3-0 victory against New Jersey. Michael Kostka had a goal and an assist as the Lightning posted their second straight win since a five-game skid.

— Ryan Johansen scored a disputed goal in the fourth shootout round to lift Columbus to a 2-1 victory over Minnesota. Johansen's shot initially was ruled a rebound, but a video review showed that Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper (KEHM'-pur) did not touch the puck.

— Kyle Okposo (oh-POH'-soh) had a goal and an assist to back Anders Nilsson's 33 saves in the New York Islanders' 4-1 triumph over Buffalo.

NFL-TRANSACTIONS

More free agent deals worked out

UNDATED (AP) — NFL teams continue to shape their rosters through free agency with the draft still weeks away.

The Washington Redskins have announced the signing of free agent cornerback Tracy Porter, who has 10 career interceptions in six NFL seasons with New Orleans, Denver and Oakland.

A person familiar with the situation says the Carolina Panthers have agreed to terms on a two-year contract with Saints free agent safety and two-time Pro Bowl selection Roman Harper.

The Seattle Seahawks and tight end Zach Miller have agreed to a restructured contract that should save the Super Bowl champs additional salary cap space.

The Browns have signed free agent running back Ben Tate, who rushed for 771 yards with Houston last season.

The Patriots have continued the revamping of their defensive backfield with the acquisition of cornerback Brandon Browner.

GOLF-VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP

Garrigus looks good

PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — Robert Garrigus (GAR'-ih-guhs) remains the leader at the PGA's Valspar Championship, but his three-stroke advantage has been trimmed to one shot over Kevin Na through three rounds.

Garrigus missed two short putts on the back nine and had to settle for a 1-under 70, leaving him 8-under through 54 holes. John Senden is two back following a 7-under 64.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

Chasing Langer

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Bernhard Langer (LAHN'-gur) still tops the leaderboard through two rounds of the 54-hold Champions Tour event in Newport Beach. Langer fired a 5-under-par 66 for a 13-under total, two strokes better than Kenny Perry and Chien Soon Lu.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent NBA stories

Related topics

NBA
The Associated Press

    ARE YOU GAME?

    From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast