Live Blog: 2019 Coupe De France Final

The last time Stsde Rennais FC lifted a trophy was back in 1971. Absolutely no one on this year's Rennes side were alive during that time, their parents were merely enjoying the springtime of their youth. But today, the hot dog capital of France is hoping to cut the mustard (to go with its world-famed galettes-saucisses) against Paris Saint-Germain and prove that French club football is more balanced than anybody thinks!

It's the 2019 Coupe de France Final from the Stade de France in Paris. Join Jo-Ryan Salazar at 0800 UTC -7 for coverage of the event via 24liveblog.

Alexander Rossi: 2019 Grand Prix of Long Beach Champion

Alexander Rossi turned the Grand Prix of Long Beach into more of a parade than a race.

The Californian won the 45th edition of the famed street race Sunday in even more dominating fashion than he did in winning at Long Beach a year ago.

Rossi captured the IndyCar Series race from the pole position, as he did in 2018, and he led 80 of the race’s 85 laps around the 11-turn, 1.97-mile course.

Rossi won by a crushing 20 seconds over second-place Josef Newgarden, the biggest margin of victory at Long Beach since Al Unser Jr. won by 23 seconds in 1995.

“It’s an amazing day,” Rossi said. “I have a great car and a great crew behind me” on the Andretti Autosport team, he said.

But Rossi also had mixed emotions and was subdued in his victory celebration because his grandfather died Saturday. “I want to dedicate this one to him,” Rossi said.

One factor that helped Rossi lengthen his lead was that the race was nearly accident-free.

“The whole time you hold your breath hoping the yellow [flag] doesn’t come” for a crash-related caution period that would bunch the field and wipe out Rossi’s lead, team owner Michael Andretti said.

Rossi “drove flawlessly all weekend,” Andretti said. “To be able to start on pole here is a big advantage. Everything went perfect today.”

Rossi, a 27-year-old native of Nevada City, quickly proved that his No. 27 Honda-powered car was the class of the field.

He took the lead on the opening lap, led by 11 seconds over the second-place car at the halfway point and kept stretching his lead with the help of flawless pit stops.

It was Rossi’s sixth career IndyCar victory. His first win came in 2016 when he captured the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie. Rossi also became the fourth different winner through the first four races of this year’s IndyCar season.

The win lifted Rossi into second place in the championship standings, 28 points behind Newgarden, the 2017 IndyCar champion who scored his best finish at Long Beach in eight starts. Rossi is pursuing his first IndyCar Series title.

Rossi said “you cherish those days” when a victory comes by such a big margin and added “we didn’t have a whole lot of pressure.” He agreed that starting in the first spot was a major advantage.

“Winning the pole is just huge come Sunday because it allows you to hopefully be in front leaving Turn 1 and really just control the race from there,” he said. “You can run your own strategy and your own pace.

“You just stay in the zone and stay focused,” Rossi said.

Graham Rahal crossed the finish line in third and Scott Dixon in fourth, but IndyCar officials penalized Rahal — and reversed their finishes — after finding that Rahal threw a block on Dixon that ran afoul of IndyCar rules as Dixon tried to pass Rahal on the final lap.

“I’m not upset about it. We had a good day,” Rahal said. “We were going to lose a spot anyway” because the “tires were just absolutely shot,” he said.

Still, Rahal said he wasn’t sure a penalty was warranted. “Yes, I blocked, but you’re allowed to block in this series” in certain situations. He added that he “gave [Dixon] a lane” to pass. “If he wanted to go, he could go,” Rahal said.

Dixon said that had Rahal “not defended or reacted the way he had done, we would have gotten the pass easily. Graham has definitely been racing on the edge.”

The Grand Prix capped three days of various forms of racing and other festivities at the Long Beach event, and organizers said there were about 187,000 spectators over the three days, a 1% gain from last year.

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Virginia: 2018-19 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Champions

MINNEAPOLIS -- Now that, Virginia, is the way to close out a season.

And quiet those critics, too.

Led by De'Andre Hunter and his NBA-ready game, the Cavaliers turned themselves into national champions Monday night, holding off tenacious, ferocious Texas Tech for an 85-77 overtime win -- a scintillating victory that came 388 days after a crushing setback that might have sunk a lesser team for years.

But Virginia was better than that.

A season after becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16 -- the one thing that had never happened in a tournament where anything can -- the Cavaliers watched a 10-point lead turn into a 3-point deficit before Hunter came to the rescue. The sophomore made the game-tying 3 with 12 seconds left in regulation, then made another with just over two minutes left in the extra period to give the Cavs the lead for good.

"Surreal," Hunter called it. "It's a goal we started out with at the beginning of the season. We knew we were going to bounce back from last year. We achieved our dreams."

After going without a field goal for the first 18 1/2 minutes, Hunter finished with a career-high 27 points, and if he leaves as a lottery pick -- well, what a way to go.

He helped the Cavs bring home the first NCAA title for a program with a colorful, star-crossed and, now, very winning history.

Ralph Sampson was in the house, and now it's possible that Sampson and the name "Chaminade" won't be at the top of Virginia's resume anymore.

Or "University of Maryland-Baltimore County." That was the No. 16 seed that stunned the Cavs in the first round last year, its playful social media manager online Monday night tweeting congratulations shortly after the final buzzer. Hunter missed that game with a broken wrist, but nobody thought they'd miss him THAT much.

Each of Virginia's 34 wins leading to the final, and each of its scant three losses, was punctuated by the reminder that only the end result would serve as the ultimate report card on whether the Cavs could truly shed the baggage of last year.

What a ride this was.

A 1 seed once again, they fell behind by 14 early to 16th-seeded Gardner-Webb in this year's opening round, and a nightmare seemed to be repeating itself. But this time, they overcame it. Then, they beat Purdue in the Elite Eight when the game looked lost, and did the same against Auburn on Saturday -- getting bailed out by a foul call and Kyle Guy's three free throws with 0.6 seconds left.

"I told them, I just want a chance at a title fight one day," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. "That's all I want. ... You're never alone in the hills and the valleys we faced in the last year."

Hunter's key 3 in OT gave Virginia a 75-73 lead, and after the teams traded possessions, Tech guard Davide Moretti scrambled after a loose ball heading onto Virginia's end of the court. It appeared it would be Texas Tech ball, but a replay showed Moretti's pinkie finger had barely scraped the ball. Virginia got possession, and worked the ball into Ty Jerome, who got fouled and made two free throws.

Brandone Francis missed a 3 on the other end, and Virginia pulled away -- the first time this game felt remotely comfortable, even after Guy made a 3 to give the Cavs a 10-point lead with 10:22 left in regulation.

Guy is not Virginia's only clutch free-throw shooter, by the way. The Cavs went 12 for 12 from the line in overtime to ice this game. They scored the game's final 11 points.

As for the Red Raiders (31-7), well, what can you say?

The team full of overlooked grinders refused to quit.

They fell behind by 10 twice in this game -- seemingly too much in a matchup between two legendary defenses that allowed way more than the total of 118 points predicted by sportsbooks -- but just kept coming back.

Jarrett Culver, also lottery-pick material, made a spinning left-handed layup over Hunter with 35 seconds left in regulation to put the Red Raiders ahead 66-65. After Jerome missed a teardrop on the other end, Norense Odiase got fouled and made two free throws to make it 68-65.

The nation's best defense couldn't afford to give up a 3, but Jerome skipped a pass to Hunter, who was open on the wing -- and spotted up and drained it. Culver missed a 3 with Guy in his face with a second left, and we were headed to overtime, the first extra session in the final since Kansas beat Memphis in 2008.

"In terms of my guys, I've never been more proud," Red Raiders coach Chris Beard said. "This is real life. We'll bounce back."

The last five minutes of regulation and the OT featured several one-on-one matchups between the two NBA-bound stars, and Hunter came out the winner. He finished 8 for 16 after an 0-for-7 start. Culver, who stayed in his hometown of Lubbock to see how far he could take Tech, went 5 for 22 for 15 points, continuing a cold-shooting Final Four; he went 8 for 34 over the weekend.

Both will likely move on to the NBA. Hunter will go there with a title.

And somebody on Virginia ought to grab that sign.

In the stands, a fan made a cardboard sign with the capital letters "UMBC" running vertically, and this spelled out after each letter:

"Uva."

"Makes."

"Big."

"Comeback."

The Cavs couldn't have written it any better themselves.

Texas: 2019 National Invitation Tournament Champions

NEW YORK -- Texas can hook its horns to an NIT championship.

Dylan Osetkowski had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead Texas to the NIT championship with an 81-66 win over Lipscomb on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

"It's great to win a championship," coach Shaka Smart said.

The Longhorns (21-16) beat South Dakota State, Xavier, Colorado and TCU to reach the final, and survived a few late shots at the lead to win their first NIT title since 1978.

Smart, just 71-66 in four seasons with the Longhorns, got Texas to cut down the nets the same time he is reportedly on the short list of candidates to take the UCLA vacancy. Texas has not won an NCAA Tournament game under Smart and few Texas fans would weep if he left for the Bruins.

Texas fans at the Garden enjoyed the title and held up the "hook em" hand gesture as the final seconds ticked off.

Smart was doused with water in the locker room and had a towel with him as he walked to a press conference.

"There have been teams that have come and won the NIT and used it as an unbelievable springboard," Smart said. "And there's teams that haven't."

Jase Febres held off the pesky Bisons -- don't call it a comb-back -- with 3s in the second half that extended the lead to 13 points each time and kept the Longhorns firmly in charge. He finished with 16 points and Kerwin Roach II had 16.

Smart shared a moment with the troubled Roach on the court, an emotional time for a senior in his final game who has been suspended three times over his career. Roach was named the NIT's most outstanding player.

"He's had some phenomenal moments," Smart said. "I don't think he thought he'd be in college this long."

Long enough to go out a champion.

Texas won in front of about 3,000 spectators, and not one sitting above the lower bowl.

Penn State about packed MSG last year, in large part because of a substantial alumni base and rapper Flavor Flav in the house rooting on his cousin.

But this year?

Well, there were a few hundred fans in burnt orange and that was about it.

So why come to this game?

Hours after the Mets won their home opener against the Washington Nationals, the train hub at Penn Station was packed with fans in Mets jerseys. Some even decided to make it a day-night doubleheader and hit MSG.

There was a small group that had made NIT games a tradition for the last 10 years. In a StubHub era in which tickets are grossly inflated from their face value cost, one fan said there wasn't anywhere else u can sit in the front row and watch basketball for a reasonable price.

StubHub had tickets in the prime 100 level going for $11 bucks 24 hours before tip -- which is at least cheaper than a concession stand burger. When one fan yawned toward the end of the first half, a security guard chirped, "it's too early for that."

Eh, not really.

Osetkowski hit three 3s for 15 points in the first half and the Longhorns raced out to a 41-27 lead. The Longhorns will take their shorn nets back to Texas -- with Smart's fate yet to be determined.

Garrison Mathews, named an Associated Press All-America honorable mention, scored 15 points for the Bisons (29-8). He made all 10 free throws but missed 8 of 10 shots from the floor. With their best player in a funk, Lipscomb was doomed.

"They took Garrison for the large part out of the game," Casey Alexander said. "The only thing to be sad about is that it's over."

South Florida: 2019 College Basketball Invitational Champions

CHICAGO -- David Collins had 19 points and eight rebounds, and South Florida beat DePaul 77-65 on Friday in the College Basketball Invitational championship.

USF made three 3-pointers in a four-minute span to take the first double-digit lead of the second half at 57-47 and extended it to a 14-point advantage after an 8-0 run. The Bulls led by double figures for five-plus minutes until Max Strus made three free throws at 1:06 to pull to 71-64. Xavier Castaneda sealed it with two free throws with 40.4 seconds to play.

Justin Brown had 12 points for South Florida (24-14), which was picked to finish last in the preseason American Athletic Conference coaches' poll. LaQuincy Rideau added 10 points. Antun Maricevic had seven rebounds for the visitors.

South Florida led 37-20 with 6:15 remaining in the first half but didn't score again until Rideau beat the halftime buzzer with a layup for a 39-34 lead. DePaul went on a 14-0 run during USF's drought to get within three points with 25.7 seconds left.

Devin Gage had 19 points for the Blue Demons (19-17), who never led in the game. Strus added 16 points. Femi Olujobi had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Marshall: 2019 College Insider Postseason Tournament Champions

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- C.J. Burks scored 28 points as Marshall romped past Green Bay 90-70 on Thursday night for the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament championship.

Burks also had seven rebounds, six assists and three steals in being named the most valuable player. He had a steal on back-to-back possessions and his fast-break dunk gave Marshall a 72-62 midway through the second half.

Taevion Kinsey added 21 points for the Thundering Herd (23-14). Jon Elmore had 17 points on just 5-of-18 shooting. Marshall was 1 for 12 from 3-point range to start the game and finished 3 of 26.

Tank Hemphill had 21 points for the Phoenix (21-17). Sandy Cohen III added 13 points -- all in the first half -- and JayQuan McCloud had 11.

Green Bay led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but Marshall pulled within 42-40 at the break. Cohen made a 3-pointer early in the first half to move into second on Green Bay's single-season scoring list, passing Virginia coach Tony Bennett.

Adelaide Crows: 2019 AFL Women's Premiers

A SERIOUS knee injury to Adelaide superstar Erin Phillips has cast a shadow over the Crows' emphatic 45-point victory over Carlton in the AFLW Grand Final at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

Played in front of a record crowd for a women's game of Australian football of 53,034, the Crows lived up to their favourites' tag, demolishing the Blues, 10.3 (63) to 2.6 (18).

The attendance was the fifth-highest for a football match at Adelaide Oval.

After a one-point loss to the Western Bulldogs in round one, the Crows went on an eight-game winning streak under first-year coach Matthew Clarke to secure their second flag in three years.

Phillips was best on ground before tearing the ACL in her left knee in the third quarter, the crowd going silent while she was being treated before giving the 2017 AFLW best and fairest a rousing ovation as she left the ground.

Anne Hatchard and Ebony Marinoff dominated the midfield, Eloise Jones was lively in attack and Danielle Ponter kicked three goals.

The Crows also lost forward Chloe Scheer to a suspected ruptured ACL.

Blues captain Brianna Davey was the best for the visitors, who gave themselves too much to do after trailing by 40 points at half-time.

The moment
This was a monumental day for AFLW, and women's sport in general, in many ways. A crowd of 30,000 was expected, but the Adelaide public arrived in droves for an official attendance of 53,034. It was easily the largest crowd for a women's game of Australian football and the fifth-biggest crowd at Adelaide Oval for any football game.

The first blow
The Blues got away to the perfect start within three minutes when young gun Madison Prespakis was awarded a 50m penalty and kicked the opening goal of the game from the goalsquare. It was a rare highlight for the Blues, with the Crows kicking the next nine goals of the game to have the match won by half-time.

Get online now and watch this …
Crows forward Chloe Scheer took an absolute hanger, climbing on the back of Blues defender Kerryn Harrington in the second quarter. But that high turned to concern a few minutes later when Scheer went down on her right knee and was helped from the ground. Scheer missed all of last season with a torn ACL.

Did you see that?
It was attacking footy at its best as Crows speedster Eloise Jones found herself in plenty of space along the wing. After a couple of bounces, Jones delivered a pinpoint kick to Danielle Ponter just beyond the reach of her Blues defender and for her third goal of the game. Jones was influential up forward with her courageous marking and ability to hit targets by foot.

Work in progress
The Blues have been one of the feel-good stories of this season. After winning just two games last year, and a disappointing round-one loss to North Melbourne, they turned their season around under new coach Daniel Harford, playing an exciting brand of football. Led by captain Brianna Davey and NAB AFLW Rising Star favourite Madison Prespakis, the Blues can hold their heads high and have a bright future.

ADELAIDE                   3.0        9.2       10.2     10.3 (63)
CARLTON                    1.3       2.4       2.5       2.6 (18)

GOALS

Adelaide: Ponter 3, Phillips 2, Hatchard, Considine, Martin, Thompson, Jones
Carlton: Prespakis, Davey

BEST
Adelaide: Hatchard, Phillips, Jones, Randall, Allan, Marinoff, J.Foley
Carlton: Davey, Stevens, Prespakis, S.Hosking, Downie

INJURIES

Adelaide: Scheer (knee), Phillips (knee)
Carlton: Harris (knee)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Toner, Heffernan, McGinness

Official crowd: 53,034 at Adelaide Oval

FFXIV: The Four Lords Do Not Dream Of Bunny Girl Sempai! They Live For!

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FFXIV: One. Step. TOO MANY!

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FFXIV: Manderville Mambo No. 5

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FFXIV: A Requiem For Bangabae - Part IV: And Some More!

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FFXIV: A Requiem For Bangabae - Part III: You Best Believe!

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FFXIV: A Requiem For Bangabae - Part II: The Darkness Due

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FFXIV: Hey Hey Mai!

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Michigan State: 2018-19 Big Ten Men's Basketball Champions

CHICAGO -- Michigan State coach Tom Izzo had one simple question for his team. He got the answer he wanted, and the sixth-ranked Spartans picked up their sixth Big Ten Tournament championship.

Now, they'll try to bring home the biggest prize of all.

Matt McQuaid scored a career-high 27 points, Cassius Winston converted the go-ahead layup in the closing minute, and the Spartans rallied to beat No. 10 Michigan 65-60 in the Big Ten final on Sunday.

Top-seeded Michigan State (28-6) scored the game's final 10 points to capture its first championship since 2016. No other program has won the conference tournament as many times as Michigan State, and this one was particularly sweet.

After all, the Spartans prevented a championship three-peat by Michigan (28-6) and beat their rivals for the third time this season.

"I asked them all today, `What do you want to do?" Izzo said. "Pregame meal, `What do you want to do? You want to play for the (NCAA) Tournament or you want to play the game?' That sounds like a stupid question, but if you knew where my guys were at as far as physically, it was a good question to ask. Once they said `We want to play the game,' I said, `You just gave me a license for 40 minutes of hell, so you better get going because I'm not letting up."

"They responded and I think they enjoyed it," he continued. "So did I."

McQuaid nailed a personal-best seven 3-pointers. Winston, the Big Ten Player of the Year, had 14 points and 11 assists as Michigan State won for the 10th time in 11 games.

"It's always big," McQuaid said. "Michigan's a really good team. Beating them three times ... it's hard to do."

Both teams were awarded No. 2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament and will play Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa. Michigan State faces Bradley in the East Region, while Michigan goes against Montana in the West. The Wolverines beat Montana last year on the way to the national championship game.

Ignas Brazdeikas led Michigan with 19 points. Jordan Poole scored 13. Jon Teske had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Zavier Simpson added 10 assists.

But the third-seeded Wolverines fell again to Michigan State after blowing their chance to win the league by losing to their rivals twice in the final four regular-season games.

"You lose three times in a season to your rival, it's gonna hurt" Isaiah Livers said. "But we'll use it as motivation for the NCAA Tournament. I'm glad we don't have a week or two weeks to sit there and think about that last game. We can get right back to playing."

Michigan led by 13 early in the second half, but Michigan State went on a 13-4 run to tie it at 48 with just over seven minutes remaining.

The Wolverines were up 60-55 after Livers hit a 3 with 2:29 left, but they didn't score again. McQuaid answered with one of his own to start the game-ending run and Xavier Tillman made a tying layup for Michigan State.

After Simpson missed a 3 for Michigan, Winston drove to his left for a layup -- which Teske thought he blocked -- to put the Spartans on top 62-60 with 28 seconds left.

Brazdeikas then missed a pull-up jumper that got tipped by Aaron Henry with 14 seconds to play. Teske and Tillman went up for the rebound, the ball got knocked out of bounds and the referees gave possession to Michigan State after a review as Michigan coach John Beilein screamed on the sideline.

Henry made a free throw and missed the second, making it a three-point game. Poole then appeared to get bumped by Winston -- Michigan State had a foul to give -- just before he launched a long 3 off the dribble, but there was no call.

The Spartans' Kenny Goins hit two free throws to make it 65-60 with two seconds left.

AHRENS INJURED

Michigan State forward Kyle Ahrens was relieved X-rays showed his left ankle wasn't broken after he was taken from the court on a stretcher in the first half, though the extent of the injury was not clear.

He expects to have an MRI once the softball-sized swelling goes down.

Ahrens landed awkwardly when he collided in midair with Goins going for a defensive rebound with 4:34 left in the first half.

He clutched his lower left leg as he screamed in pain. Medical personnel placed an air cast on his leg and teammates gave him hugs before he was wheeled away, pounding his chest as he was taken to the back. He returned to the sideline on crutches in the second half.

BIG PICTURE

Michigan: The Wolverines have their sights set on another big NCAA run after losing to Villanova in the championship game last year.

Michigan State: The Spartans head to the tournament with high hopes, though their rotation figures to be a little thinner after Ahrens went down.

UP NEXT

Michigan: NCAA Tournament.

Michigan State: NCAA Tournament.

Cincinnati: 2018-19 American Athletic Men's Basketball Champions

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- With conference player of the year Jarron Cumberland running the show, No. 24 Cincinnati pulled away to win its second American Athletic Conference Tournament.

Cumberland had 33 points and eight rebounds as No. 24 Cincinnati won its second straight AAC tournament title, defeating No. 11 Houston 69-57 on Sunday.

"Jarron was off the charts," Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said, later adding: "Jarron is superhuman."

Cane Broome finished with 15 points and Tre Scott added 12 for Cincinnati (28-6), who had lost to Houston twice during the regular season, including 85-69 March 10 at Cincinnati. This time was different as the Bearcats shut down Houston's offense.

"We've had three terrific games with Cincinnati, at our place, at their place and (Sunday)," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. "Obviously, that's a difficult team to beat three times, especially over the course of five or six weeks.

"Watching how they played today, you can see how well we played the other two times when we beat them."

In the second half, Houston shot a mere 27.8 percent, including making 3 of 18 from 3-point range. That provided Cincinnati, the tournament's No. 2 seed, the opportunity to build a double-digit lead -- a margin that reached 15 three times in the final seven minutes.

Sampson said he could tell Cronin had the Bearcats "really ready to play. You could tell they had a little bit of an ax to grind."

Cronin had noted after Cincinnati's semifinal win over Wichita State that the Bearcats rarely lose to a team three times in a season -- another point of motivation for his team, along with holding the tournament trophy.

After Sunday's victory, the Cincinnati coach said the championship win gives his team a hint of the things necessary if they are to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, and with an emphasis on the thin margin between winning and losing.

"You've got to be hard to beat," Cronin said. "You can't (miss) layups. You've got to block out. You can't make dumb fouls and you try to maximize your potential on offense."

Armoni Brooks led Houston (31-3) with 17 points and Corey Davis added 12 for the Cougars, who were the tournament's top seed.

While the Bearcat defense stifled Houston shooting in the second half, Cincinnati put the ball in the hands of Cumberland, voted the tournament's most valuable player, and he responded with 20 second-half points. Cumberland made 7 of 14 shots after halftime and also was 6 of 9 from the free throw line.

"Cumberland hit some tough shots," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. "He hit some really, really tough shots."

Houston got in trouble early in the second half when two quick fouls sent forward Breaon Brady to the bench with four fouls. About the same time, Fabian White went to the bench holding his right wrist.

At that point, the Bearcats were taking the lead to 15 points and really weren't threatened the rest of the way.

"We would have liked to have won," Sampson said, later adding: "I'm not going to spend two minutes thinking about this game. I'm just excited about what's coming up."

BIG PICTURE

Cincinnati: Cumberland, who was limited to only 11 points in a semifinal win over Wichita State, had surpassed that at halftime with 13 but was still struggling from the field. After halftime, he took over the game as the Bearcats extended the lead.

Houston: The Cougars suffered through 35 percent shooting in the first half. Brooks made five of the nine Houston field goals in the half. But things got worse after halftime as Houston had trouble converting shots and could never really cut into the Cincinnati lead. Injuries and foul trouble only made things worse

UP NEXT

Cincinnati: The Bearcats are a seventh seed in the South Region and play Iowa, the region's No. 10 seed on Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

Houston: Earned a third seed in the Midwest Region and will play Friday against No. 14 seed Georgia State.

---

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Auburn: 2018-19 Southeastern Men's Basketball Champions

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Auburn Tigers are taking home their first Southeastern Conference Tournament championship since 1985 and aren't satisfied.

Not with the NCAA Tournament up next.

Bryce Brown scored 19 points, and Auburn won the SEC Tournament title by routing eighth-ranked Tennessee 84-64 on Sunday.

"We still have a lot more to prove, a lot more to accomplish as a team," said Brown, a senior guard who hadn't won an SEC Tournament game before this week.

No. 22 Auburn (26-9) hadn't even played for the title since 2000, and the fifth-seeded Tigers won their fourth game in as many days to capture only the second SEC Tournament championship in program history. The Tigers now have won eight straight and 10 of their last 11 heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Better yet, Auburn and coach Bruce Pearl have become the nemesis to his old program, beating Tennessee three straight times. Auburn ruined Tennessee's hopes of winning back-to-back SEC regular-season titles for the first time with an 84-80 win to wrap up the season a week ago, and the Tigers also are the last team to beat Tennessee in Knoxville.

Now Pearl has his first SEC Tournament title at the expense of the first team he coached in the league.

"I get no greater pleasure in beating Tennessee for this SEC championship because I spent so many wonderful years as a Tennessee Vol," Pearl said. "Got great respect for their fans and program, their tradition in basketball."

On the court, Pearl thanked SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey for forgiving him and letting him return to the league as a coach. Pearl was still under an NCAA show cause penalty when Auburn hired him in 2014 for violations committed when he was at Tennessee. He was fired in 2011 for lying to NCAA investigators about a cookout he held for recruits.

"I hope the SEC's better with me in it," Pearl said.

Tennessee (29-5) likely cost itself any chance at the program's first-ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Vols will have to win their first-round game to reach 30 victories for only the second time in school history.

"Now it's time to play for the big one," Tennessee senior Admiral Schofield said after being held to a season-low four points.

Chuma Okeke scored 18 points and had 13 rebounds for Auburn, and Danjel Purifoy added 10. Junior guard Jared Harper, Auburn's second-leading scorer, went 1 for 11 and had nine points.

Lamonte' Turner led Tennessee with 24 points. Grant Williams, the two-time SEC player of the year, was held to 13. Jordan Bone had 11 and Jordan Bowden scored 10.

Tennessee struggled to bounce back after an emotional win over No. 4 Kentucky in the semifinals. Coach Rick Barnes said he told his assistants the Vols looked a little drained at the start.

"We just came out with no energy," Williams said. "We came out like we expected things to happen. It's hard to bounce back from that, especially how Auburn plays, how explosive they can be, especially when they start making shots."

The Tigers also became only the third team this season to lead Tennessee by double digits. Tennessee led 17-13 with 11:09 left on a pull-up jumper by Jordan Bowden. Then the Vols went cold, making only two buckets the rest of the half.

Auburn heated up with the Tigers' defense helping them turn the Vols over and over. The Tigers scored 16 straight points in a run that featured a pair of 3s from Brown. A free throw by Horace Spencer capped the spurt with 3:58 left and a 31-18 advantage. Auburn led 32-23 at halftime.

The team that just set the SEC record for 3s made in a season hit 6 of 12 outside the arc to push that lead further. By the time Austin Wiley finished off a three-point play with 11:22 to go, the Tigers led 56-34.

BIG PICTURE

Auburn: The Tigers get so much attention for how they shoot 3s, but they also are fifth in the nation in steals per game. They came up with 14 steals in forcing 17 turnovers and had a 21-11 scoring edge off turnovers. ... The Tigers also got the most minutes yet from Wiley, coming off an injured lower right leg. He missed five games, including the Tigers' tournament-opening win over Missouri.

Tennessee: The Vols had not lost a rematch in the regular season, going 5-0 in such games in each of the past two seasons. This game came a week after the Vols lost at Auburn. The Vols' drought without a SEC tourney title, last won in 1979, will stretch to at least 41 years.

BROWN'S BACK

Brown had struggled in the first half of games at this tournament and said after Auburn's win over Florida in the semifinals that he knew he would have to start faster in the championship game. The senior guard did just that. He was 4-of-8 shooting with 11 points, and Auburn needed his production with Harper limited to two minutes in the first half because of foul trouble.

QUOTABLE

"The fact is we weren't very good," Barnes said.

UP NEXT

Auburn is cruising into its second straight NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee makes its second straight NCAA Tournament.

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Follow Teresa M. Walker at https://twitter.com/TeresaMWalker

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Georgia State: 2018-19 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Champions

NEW ORLEANS -- Normally talkative Georgia State coach Ron Hunter announced that he couldn't linger long at his postgame media conference following the Sun Belt Conference title game.

He had a six-hour party to attend, he said, referring to the bus ride back to Atlanta from New Orleans.

Malik Benlevi scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Georgia State advanced to a second straight NCAA Tournament with a 73-64 victory over Texas-Arlington in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament final on Sunday.

"This is about to be the best party bus you have ever seen," Hunter said. "We're not going to a restaurant. I cancelled it. We're not going to a hotel. I cancelled it. We're getting with my team. We're getting with our families. We're getting on a bus and you're going to hear us all around the country."

The top-seeded Panthers (24-9) also demonstrated they are no longer the one-man show they were a year ago, when they relied on D'Marcus Simonds' 27 points to win the 2018 conference title game. This time, Simonds was held to 10 points, but Georgia State had the balance to withstand that. Benlevi punished UTA from outside with four 3-pointers, while Damon Wilson scored 13 points, Kane Williams 12, and Jeff Thomas 11, putting all five starters in double figures.

"We are a dangerous team to play because of how we play," Hunter said. "What people are doing, they're game-planning for D'Marcus and it's the wrong thing to do. I've got good players.

"That's why I hope whoever we're playing in the NCAA Tournament, they're doing the exact same thing."

Edric Dennis scored 12 points and Brian Warren 11 for Texas-Arlington (17-16), which has now come within one victory of a trip to the NCAA Tournament in two straight seasons, only to fall short against the same foe.

The game was a rematch of last year's Sun Belt final, albeit in name only because Texas-Arlington had a different coach and five different starters a year ago. Only one current UTA player -- reserve D.J. Bryant -- even played in the 2018 final.

Texas-Arlington was as close as 64-60 when Warren's jumper went down with 2:10 to go, but the Panthers made enough free throws and grabbed enough defensive rebounds from there on to close the game out comfortably. Georgia State coach Ron Hunter started subbing out starters -- and hugging them as they came to the bench -- with a minute to go.

But UTA's real downfall was a shooting drought of 23 straight missed field goals spanning the last 10 minutes of the first half and more than the first five minutes of the second before TiAndre Jackson-Young hit a 3 with 14:46 left to trim Georgia State's lead to 43-34.

"That'll get you beat," UTA coach Chris Ogden said. "I knew we were going through droughts and we were trying different things. We had some looks that we didn't hit, but when they made the plays at the rim, I just thought it affected our overall aggression and they did a good job of contesting shots. They did, so give them credit."

AWAITED ACCOLADE

Benlevi, a 6-foot-6 senior, was named the tournament's outstanding player after garnering few other accolades during his four-year career.

"Four years I've been playing the Sun Belt and never made All-Conference. I feel like I've been snubbed two years in a row," he said. "So, I'm feeling good."

MOMENTUM SHOT

Texas-Arlington raced to a 12-4 lead as Patrick Mwamba scored seven early points and led 23-19 after Warren's 3 with 10:10 left in the first half. But after that, the Mavericks missed their last 13 shots of the half.

Georgia State surged into the lead for good with a 13-1 run highlighted by Williams' 3 as he was fouled.

"It was very big. I think it was a momentum swinger," Williams said of his four-point play. "After that, I feel like we got the tide rolling and everybody picked up the pace and we started getting the energy flowing ... It was a big-time play."

BIG PICTURE

Texas-Arlington: In its second appearance in the Sun Belt title game since joining the league in 2013-14, UTA again fell short of what would have been its second trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Georgia State: After winning its third Sun Belt tournament title in five years, GSU enters the NCAA Tournament having won five straight and eight of nine.

UP NEXT

Texas-Arlington: Although the Mavericks were the No. 2 seed in the Sun Belt, finishing just one game above .500 overall likely ends their season without a bid to any postseason invitational tournaments.

Georgia State: The Panthers await their seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

Saint Louis: 2018-19 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Champions

NEW YORK -- Saint Louis coach Travis Ford could feel a shift about eight minutes into the second half of the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship game. The Billikens had trailed St. Bonaventure almost the whole way to that point -- by as much as 15 in the first half -- but Ford could sense the Bonnies were ready to be caught.

"I told them, now let's put the pedal to the metal," Ford said. "Let's let loose a little bit. Let's get aggressive on defense."

The Billikens responded with a run that gave them the lead for good and Saint Louis beat St. Bonaventure 55-53 Sunday to win the Atlantic 10 and an NCAA Tournament bid.

The sixth-seeded Billikens (23-12) won four games in four days to earn their first A-10 Tournament title since 2013 and get back in the NCAAs for the first time since 2014.

"How we won the game is who we are," said Ford, who took over at Saint Louis in 2016 after being fired by Oklahoma State. "We're just a hard-playing, physical, aggressive basketball team."

Bonnies guard Nelson Kaputo, who played only the last minute, had a 3 from the corner for the win in the final seconds after a scramble, but it bounced off the back of the rim. The Billikens cleared the rebound as time expired and then dog-piled on the court as confetti rained down from the ceiling of Barclays Center.

"He didn't play for two hours," Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt said. "For him to come up and try and make that shot, it's hard. I know he's disappointed, but at the end of the game you can't really choose who's going to take that last shot."

Jordan Goodwin had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Saint Louis and Tramaine Isabell made a key 3, starting the decisive 12-0 run. Isabell was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

Courtney Stockard led the fourth-seeded Bonnies (18-16) with 22 points but fouled out in the final minute.

The Billikens are a team heavy on senior transfers with Isabell (Drexel), Javon Bess (Michigan State), D.J. Foreman (Rutgers) and Dion Wiley (Maryland) all playing key roles. They were picked to win the A-10, but lost four straight in late January and muddled through the conference schedule.

Goodwin, a sophomore, said through the losing streak the upperclassmen kept the team optimistic.

"Javon, he said, `It's not over. It's not over,' " Goodwin said. "We could have been the last seed, but we knew we were going to make it to this game. We were going to win this game."

Isabell said: "Guys could have quit. Some locker rooms might."

Saint Louis needed an 11-point comeback to get out of the first round Thursday against Richmond and then beat Dayton and Davidson to reach the final.

St. Bonaventure controlled the first half, holding the Billikens without a field for the first 9:19.

In the second half, the Bonnies went 6:09 without scoring as Saint Louis played more man-to-man defense and got aggressive with its switches.

"They did a really good job of taking away some of our actions and making it a one-on-one game. And we don't have one-on-one type players," Schmidt said.

Hasahn French made a reverse layup for the Billikens at 6:56 to give Saint Louis its first lead, 47-46, since the first basket of the game. Moments later, Wiley swished a 3 from the right corner and Saint Louis was up 52-46.

"When Dion hit that 3 in the right corner, I was like, here we go," Isabell said.

The small contingent of Saint Louis fans -- no A-10 campus is farther from Brooklyn -- was doing its best to drown out the noise from a partisan crowd of St. Bonaventure fans from western New York.

Stockard hit a 3 from the corner with 56 second left to cut Saint Louis' lead to 55-53. The Bonnies tried to get the ball into star freshman Kyle Lofton's hands on the last possession, but it was poked away. The best Lofton could do after recovering was find Kaputo in the corner, and the senior missed his only shot of the game.

BIG PICTURE

Saint Louis: Ford, the former Kentucky guard, is making his seventh NCAA appearance as a coach. He took Oklahoma State to the tournament five times in eight seasons and also went as coach of Eastern Kentucky in 2005.

St. Bonaventure: The Bonnies were trying to make consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in program history.

UP NEXT

Saint Louis: The Billikens will find out their NCAA opponent later Sunday.

St. Bonaventure: The Bonnies are hoping for an NIT bid.

Yale: 2018-19 Ivy League Men's Basketball Champions

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Two thoughts kept running through Alex Copeland's mind as his Yale team prepared to take on Harvard for the Ivy League championship and an NCAA berth.

First, he couldn't stop thinking about how hard he would cry if the Bulldogs lost on their home floor to their archrival in front of friends and family. Second, he couldn't stop thinking about how hard he would cry if they won.

The tears turned out to be happy ones.

Copeland scored a season-high 25 points and Yale beat the Crimson 97-85 on Sunday for its second NCAA Tournament trip in four seasons.

Yale (22-7), which lost to Harvard (18-11) twice in the regular season, used a 15-0 burst in the second half to take control. The Bulldogs celebrated with their fans who poured onto the floor when it was over.

"Visualizing those moments ... it's been going on for so, so long that to actually be here and to be talking about it sitting next to these guys feels so surreal and it just feels amazing," Copeland said.

The Bulldogs will return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since a memorable run that saw them beat Baylor in 2016. After that opening win, Yale then played Duke tough in a 71-64 loss.

"It was nice to go as freshmen, but at the end of the day we realized we were just minor pieces in that," senior Trey Phills said. "We really wanted to carry and lead a team, give these other guys the experience we had."

Bryce Aiken scored 38 points for Harvard and Noah Kirkwood added 19.

Copeland was chosen the Ivy tournament's most outstanding player. The senior guard, who had seven assists, scored eight points during Yale's big run that turned a 59-58 deficit into a 73-59 lead.

"He's had a tremendous career and he stepped up big time for us tonight," Yale coach James Jones said.

Miye Oni, the Ivy League's player of the year, spent most of the game in foul trouble, but added 17 points for Yale. Azar Swain had 15.

Yale hit four of its first six shots and jumped out to an 8-2 lead on a spinning layup by Jordan Brunner. The Bulldogs stretched that to double-digits when Brunner found Blake Reynolds (14 points) underneath for a layup that made it 29-19.

But Aiken kept Harvard in the game. He hit six of his 10 shots in the first half and his three free throws gave the Crimson their first lead at 38-37.

Yale, which shot 61 percent over the first 20 minutes, led 43-42 at halftime.

Harvard came out strong after intermission and led 52-45 after a dunk by Kirkwood.

"It's a game of runs and we weren't able theirs going down the stretch and ultimately that led them to get the victory," Aiken said.

Yale scored the next eight points, capped by a jumper from Oni, who picked up his fourth foul with more than 14 minutes left and played just 10 minutes after intermission.

"I looked at the clock and I looked at the rest of the guys on the court and I said, `We've got to do it without him. We've got to hold it down until he can get back in the game," Copeland said.

The Bulldogs kept the Crimson at bay after their big run and cut down the nets on their home court after winning basketball's version of The Game.

CHARITY AT HOME

Yale hit 28 of its 30 foul shots in the game (93.3 percent) and Oni was 10 of 10 from the line. Harvard made 19 of 24 free throws.

MOVING UP

The win gives Jones 310 at Yale, tying him with Fran Dunphy (Penn) for second all-time in the Ivy League. He would need another 204 to catch former Princeton great Pete Carril.

BIG PICTURE

Yale: The Bulldogs and Crimson were both 10-4 during the regular season, but the Bulldogs were playing as visitors on their home floor because of their two losses to Harvard during the regular season. .

Harvard: Harvard came into the game 7-0 versus Ivy League Tournament teams this season, including that 2-0 record against Yale, the tiebreaker which earned the Crimson the top seed in the tournament. It also guarantees them a spot in the NIT.

"I mentioned that to our kids," Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. "There's still basketball for our program to participate in a national tournament. We're proud of that."

UP NEXT

Yale: The Bulldogs await their opponent and site in the NCAA tourney.

Harvard: The Crimson await an NIT bid.

UC Irvine: 2018-19 Big West Men's Basketball Champions

They met in Fullerton first and then Irvine, and then, Saturday night, they met in the middle.

In Anaheim. At Honda Center. In the finale of the Big West tournament.

Turns out it didn’t matter where the games started because each finished in the same place: with UC Irvine on top.

The Anteaters defeated Cal State Fullerton 92-64 with a blitz from the opening tip led by junior guard Max Hazzard.

With the victory, Irvine (30-5) advances to the NCAA tournament for the second time in school history. The 2014-15 Anteaters were seeded 13th and sent to Seattle, where they lost their first game to Louisville 57-55.

The win also avenged their loss in the Big West final a year ago to the Titans (16-17), who were trying to make consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament.

Hazzard delivered the early punches and freshman teammate Collin Welp the final knockout.

Hazzard had 15 of his 23 points in the first half and Welp 12 of his 23 in the opening 10 minutes of the second.

Fullerton’s Khalil Ahmad, who scored 60 points total in his first two tournament games, missed eight shots to start Saturday and finished with six points.

Hazzard began by making three three-pointers in the game’s first four minutes. He added a driving layup before finally missing another three-point try.

The Anteaters made 10 of their first 13 shots overall and, after barely 10 minutes, had ballooned the difference to 30-12. The Titans closed to within 33-22 on a Kyle Allman Jr. three-pointer 4:46 before halftime.

But Irvine reasserted itself to close on a 9-2 run to restore the 18-point edge — 42-24 — after 20 minutes.

From there, the Anteaters continued to pour it on, burying Fullerton with an overwhelming display of offensive efficiency.

These two schools are conference rivals that share Orange County and equal measures of respect and distaste for one another.

The Anteaters won both previous meetings against the Titans this year, 63-46 in January and 60-53 nearly a month later.

At that point, the schools had played 110 times in men’s basketball. The record for each was the same: 55-55.

Two institutions that sit roughly 23 miles apart couldn’t have been any closer.

In the Big West tournament, however, Fullerton had carved out a sizable gap. The Titans entered Saturday 7-2 against Irvine when the stakes were one-and-done.

In 2018, they knocked off the third-seeded Anteaters as the No. 4 seed 71-55 in a title game Irvine led only once after the first three minutes.

Both these programs arrived at Honda Center riding upward trends established over the past few seasons.

Irvine has claimed the Big West’s regular-season title four times in six years, reached three consecutive tournament finals now and won at least 20 games in six of the past seven seasons for coach Russell Turner.

The Titans have won 10 Big West games in each of the past three years after winning 10 total in coach Dedrique Taylor’s first three seasons at the school.

Oregon: 2018-19 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Champions

Payton Pritchard posted 20 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals as sixth-seeded Oregon beat top-seeded Washington 68-48 in the Pac-12 men's basketball championship game on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Louis King added 15 points for the 23-12 Ducks, who won their fourth Pac-12 tournament championship game in school history. Paul White added 14 points.

Jaylen Nowell scored a team-leading eight points for the 26-8 Huskies, who shot 33.3 percent from the field and 5-of-23 from three-point range. Washington only scored two points over the first 10 minutes of the second half.

             

What's Next?

Both teams will wait to hear their names on Sunday during the NCAA tournament selection show, which begins at 6 p.m. ET on CBS.

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LAS VEGAS — After trailing by just two points at half, the Washington men’s basketball team went on the wrong end of a big run that ultimately cost them in a 68-48 loss to Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game.

The offensive struggles against the Ducks continued today for the Huskies, who shot just 33.3 percent from the field and a measly 5-of-23 from distance.

Now, all the Huskies can do is sit and wait for the fates come Selection Sunday, where a loss casts some doubt on if the Dawgs will hear their names called. 

The first half featured a mostly back-and-forth contest before the Ducks began to generate a sliver of separation near the midway point. Oregon Guard Victor Bailey Jr. knocked down a heavily-contested three-point shot from the right wing to take the UO lead to four with 7:10 to go in the half.

After a series of back-and-forth buckets between the two teams, Matisse Thybulle scored on a tough floater to close out the half for the Huskies and trim the deficit to just two at the break.

It was a tough offensive start for leading UW scorer Jaylen Nowell, as he scored his first points of the game at the 4:17 mark in the opening frame and was shooting 2-of-5 from the field with a turnover at the half.

The second half didn’t start any better for the Huskies, who through nine and a half minutes had only scored two points and suddenly found themselves trailing by 16.

Finally, a Noah Dickerson layup in the post broke an over seven-minute scoreless streak midway through the second half. 

But the Ducks kept the pressure on. Led by Payton Pritchard, Louis King, and Paul White, who each scored in double figures, Oregon put on enough points to secure the upset and win yet another Pac-12 tournament championship.  

No Washington player scored in double figures.

The CBS selection show will air at 3 p.m. on Sunday, where the Huskies are hoping for their first tournament appearance since 2011.

New Mexico State: 2018-19 Western Athletic Men's Basketball Champions

For the second straight year, the Grand Canyon men's basketball team came one win away from earning its first-ever NCAA Tournament bid.

And for the second straight year, it was top-seeded New Mexico State that dashed the Lopes' dream.

New Mexico State routed GCU 89-57 in Saturday night's WAC Tournament championship game at the Orleans Arena to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies, who won all three of their matchups with GCU this season, defeated the Lopes 72-58 in last year's championship game in the same venue.

Everything went right for the Lopes in the first five minutes of Saturday's game, as they jumped out to a 10-2 lead and had the thousands of Lopes fans in attendance on their feet. But it was all Aggies, who won their 19th straight game, the rest of the way. NMSU out-shot, out-rebounded and out-defended GCU, to the delight of the NMSU fans who made the trip from Las Cruces.

Junior guard Carlos Johnson, who scored career highs in the Lopes' wins in the WAC Tournament quarterfinals and semifinals -- 66 total points in the two games -- was held to nine points on 3 of 9 shooting Saturday.

GCU shot just 7 of 30 from 3-point range, NMSU went 17 of 39 from beyond the arc.

Coached by former Phoenix Suns star Dan Majerle, GCU is in its sixth year at the NCAA Division I level, but this was just its second season of NCAA Tournament eligibility. Saturday's result means the Lopes will have to wait at least one more season to punch their first-ever ticket to the Big Dance.

Abilene Christian: 2018-19 Southland Men's Basketball Champions

The UNO bid for a second NCAA tournament berth in three seasons came up short Saturday (March 16) in a Southland Conference championship loss to Abilene Christian in Katy, Texas.

The Privateers trailed by 15 points in the first half and never got closer than eight points in the second half of the 77-60 loss. Abilene Christian will play in the NCAA tournament in the second season of postseason eligibility after its transition from the Division II level.

UNO (19-13) reached the conference final with a semifinal win Friday against top-seeded Sam Houston State. The Privateers held the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye to the quarterfinal round of the eight-team tournament. The game Saturday with the third in three days for UNO.

UNO turned the ball over 13 times in the first half and trailed 40-29 at halftime. The deficit reached 15 points a second time in the second half before a 7-0 run drew UNO within 61-53. The Wildcats (27-6) ran away from there.

Bryson Robinson, one of two current players from the NCAA tournament team from two years ago, scored 14 points with four 3-pointers. Scott Plaisance added 13 points.

Although not qualified for the NCAA tournament, UNO could have a postseason opportunity. The school played last season in the College Basketball Invitational, an event in which schools submit a bid for a chance to play at home.

Duke: 2018-19 Atlantic Coast Men's Basketball Champions

CHARLOTTE—One week ago Saturday, the Blue Devils walked off the court in Chapel Hill ready to hit the reset button prior to starting postseason play.

Three wins, 81 points and 30 rebounds by Zion Williamson later, it's safe to say Duke is back at its best.

The third-seeded Blue Devils clinched their 21st ACC tournament title Thursday after knocking off No. 4 seed Florida State 73-63 Saturday evening. Duke used a 25-11 run in the opening minutes of the second-half to break open a game that was tied at halftime. Williamson capped his stellar tournament for the Blue Devils with a 21-point, five-rebound performance as Duke collected its first piece of hardware of the 2018-19 campaign.

Williamson's scoring total for the week was a program record for a three-game run in the ACC tournament.

The Blue Devils (29-5) struggled to find consistency out of the gates, missing each of their first eight attempts from the perimeter as Florida State jumped out to a 27-19 advantage. Duke then started to push the tempo and took advantage of eight first-half turnovers from the Seminoles (27-7) to tie the game at 27 and entered halftime tied at 36.

Terrance Mann hit a triple out of the locker room to give the Seminoles a three-point lead, but the Blue Devils came right back with a classic Duke second-half run. Tre Jones hit a jumper, Zion Williamson hit a pair of layups, Javin DeLaurier hit two at the line and a reverse layup by Jones in transition capped a 10-0 spurt. The Blue Devils took a 46-39 advantage with 16:29 remaining—then their largest of the night.

Less than three minutes later, Duke went on another 8-0 spurt to open up a 58-44 advantage, forcing a Florida State timeout with 11:11 remaining. The Blue Devils opened the half with 10 consecutive made 2-pointers and coupled that with stifling defense that held Florida State to just three of its first 15 from the field out of the break.

The Seminoles fought back and cut the Duke lead to as little as five, using a 12-3 run to trim the deficit to 61-56 with 5:28 remaining—behind a team-high 14 points from ACC Sixth Man of the Year Mfiondu Kabengele—but Florida State could not slow down the Blue Devils enough down the stretch. A bucket by Jones and a 3-pointer by Cam Reddish from the left wing with 1:20 left put the game away.

Jones continued his recent attacking mentality on offense, but was more efficient than in past games. The floor general added a season-high 18 points, on 8-of-14 shooting, while racking up six assists in the process.

After a slow start from R.J. Barrett, the freshman phenom began to attack and ended up with 11 first-half points and 17 in the contest. Barrett complemented another stellar offensive showing from Williamson, who paced the team with 12 in the opening period and led the Blue Devil scoring game on the interior.

Both teams showed sloppiness in the first half, combining for 15 turnovers. The teams took better care of the ball out of the locker room, as Duke won the turnover battle 13-12.

Duke did manage to improve in an area that it has struggled mightily in throughout the season—at the charity stripe. The Blue Devils finished the contest with a 81.0 percent clip on free-throw attempts. Duke needed every point it could get at the stripe as the Seminoles could not miss, draining their first 13 attempts and finishing the contest 15-for-16

With the win, the Blue Devils will wait to see if they earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. If that is the case when the bracket is revealed Sunday at 6 p.m., Duke will likely be in the East Region and will begin tournament play Friday in Columbia, S.C.

Old Dominion: 2018-19 Conference USA Men's Basketball Champions

FRISCO, Texas – Old Dominion is dancing! The Monarchs will make their return to the NCAA Tournament after an eight-year hiatus.

ODU defeated Western Kentucky  in the Conference USA Championship 62-56 on Saturday evening.

This will be the 11th NCAA Tournament appearance for Old Dominion, and the first since 2011. It’s also the first Conference USA title since joining the conference in 2013.

ODU last won a conference tournament title in the CAA back in 2011.

Xavier Green led ODU with 16 points. Ahmad Caver had a near double-double with 10 points and nine assists.

The Monarchs will find out their opponent and destination Sunday on News 3 at 6:00 p.m. during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show.