Iowa State 78, No. 17 Kansas 66

Lindell Wigginton found his way to Iowa State from Canada, Marial Shayok took a detour through the University of Virginia, and Michael Jacobson started his career at the University of Nebraska.

Three players from three very different backgrounds now have something in common: a title.

The trio helped the fifth-seeded Cyclones race to a big early lead against Kansas on Saturday night, then contributed to enough crucial stops down the stretch, preserving a victory over the Jayhawks in the Big 12 Tournament finale at Sprint Center.

"When you do something special, you win a championship, you got a connection for the rest of your life," said Cyclones coach Steve Prohm, who brought together his team from far and wide.

"Hopefully this is just step one. We'll enjoy this for a while, figure out where we're going for the NCAA Tournament and then we'll focus on that."

Wigginton finished with 17 points, Shayok had 15 on his way to winning tournament MVP, and Jacobson finished with 14 for the Cyclones (23-11), who became the lowest-seeded team ever to win the conference tournament. They also improved to 2-0 against Kansas (25-9) in the finals.

"I think it was our best team win of the year because it was gritty," said Shayok, who like Jacobson sat out last season after transferring. "Everybody stepped up."

Dedric Lawson had 18 points and Devon Dotson added 17 for the third-seeded Jayhawks, whose last chance to win some hardware will be the NCAA Tournament. Their run of 14 consecutive regular-season crowns ended last weekend, and they failed to defend their Big 12 Tournament title.

"The way we competed, we showed some signs where we really wanted to win this game," Dotson said. "But they hit some tough shots. We were missing some of our easy shots we usually make."

Meanwhile, the Cyclones made a tremendous about-face during their stay in Kansas City.

They arrived having lost five of their last six regular-season games, and looked rudderless in losses to Texas and lowly West Virginia. But beginning with a blowout of Baylor and continuing with a quarterfinal win over regular-season champ Kansas State, the Cyclones found their stride.

The Jayhawks, still looking for their own, were fortunate to trail 32-22 at halftime.

Lawson, who had 24 points in the semifinals, was 2 of 11 from the field. Marcus Garrett was 0 for 6 from the floor and 1 of 4 from the foul line. Quentin Grimes was 0 or 4 from beyond the arc after hitting five 3-pointers in their win over the Mountaineers on Friday night.

All told, the Jayhawks shot 27.8 percent from the field and missed all nine of their 3-point attempts in the first half. They also were just 2 of 8 from the free-throw line.

"Just one of those nights," Grimes said. "Every one of the shots we put up was a good shot."

Iowa State had its own trouble on the offensive end of the floor, getting five shots swatted into the seats. But the Cyclones were effective at getting to the rim, and easy layups by Wigginton and Tyrese Haliburton allowed them to take control.

Their lead swelled to 41-24 early in the second half. And even when the Jayhawks managed to nip into it, they would inevitably miss an open layup or throw the ball away.

Or, Jacobson would knock down an unlikely 3-pointer.

That was the case when the Jayhawks trimmed the deficit to 45-35 with 14 minutes to go. Iowa State's big man calmly drained one from the top of the arc — all Kansas coach Bill Self could do was smile in disbelief — and Steve Prohm's squad promptly ripped off seven straight points.

"We just didn't make those plays that you need in order to put some real game pressure on them," Self said. "They were better than us, make no mistake."

Frustration eventually set in for the Jayhawks down the stretch.

After cutting their deficit to single-digits on several occasions, including 72-63 with 1:21 to go, the Cyclones kept answering. And after Grimes was called for a foul on Wigginton, Lawson spiked the ball under the basket and was whistled for a technical foul.

Shayok made the two technical foul shots, Wigginton made two more, and the chants of "Let's Go Cyclones!" began to reverberate throughout Sprint Center in celebration of another title.

"This is a special night. Kansas is a tremendous program," Prohm said, "and you can talk about Coach Self forever. But our guys answered the bell We came down here and won each game in different ways. We showed our toughness. We showed our togetherness.

Iowa State has leaned on Shayok and Talen Horton-Tucker much of the season, but Wigginton and Haliburton shined in Kansas City. Wigginton is averaging more than 15 points over his last five games while Haliburton continues to lead the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Kansas started freshman center David McCormack, but the Cyclones' guard-oriented lineup forced the Jayhawks to match their personnel. Charlie Moore and the rest of their guards struggled shooting the ball, and they were unable to get crucial defensive stops down the stretch.

No. 8 Tennessee 82, No. 4 Kentucky 78

Lamonte' Turner hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 30 seconds left and Tennessee rallied to beat Kentucky in a Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinal thriller.

Tennessee (29-4) trailed by eight with less than three minutes left before rallying to move a step closer to its first SEC Tournament title since 1979. The third-seeded Volunteers will face No. 22 Auburn (25-9) on Sunday.

Tennessee had an 11-2 run to take a 75-74 lead on a Grant Williams 3-pointer from in front of the Vols' bench with 1:31 left. Kentucky (27-6) went back ahead with 1:06 left on PJ Washington's putback.

Admiral Schofield missed a 3-pointer on Tennessee's next possession, but Williams got the rebound and called a timeout with 38.5 seconds left. The Vols worked the ball to Turner for the 3-pointer from behind the top of the key.

Washington missed a shot from right around the basket and then missed a putback attempt in the last 15 seconds left. Tennessee's Jordan Bone got the rebound, was fouled and made two free throws to put Tennessee ahead 80-76 with 10.9 seconds left. Ashton Hagans made a driving layup to cut the lead to 80-78 with four seconds remaining, but Bone sank two more free throws with 2.4 seconds left.

Schofield scored 21 points, Williams had 20 and Bone added 18 for Tennessee. Washington scored 16 points for Kentucky.

No. 6 Michigan State 67, No. 19 Wisconsin 55

Cassius Winston scored 21 points and Kenny Goins keyed Michigan State's fast start, helping the Spartans beat Wisconsin in the Big Ten semifinals.

Seeking their sixth Big Ten tourney title, the Spartans (27-6) will face No. 10 Michigan in the final.

Winston, the Big Ten Player of the Year, went 9 for 17 from the field and had six assists.

Goins, Aaron Henry and Xavier Tillman led a dominant rebounding effort to help Michigan State beat Wisconsin (23-10) for the seventh straight time. Goins had 13 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots, and Henry had a career-high 11 rebounds. Ethan Happ had 20 points, six rebounds and four blocks for Wisconsin.

No. 10 Michigan 76, Minnesota 49

Isaiah Livers scored a career-high 21 points and Michigan closed in on a record third straight Big Ten Tournament championship.

Zavier Simpson added 15 points and nine assists to help Michigan (28-5) win its 10th straight Big Ten Tournament game — the conference's longest streak.

Amir Coffey had 14 points for Minnesota (21-13).

No. 11 Houston 61, Memphis 58

Corey Davis Jr. scored 17 points and Houston weathered a late Memphis rally in the American Athletic Conference semifinals.

Top-seeded Houston will face No. 24 Cincinnati in the title game.

Jeremiah Martin led Memphis (21-13). On Memphis' final possession, Tyler Harris missed a 3-pointer, then attempted a final one that was blocked by Fabian White as time expired.

No. 18 Buffalo 87, Bowling Green 73

Jeremy Harris scored 31 points, C.J. Massinburg added 17 and Buffalo won its fourth Mid-American Conference title in five years.

Harris went 13 of 20 and was named the tournament's MVP. Jayvon Graves also added 17 points for the Bulls (31-3), who had to play the final four minutes without center Nick Perkins after he fouled out when he was called for a technical.

Justin Turner and Daeqwon Plowden led Bowling Green (22-12) with 16 points apiece.

No. 22 Auburn 65, Florida 62

Jared Harper hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left and Auburn held off Florida to reach the Southeastern Conference championship game for the first time since 2000.

Harper finished with 20 points, and Bryce Brown scored all 11 of his points in the second half for the Tigers (25-9). Kevarrius Hayes and Jalen Hudson each had 16 points for Florida.

No. 24 Cincinnati 66, Wichita State 63

Nysier Brooks scored 13 points and Cane Broome hit the go-ahead layup with 23.5 seconds left to lift Cincinnati past Wichita State in the American Athletic Conference semifinals.

Tre Scott added 12 points and eight rebounds for Cincinnati (27-6). Jarron Cumberland, the conference player of the year was limited to 11 points on 3-of-16 shooting. Markis McDuffie had 18 for the Shockers (19-14).

Oregon 68, Washington 48

Payton Pritchard scored 20 points and led Oregon's dominating defense, helping the Ducks beat Washington to become the second team to win four games in four days at the Pac-12 Tournament.

The sixth-seeded Ducks (23-12) rode their defense into the title game and continued their shutdown run right into the record books.

Showing no signs of fatigue after three games in three days, Oregon clamped down on the Huskies in the second half turning a close game into a 16-point lead. Pritchard led the charge up top with four steals and Kenny Wooten did his damage on the back line, blocking four shots.

Pritchard also had seven assists and six rebounds. Louis King had 15 points and Paul White added 14.

The Ducks join Colorado in 2012 as the only team to win four games in four days at the Pac-12 tournament by taking home their fifth title.

The top-seeded Huskies (26-8) looked like the tired team, struggling against Oregon's defensive pressure.

Washington had a long scoring drought in the second half, shot 33 percent and went 5 for 23 from the 3-point arc. The Huskies had no double-figure scorers and could have some anxious moments on Selection Sunday.

Vermont 66, Maryland-Baltimore County 49

Anthony Lamb scored 28 points, and Vermont beat Maryland-Baltimore County to win the America East Tournament championship and earn an NCAA Tournament bid.

It was the seventh conference title overall and second in three years for the Catamounts (27-6), who lost to UMBC in last year's championship game. They got their revenge on the anniversary of 16th-seeded UMBC's shocking upset of top-seeded Virginia in last year's NCAA Tournament.

Lamb, the America East player of the year, was named the tournament's Most Oustanding Player. He went 8 for 16 from the field and had nine rebounds, and he led a strong defensive effort from the Catamounts, who held the Retrievers to 34-percent shooting.

Stef Smith added 17 points for Vermont and Ben Shungu scored nine, all in the second half. K.J. Jackson led UMBC (21-13) with 15 points, and Arkel Lamar had eight points and 11 rebounds.

Lamb hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the second half to start an 11-0 run that put Vermont ahead 39-22.

Both teams got off to slow starts. UMBC missed its first six field-goal attempts and hit only five of its first 16, while Vermont was 7 for 21, missing its first six 3-point attempts. Lamb scored 12 of Vermont's first 18 points and had 19 by halftime, when the Catamounts led 28-20.

Vermont shot 41 percent from the floor and outrebounded UMBC 38-27.

The Retrievers handed Vermont its only two regular-season losses in America East play, including a 74-63 win in Burlington on Jan. 23. Lamb didn't play in that game.

Abilene Christian 77, New Orleans 60

Jaren Lewis had 20 points and six rebounds, Jaylen Franklin added 16 points and six assists and Abilene Christian beat New Orleans in the Southland Conference championship game for its first NCAA Tournament berth.

Lewis shot 10 of 17 from the field. Hayden Farquhar had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Joe Pleasant scored 14 points for Abilene Christian (27-6). The Wildcats won their sixth straight, shooting 56 percent.

The Wildcat have been in Division I for six years and were making their first appearance in the Southland Conference Tournament. They last won a conference championship in 1987, taking the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference championship.

Bryson Robinson scored 14 points, and Scott Plaisance added 13 points and eight rebounds for New Orleans (19-13). It shot 40 percent and committed 20 turnovers.

Montana 68, Eastern Washington 62

Sayeed Pridgett scored 18 points and Montana overcame a 12-point deficit to beat Eastern Washington for its second straight Big Sky Tournament title and NCAA bid.

Donaven Dorsey and Michael Oguine each added 12 points for Montana (26-8). The Grizzlies also beat the Eagles (16-18) last year in the final.

Jesse Hunt led Eastern Washington with 17 points, and Kim Aiken Jr. had 14.

Playing with a smaller lineup of five guards, Montana took its first lead midway through the second half.

Montana could be facing the departure of coach Travis DeCuire, who has already been linked to coaching vacancies at major programs.

New Mexico State 89, Grand Canyon 57

Trevelin Queen scored 27 points and New Mexico State beat Grand Canyon for its third straight Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship.

New Mexico State improved to 30-4 with its 19th straight victory, extending its program record for wins in a season. The Aggies have won seven of the last eight titles and nine overall.

Ivan Aurrecoechea scored 16 points and Clayton Henry added 14. The Aggies made 33 of 65 field goals, going 17 of 39 from 3-point range.

Alessandro Lever scored 17 for the Antelopes (20-13), the Phoenix school in its sixth year at the Division I level, and second being eligible to play for a berth into the NCAA Tournament. Damari Milstead added 11 points.

New Mexico State's bench outscored Grand Canyon's 50-9.

North Carolina Central 50, Norfolk State 47

Zacarry Douglas scored all 10 of his points during a 25-6 second-half run and North Carolina Central won its third consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament with a victory against top-seeded Norfolk State.

The Eagles (18-15) earned another trip to the NCAA Tournament despite missing nine of their last 10 shots and not scoring for the final 4:03.

Mastadi Pitt scored 14 points and C.J. Kelly 13 for Norfolk State (21-13). The Spartans had a last chance to tie, but after taking a timeout with 8.8 seconds left, they had to settle for a heavily contested desperation heave by Pitt at the buzzer.

Norfolk State’s scoring leader Nic Thomas (14.9 points per game) was scoreless, missing all five of his shots from the field.

Old Dominion 62, Western Kentucky 56

Xavier Green scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the second half to lead Old Dominion to a victory over Western Kentucky in the Conference USA Tournament championship game.

Top-seeded Old Dominion (26-8), the eighth-stingiest scoring defense in the latest NCAA statistics (61.2 points per game), won three tournament games by a total of nine points to earn its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2011. Western Kentucky (20-14) was the second seed.

With ODU trailing 37-34, Green made a traditional three-point play to tie the game and added two 3-pointers for the lead.

C-USA Player of the Year B.J. Stith scored 13 and teammate Ahmad Caver had 10 to go with nine assists. Charles Bassey led WKU with 12 points, Josh Anderson scored 11 and Jared Savage had 10.

The Monarchs became the fifth C-USA team to win both the regular-season and tournament championship in the same season.

Prairie View A&M 92, Texas Southern 86

Gary Blackston and Dennis Jones scored 17 points apiece to lead six Prairie View A&M players in double figures and the Panthers beat Texas Southern in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament championship game.

Prairie View earned its second NCAA Tournament berth and first since 1998.

Gerard Andrus had 12 points, Taishaun Johnson and Darius Williams scored 11 apiece and Devonte Patterson added 10 for the top-seeded Panthers (22-12), who have won 11 games in a row.

Patterson made 1 of 2 free throws and Jones added a layup to put Prairie View in front 83-81, the last of 15 lead changes, with 2:11 left. Trayvon Reed's layup with 38 seconds to go made it 85-all but the Panthers went 7 of 8 from the foul line, and TSU committed two turnovers, from there to seal it.

Jalyn Patterson led Texas Southern (21-13) with 24 points, including 18 in the second half. Devocio Butler scored 18, Tyrik Armstrong added 16 and Jeremy Combs had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Combs, the SWAC player of the year, fouled out on the offensive end with two minutes remaining.

UC Irvine 92, Cal State Fullerton 64

Max Hazzard and Collin Welp each scored 23 points, UC Irvine made 61.8 percent of its shots from the field and the Anteaters won their second Big West Tournament title in five years.

The Anteaters (30-5) are headed to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history. Their previous trip was in 2015.

Hazzard made five of UC Irvine's 10 3-pointers as it led for almost the entire game and was up by 32 midway through the second half. Welp, a redshirt freshman, came off the bench and set a career high in points.

Robert Cartwright and Even Leonard each scored 10 points for UC Irvine, which has won 16 straight and is the first Big West school to reach 30 wins since UNLV went to the Final Four in 1990-91 and finished 34-1. It was 34 of 55 from the field, including 10 of 14 on 3-pointers.

Kyle Allman Jr. led the third-seeded Titans (16-17) with 16 points and Austen Awosika added 13.

UC Irvine took control early, scoring 11 straight points to burst out to a 13-4 lead with 16:21 remaining in the first half. Hazzard scored nine points during the run, all on 3-pointers.

Utah State 64, San Diego State 57

Sam Merrill scored 24 points, Neemias Queta had 17 points and eight rebounds, and Utah State won its first Mountain West Conference championship.

Utah State (28-6) scored the first 13 points of the second half to pull away after leading 34-32 at halftime. The Aggies, who joined the conference in 2013-14, were the No. 2 seeds after sharing the regular-season title with No. 14 Nevada.

Merrill, who went 11 of 12 from the free throw line, was the tournament's MVP. Abel Porter had 10 points for the Aggies, who have won 10 straight and 17 of their last 18 games.

Devin Watson scored 18 points in a game the Aztecs (21-13) in all likelihood needed to win to make the NCAA Tournament.