CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kon Knueppel scored 28 points as No. 1 Duke overcame injuries to star Cooper Flagg and Maliq Brown to beat Georgia Tech 78-70 on Thursday and advance to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.
Isaiah Evans scored 14 points on four 3-pointers, and Khaman Maluach added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Blue Devils (29-3), who have won nine straight.
Flagg appeared to land awkwardly on Baye Ndongo’s foot as he came down with a rebound late in the first half. The ACC player of the year retreated to the Duke bench and punched a seat in frustration. After being helped to the locker room, Flagg returned to the bench in the second half without a boot on his foot. He did not return to the game.
Brown went down with a shoulder injury in the first half.
Duncan Powell led the Yellow Jackets (17-16) with 24 points.
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NO. 5 UNC 68, NO. 4 WAKE FOREST 59: RJ Davis had 23 points and five 3-pointers, Ven-Allen Lubin added 10 points and 13 rebounds, and the North Carolina Tar Heels (22-12) beat the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (21-11). Coach Hubert Davis earned his 100th victory with the program.
NO. 2 LOUISVILLE 75, NO. 7 STANFORD 73: Terrence Edwards Jr. scored 25 points, Chucky Hepburn added 20 points and eight assists, and hit a putback jumper at the buzzer to lead the Louisville Cardinals (26-6) over the Stanford Cardinal (20-13).
NO. 3 CLEMSON 57, NO. 6 SMU 54: Clemson got 21 points from Chase Hunter, and the Tigers (27-5) outlasted the SMU Mustangs (23-9)
BIG EAST
NO. 5 MARQUETTE 89, NO. 4 XAVIER 87: Kam Jones scored 28 points as the Marquette Golden Eagles (23-9) overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half to rally past the Xavier Musketeers (21-11) in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament in New York.
NO. 1 ST. JOHN’S 78, NO. 9 BUTLER 57: RJ Luis Jr. scored 20 points, and the St. John’s Red Storm (28-4) routed the Butler Bulldogs (14-19) with WNBA star Caitlin Clark in attendance. Clark’s boyfriend is Bulldogs assistant coach Connor McCaffery.
NO. 2 CREIGHTON 85, NO. 10 DEPAUL 81 (2OT): Ryan Katkbrenner had 32 points and nine rebounds, and Creighton Bluejays (23-9) needed double overtime to defeat the DePaul Blue Demons (14-19), who got 25 points from Layden Blocker.
NO. 3 UCONN 73, NO. 6 VILLANOVA 56: Alex Karaban had 18 points and nine rebounds, and the Connecticut Huskies (22-9) outscored the Villanova Wildcats (19-13) 40-18 in the second half to move on.
BIG TEN
NO. 5 WISCONSIN 70, NO. 13 NORTHWESTERN 63: Nolan Winter and John Tonje each scored 18 points to lead the Wisconsin Badgers (24-8) past the Northwestern Wildcats (17-16) and into the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.
NO. 8 OREGON 72, NO. 9 INDIANA 59: Jackson Shelstad had 18 points and TJ Bamba scored 17 to help the Oregon Ducks (24-8) pull away late for a victory over the Indiana Hoosiers (19-13).
NO. 7 ILLINOIS 106, NO. 15 IOWA 94: Kylan Boswell scored a career-high 24 points and four other Illinois players finished in double digits as the Fighting Illini (21-11) beat the Iowa Hawkeyes (17-16).
NO. 6 PURDUE 76, NO. 14 USC 71: Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 30 points to go with his seven rebounds, and the Purdue Boilermakers (22-10) held off the USC Trojans (16-17)
BIG 12
NO. 4 BYU 96, NO. 5 IOWA ST. 92: Richie Saunders scored 23 points, hitting a crucial 3-pointer with less than a minute to go, and the BYU Cougars (24-8) overcame a big game from Curtis Jones for a victory over the Iowa State Cyclones (24-9) in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. Jones hit seven 3s and scored 31 points.
NO. 1 HOUSTON 77, NO. 16 COLORADO 68: Emanuel Sharpe scored 19 points before fouling out, and the Houston Cougars (28-4) overcame an injury to veteran forward J’Wan Roberts in the second half to beat the Colorado Buffaloes (14-20).
NO. 2 TEXAS TECH 76, NO. 7 BAYLOR 74: JJ Toppin scored 26 points and grabbed 10 boards to lead the Texas Tech Red Raiders (25-7) past the Baylor Bears (19-14).
NO. 3 ARIZONA 88, NO. 6 KANSAS 77: Coming off the bench, both Henri Veesaar and KJ Lewis scored 19 points each, and the Arizona Wildcats (20-11) handled the Kansas Jayhawks (21-11).
SEC
NO. 13 TEXAS 94, NO. 5 TEXAS A&M 89 (2OT): Tre Johnson made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:08 left in the second overtime, and the Texas Longhorns (19-14) extended their first visit to the SEC Tournament by beating the Texas A&M Aggies (22-10) in Nashville, Tenn. Johnson finished with 20 points. Texas advances to the quarterfinals.
NO. 8 OLE MISS 83, NO. 9 ARKANSAS 80: Sean Pedulla sank a long 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left after two missed two free throws at the other end to give the Mississippi Rebels (22-10) a victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks (20-13).
NO. 7 MISSOURI 85, NO. 10 MISSISSIPPI ST. 73: Tamar Bates scored 25 points, Tony Perkins added 20, and the Missouri Tigers (22-10) beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs (21-12).
NO. 6 KENTUCKY 85, NO. 14 OKLAHOMA 84: Otega Oweh made a baseline jumper with 0.5 seconds left after Kentucky had blown a late lead in the final minutes, and the Wildcats (22-10) beat the Oklahoma Sooners (20-13) to advance to the quarterfinals.
AAC
NO. 8 WICHITA ST. 73, NO. 9 SOUTH FLORIDA 68: Corey Washington had 21 points and nine rebounds to lead the Wichita State Shockers (19-13) over the South Florida Bulls (13-19) and into the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas.
NO. 5 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 64, NO. 13 CHARLOTTE 59: Matas Vokietaitis had 17 points and seven rebounds, and the Florida Atlantic Owls (18-14) beat the Charlotte 49ers (11-22).
NO. 10 TULSA 75, NO. 7 TEMPLE 71: Steve Settle III scored 22 points, Zion Stanford added 17, and the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (13-19) pulled away in the second half to upset the Temple Owls (17-15).
NO. 6 EAST CAROLINA 70, NO. 11 UTSA 65: Led by Jordan Riley’s 22 points and 12 rebounds, the East Carolina Pirates (18-13) defeated the UTSA Roadrunners (12-18).
A-10
NO. 8 ST. BONAVENTURE 64, NO. 9 DUQUESNE 59: Led by Lajae Jones’ 18 points, the St. Bonaventure Bonnies (22-10) defeated the Duquesne Dukes (13-19) to advance to the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament in Washington.
NO. 5 ST. LOUIS 83, NO. 12 DAVIDSON 75: Isaiah Swope scored 26 points, Gibson Jimerson added 25, and Robbie Avila had a double-double to help the St. Louis Billikens (19-13) beat the Davidson Wildcats (17-16).
NO. 7 GEORGE WASHINGTON 88, NO. 15 FORDHAM 81: Trey Autry scored 23 points, Rafael Castro added 18, and the George Washington Revolutionaries (21-11) beat the Fordham Rams (12-21).
NO. 6 SAINT JOSEPH’S 75, NO. 14 LA SALLE 70: Xzayvier Brown had 21 points, Anthony Finkley added 14, and the St. Joseph’s Hawks (21-11) held off a late charge by the La Salle Explorers (14-19).
BIG WEST
NO. 5 US SANTA BARBARA 78, NO. 4 CS NORTHRIDGE 72: Stephan Swenson scored 25 points, and the University of California Santa Barbara Cauchos (21-12) beat the Cal State Morthridge Matadors (22-10).
CUSA
NO. 4 KENNESAW ST. 80, NO. 5 NEW MEXICO ST. 77: Simeon Cottle scored 13 points, Braedan Lue added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and the Kennesaw State Owls (19-13) beat the New Mexico State Aggies (17-15) in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament in Huntsville, Ala.
NO. 3 MIDDLE TENN. 77, NO. 6 LA TECH 75 (2OT): Jestin Porter scored 20 points, Jlynn Counter added 16, and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (22-10) needed double overtime to tavoid an upset by the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (20-12).
MAAC
NO. 4 IONA 77, NO. 5 MANHATTAN 65: Dejour Reaves scored 28 points, Yaphet Moundi had 23, and Adam Njie added 16 to lead the Iona Gaels (16-16) over the Manhattan Jaspers (17-13) in the quarterfinals of the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament in Atlantic City, N.J.
NO. 6 MT. ST. MARY’S 62, NO. 3 MARIST 58: Dola Adebayo had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Mount. St. Mary’s Moutaineers (20-12) in a upset victory over the Marist Red Foxes (20-10).
MAC
NO. 1 AKRON 96, NO. 8 BOWLING GREEN 67: Bowen Hardman scored 17 points off of the bench to lead the Akron Zips (26-6) over the Bowling Green Falcons (14-18) during the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament in Cleveland.
NO. 4 TOLEDO 90, NO. 5 OHIO 85: Isaiah Adams scored 26 points, Sam Lewis added 21, and Sonny Wilson had a double-double as the Toledo Rockets (18-14) defeated the Ohio Bobcats (16-16).
NO. 2 MIAMI-OH 81, NO. 7 EASTERN MICHIGAN 75: Kam Craft had 24 points and eight rebounds, Reece Potter came off the bench to add 15 points and eight boards, and the Miami RedHawks (24-8) beat the Eastern Michigan Eagles (16-16).
No. 3 KENT ST. 73, NO. 6 WESTERN MICHIGAN 66: Marquis Barnett came off the bench to score 18 points and lead the Kent State Golden Flashers (22-10) over the Western Michigan Broncos (12-19).
MEAC
NO. 5 MORGAN ST. 91, NO. 4 HOWARD 90: Kameron Hobbs scored 33 points, and the Morgan State Bears (14-17) beat the Howard Bison (12-20) in the quarterfinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament in Norfolk, Va.
NO. 6 NC CENTRAL 79, NO. 3 DEL ST. 77: Perry Smith Jr. scored 22 points, Po’Boigh King added 22, and the North Carolina Central Eagles (14-18) upset the Delaware State Hornets (16-14).
MOUNTAIN WEST
NO. 1 NEW MEXICO 63, NO. 8 SAN JOSE ST. 52: Donovan Dent scored 25 points, Nelly Junior Joseph added 14 points and 18 rebounds, and the New Mexico Lobos (26-6) beat the San Jose State Spartans (15-19) in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas.
NO. 5 BOISE ST. 62, NO. 4 SAN DIEGO ST. 52: Alvaro Cardenas scored 16 points, Tyson Degenhart added 14, and the Boise State Broncos (23-9) defeated the San Diego State Aztecs (21-9).
NO. 2 COLORADO ST. 67, NO. 7 NEVADA 59: Nique Clifford had 25 points and 14 games, lifting the Colorado State Rams (23-9) over the Nevada Wolf Pack (17-16).
SWAC
NO. 5 ALABAMA ST. 84, 4 TEXAS SOUTHERN 79: D’Ante Bass had 16 points and eight rebounds from off the bench, and the Alabama State Hornets (17-15) beat the Texas Southern Tigers (15-17) in the quarterfinals of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament in College Park, Ga.
NO. 3 BETHUNE-COOKMAN 69, NO 6 ALCORN ST. 60: Brayon Freeman came off the bench to score 19 points, Kalil Camara and Trey Thomas added 12 apiece, and the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (16-15) beat the Alcorn State Braves (11-20).
WAC
NO. 5 SEATTLE 69, NO. 4 ACU 63: Kobe Williamson scored 20 points, MAtthew-Alexander Moncrieffe added 18 points and nine rebounds, and the Seattle University Redhawks (14-17) beat the Abilene Christian Wildcats (16-16).
BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
NO. 2 MONTANA 91, NO. 1 NORTHERN COLORADO 83: Kai Johnson scored six of his 23 points late to help the Montana Grizzlies (25-9) pull away from the Northern Colorado Bears (25-9) in the championship game of the Big Sky Tournament late Wednesday night in Boise, Idaho. Montana iearned its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2019 and its 12th overall to extend its conference record.
