Men

No. 3 Houston 70, Wichita State 61

Jarace Walker had 15 points, including the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 4:27 left, and No. 3 Houston rallied to beat Wichita State 70-61 on Thursday night.

Marcus Sasser also scored 15 for the Cougars (21-2, 9-1 American Athletic Conference), who trailed by six midway through the second half. Jamal Shead added 13 points and seven assists.

"We are showing signs of maturity, not getting too high or too low,” Shead said. "We are following our leader, Marcus. When he came in and started to do his thing, we rallied behind him.”

All five starters scored in double digits to help Houston win its third straight since a one-point loss to Temple.

Jaykwon Walton equaled his career high with 24 points for the Shockers (11-11, 4-6), who went 3 for 20 from 3-point range and shot 39% from the field overall.

“I thought the difference in the game was the 3-point line,” Wichita State coach Isaac Brown said. “We went 3 for 20 and, down the stretch, their big man, Walker, was 3 for 6 from the 3-point line and I thought that was the difference in the game.”

James Rojas added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Shockers. Kenny Pohto pulled down 12 boards to go with eight points.

Coming off a career-best 25 points against Cincinnati, Walker shot just 3 for 9 in the first half. But he drained a 3-pointer to trim Houston's deficit to 50-47 with 10:17 remaining, then tied it 54-all with another 3 at the 6:15 mark.

Walker followed with his 3 from the corner that put the Cougars ahead 57-54, and they opened a seven-point cushion with under three minutes left after a layup by Shead and a 3 from Tramon Mark.

“We made some bad mistakes, but when it came winning time, I think our DNA kicked in,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. "We know how to win and there is a lot to be said about that.”

In a matchup between the top two scoring defenses in the AAC, the Cougars held a 30-29 lead at halftime.

Wichita State built a seven-point advantage early in the second half as foul trouble began to pile up for Houston.

No. 5 Arizona 91, Oregon 76

Azuolas Tubelis scored 40 points, most by an Arizona player in 28 years, and the fifth-ranked Wildcats avenged an earlier loss to Oregon.

The Ducks (13-10, 7-5 Pac-12) manhandled Arizona 87-68 at home last month in Arizona's biggest loss under coach Tommy Lloyd.

The Wildcats (20-3, 10-3) returned the favor with a dominant performance, riding an early 21-2 run to a 15-point halftime lead. Arizona kept its foot on the gas from there, shooting 54% and dishing out 23 assists on 31 field goals.

Tubelis was the catalyst.

Limited to 14 points in the first meeting, the 6-foot-11 Lithuanian overpowered and outran the Ducks in transition, hitting 16 of 21 shots. It was the most points by an Arizona player since Damon Stoudamire had 40 against Washington State in 1995.

Tubelis didn't score in the final 7 1/2 minutes and fell one point shy of the McKale Center record set in 1976 by Al Fleming, who was honored posthumously at halftime.

Will Richardson had 20 points to lead the Ducks, who trailed by 20 before making a late run to pull within 10 in the closing minutes.

No. 9 UCLA 70, Washington 61

Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Amari Bailey scored 13 and UCLA defeated Washington.

UCLA completed a season sweep of the Huskies and stopped a two-game skid that had followed a 14-game winning streak. The Bruins (18-4, 9-2 Pac-12) also remained in first place in the conference standings.

Keion Brooks Jr. led Washington (13-11, 5-8) with 23 points.

No. 12 Gonzaga 88, Santa Clara 70

Drew Timme scored 15 points and surpassed 2,000 for his career, leading No. 12 Gonzaga past Santa Clara.

Timme, who also had 10 rebounds, became the third player in school history to reach the scoring milestone on a dunk with 16:02 remaining. He needs eight points to pass Jim McPhee for second on Gonzaga's career scoring list. Timme also needs to average 18.9 points during the next 10 games to surpass Frank Burgess for the top spot.

After having its 75-game home win streak snapped against Loyola Marymount, the Bulldogs (19-4, 8-1 West Coast Conference) relied on scoring in the paint and efficient shooting to extend their home winning streak over Santa Clara to 15.

Rasir Bolton scored 16 points and Julian Strawther added 12 for Gonzaga.

Carlos Stewart had 22 points for Santa Clara (16-8, 4-5). Brandin Podziemski was held to 14 points after scoring 38 against Pacific in the Broncos' last game.

No. 18 Saint Mary’s 68, San Francisco 59

Randy Bennett earned his 500th win as Saint Mary's coach when the 18th-ranked Gaels beat San Francisco for their 11th straight victory.

Alex Ducas had 18 points and Aidan Mahaney scored 13 of his 17 in the second half to lead the Gaels (20-4, 9-0 West Coast Conference) on a milestone night for Bennett.

Bennett took over a team coming off a 2-27 season in 2001 and has built Saint Mary's into one of the most consistent winners on the West Coast over more than two decades at the small school in the San Francisco suburbs.

The Gaels have won at least 20 games in 15 of the last 16 seasons — missing out only in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season — and his 500 wins are the sixth-most among active coaches at their current school.

Khalil Shabazz scored 16 points and Marcus Williams added 15 for San Francisco (15-10, 4-6). The Dons had won three in a row since losing at home to Saint Mary's last month.

UAB 86, No. 19 Florida Atlantic 77

Eric Gaines scored 21 points and UAB ended Florida Atlantic’s 20-game winning streak, which was the longest in the nation.

The Owls (21-2, 10-1 Conference USA) hadn’t lost since falling 80-67 to Mississippi on Nov. 11. They made their debut 2 1/2 weeks ago in the AP Top 25.

Jordan “Jelly” Walker had 13 points and six assists for UAB (16-7, 7-5) in his return from a foot injury that had sidelined him since Jan. 11.

The Blazers closed the first half on a 14-2 run for a 43-30 lead.

Nick Boyd led Florida Atlantic with 18 points, and Johnell Davis had 17 on 5-of-19 shooting.

Women

No. 1 South Carolina 87, Kentucky 69

Aliyah Boston had 14 points and 14 rebounds as No. 1 South Carolina won its 28th straight game with a victory over Kentucky.

The Gamecocks (10-0 Southeastern Conference) stayed perfect at 22-0 and now head for an NCAA Tournament title game rematch at No. 5 UConn on Sunday.

Boston, the reigning AP player of the year, extended her school mark with her 75th career double-double and moved within 11 of the SEC record of 86 games with a double-double held by LSU great Sylvia Fowles.

Things weren’t perfect for South Carolina, which fell behind early, then had its 15-point halftime lead cut to 54-48 midway through the third quarter.

Still, its dominant inside game — South Carolina outscored the Wildcats 62-14 in the paint — was more than enough to shut down Kentucky (10-12, 2-8), the last team to defeat the defending national champions at the SEC Tournament last March.

Robyn Benton had 24 points to lead Kentucky, which has lost three of its past four games.

No. 3 LSU 82, Georgia 77 (OT)

Angel Reese had 23 points and 14 rebounds to extend her program-record streak of double-doubles to 22 games, and LSU narrowly remained unbeaten with a victory over Georgia.

Alexis Morris highlighted her 15-point night with a 3 from the right corner in the final minute of the extra period to give LSU (22-0, 10-0 SEC) a 77-74 lead, and the Tigers held on from there.

Diamond Battles scored 22 points for Georgia (15-9, 4-6), which had a chance to pull within a point when De’Mauri Flournoy was fouled behind the 3-point line with 8 seconds left. But Flournoy made just one free throw.

Morris rebounded Flournoy’s last miss and then hit two free throws for the final margin.

No. 6 Iowa 96, No. 8 Maryland 82

Caitlin Clark scored 42 points and Monika Czinano had 28 as Iowa defeated Maryland.

Clark, who entered second in the nation in scoring at 27.1 points per game, was 13 of 19 from the field, including 6 for 11 on 3-pointers. She also had seven rebounds and eight assists.

It was the sixth time in her career that Clark scored 40 or more points.

Iowa freshman Hannah Stuelke added 13 as the Hawkeyes (18-4, 10-1 Big Ten) extended their winning streak to seven and stayed in second place in the Big Ten, a half-game behind No. 4 Indiana.

Maryland (18-5, 9-3) had its five-game winning streak snapped and fell into a third-place tie with No. 10 Ohio State. The Terrapins host the Buckeyes on Sunday.

No. 9 Notre Dame 72, Boston College 59

Olivia Miles scored 22 points with 10 assists and eight rebounds, combining with Sonia Citron to score 14 straight points in the fourth quarter when Notre Dame pulled away from Boston College.

Citron finished with 23 points to help the Irish (18-2, 9-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) bounce back from their first league loss of the season, a 69-65 defeat at North Carolina State on Sunday.

Maria Gakdeng scored 16 points, T’Yana Todd had 13 and Andrea Daly scored 10 with eight rebounds for BC (14-11, 4-8). The Eagles, who beat Pittsburgh on Sunday to snap a five-game losing streak, were looking for their second victory over a Top 25 team this season, having also beaten then-No. 10 N.C. State on Jan. 5.

BC came within five points, 55-50, before the Irish ran off 14 points in a row — nine by Citron, and five by Miles.

No. 11 North Carolina 73, Virginia 62

Freshman Kayla McPherson came off the bench to score 14 points and North Carolina cruised to a victory over Virginia.

McPherson has played just two games in the last 800 days. She had a knee injury that sidelined her for her senior year of high school and a different lower-body injury that kept her out of the Tar Heels’ first 20 games this season. It didn’t show against Virginia.

McPherson, who had eight points in North Carolina’s 69-58 road win over Clemson on Sunday, connected on 6 of 10 shots with two 3-pointers and added four assists for the Tar Heels (17-5, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won eight straight conference games after a three-game skid to open ACC play.

London Clarkson scored 23 points off the bench to lead the Cavaliers (14-9, 3-9), who have lost five straight.

No. 13 Virginia Tech 78, Syracuse 64

Elizabeth Kitley had 20 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, Cayla King scored 19 points with five 3-pointers and Virginia Tech beat Syracuse.

Kitley missed her first four shots and went scoreless in the first quarter before making all four shots in the second quarter to finish with eight points at the break. She made 4 of 5 shots in the third for nine points and recorded her 13th double-double of the season. King reached 200 career 3-pointers as she hit double figures for the first time since Jan. 1.

Virginia Tech (18-4, 8-4 ACC) opened the fourth quarter by scoring 14 unanswered points to pull away.

Dyaisha Fair, averaging 19.8 points per game, had 20 points, six rebound and five assists and Georgia Woolley scored 18 points for Syracuse (14-9, 5-7).

Georgia Tech 68, No. 15 North Carolina State 62

Tonie Morgan tied her career-high with 17 points and contributed two of the six free throws Georgia Tech made in the last 30 seconds to secure a win over North Carolina State.

The Yellow Jackets took a 56-53 lead on Kayla Blackshear’s three-point play with 5:03 to go and then Nerea Hermosa scored the next three Tech baskets on Morgan assists.

The Wolfpack missed a tying 3-pointer with a minute to play and Hermosa turned an offensive rebound into two free throws for a 65-60 lead with 29.3 seconds to play. N.C. State had turnovers on its next two possessions, which led to three more free throws. Morgan made it 68-60 with 15.6 remaining.

Hermosa had 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Yellow Jackets (12-10, 3-8 Atlantic Coast Conference). Cameron Swartz added 12 points and Morgan also had 10 assists.

Diamond Johnson scored 17 points for the Wolfpack (16-6, 6-5)

No. 16 Duke 53, Pittsburgh 44

Shayeann Day-Wilson and Celeste Taylor each scored 13 points and Duke beat Pittsburgh.

Taylor scored nine of her points in the fourth quarter to help Duke pull away. Pittsburgh was within 35-32 with 1:47 left in the third quarter. But the Panthers missed their next 11 field goals attempts before a make with 3:26 remaining in the game.

Vanessa de Jesus finished an alley-oop layup, off an assist by Taylor, to give Duke a 49-40 lead with 2:10 left.

Elizabeth Balogun added nine points and Kennedy Brown grabbed nine rebounds for Duke (19-3, 9-2 ACC), which plays at No. 9 Notre Dame on Sunday.

Emy Hayford, averaging 1.8 points per game, scored 12 points for Pittsburgh (7-15, 0-11).

Santa Clara 77, No. 17 Gonzaga 72

Tess Heal scored 16 points, capped by two free throws with 1.8 seconds to play, and Santa Clara ended Gonzaga’s 14-game winning streak.

The Broncos, who lost the first match-up this season 78-61 for its 14th straight loss in the series, trailed by 12 points in the first quarter but had a 64-50 lead on Heal’s 3-pointer with 7:20 to play. After Olivia Pollerd’s 3-pointer had Santa Clara up 69-61 with 3:43 to go, the Broncos only got off one more shot and had three turnovers.

Kaylynne Truong’s 3-pointer at 1:38 capped a 13-3 run that pulled Gonzaga within 69-66, but the Broncos made 8 of 10 free throws in the last 35 seconds.

Pollerd also had 16 points for the Broncos (14-10, 5-6 West Coast Conference).

Yvonne Ejim scored 26 points for Gonzaga (21-3, 11-1), which dropped into a first-place tie with Portland.

No. 18 Michigan 74, Illinois 57

Leigha Brown scored 27 points to propel Michigan to a victory over Illinois.

Brown sank 10 of 13 shots from the floor and all seven of her free throws for the Wolverines (18-5, 8-4 Big Ten Conference). She added five assists and four rebounds. Maddie Nolan and Emily Kiser scored 10 points apiece. Kiser snagged six rebounds.

Kendall Bostic and Genesis Bryant both had 18 points to pace the Fighting Illini (17-6, 7-5).

UTEP 65, No. 21 Middle Tennessee 62

Elina Arike scored 20 points, Jazion Jackson buried a 3-pointer in the final second and the UTEP women beat Middle Tennessee, ending the Lady Raiders’ 16-game win streak.

The Miners (14-6, 7-4 Conference USA), who led most of the game, took a 51-45 lead into the fourth quarter. Jalynn Gregory scored 11 of her 20 points in the final period and Middle Tennessee (18-3, 11-1) tied the game at 62 when Kseniya Malashka made the second of two free throws with 59 seconds left in OT

UTEP turned the ball over on its next possession. Arike blocked a Gregory shot and Malashka grabbed the offensive rebound, but Avery Crouse stole the ball to set up Jackson’s game-winner.

No. 23 Florida State 72, Wake Forest 44

Ta’Niya Latson scored 19 points, Makayla Timpson added 16 points and Florida State eased by Wake Forest.

Florida State pulled away in the second quarter by outscoring Wake Forest 21-4. The Demon Deacons were 1-of-17 shooting in the quarter with four turnovers. Erin Howard hit two 3-pointers and scored eight of her nine points in the second quarter. Latson added seven points.

Latson also scored five points during a 7-0 run to open the third quarter for a 25-point lead. Florida State (20-5, 9-3 ACC) led by as many as 29 points, 60-31, early in the fourth quarter.

Jewel Spear led Wake Forest (13-10, 4-8) with 11 points.