NEW YORK — Sterling Gibbs hit a step-back jumper at the buzzer and Seton Hall stunned No. 3 Villanova 64-63 in a thrilling Big East quarterfinal Thursday, a loss that could cost the Wildcats a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Eugene Teague had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the eighth-seeded Pirates (17-16), who advanced to the Big East tournament semifinals for the first time in 13 years. They will play St. John’s or Providence on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
Josh Hart came off the bench and scored 18 to lead the top-seeded Wildcats (28-4), beaten only twice in 18 regular-season conference games while winning their first outright Big East title since 1982. Both losses were blowouts by Doug McDermott and Creighton.
No. 4 Arizona 71, Utah 39
LAS VEGAS — Nick Johnson scored 14 points, T.J. McConnell added 13 and No. 4 Arizona overwhelmed Utah defensively in a rout that tied for the most lopsided game in Pac-12 tournament history.
After playing two close games against Utah during the regular season, top-seeded Arizona (29-3) opened the tournament with a spirit-crushing defensive performance.
No. 5 Louisville 92, Rutgers 31
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Chris Jones scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half, and fifth-ranked Louisville routed Rutgers in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament.
The Cardinals (27-5) have won three straight and 10 of their last 11 as they look for a third straight tournament title even if they’re only in the American for one season. Louisville split the regular-season title with Cincinnati, but lost the top seed on a coin flip.
No. 8 San Diego State 73, Utah State 39
LAS VEGAS — Xavier Thames scored 15 points and dished seven assists to lead San Diego State over Utah State in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament.
The top-seeded Aztecs shot 52.5 percent (31 of 59) from the field, including 7 of 17 (.412) from 3-point range.
No. 10 Kansas 77, Oklahoma State 70, OT
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Andrew Wiggins scored 30 points, Wayne Selden Jr. had 14 and No. 10 Kansas pulled away in the final seconds of overtime victory over Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.
Naadir Tharpe made four foul shots in the extra session to seal the victory for the top-seeded Jayhawks (24-8), who will face fourth-seeded Iowa State in Friday night’s semifinals.
Le’Bryan Nash scored 19 points to lead the Cowboys (21-12). Forte added 16 points and Marcus Smart finished with 14.
No. 13 Cincinnati 61, Central Florida 58
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Sean Kilpatrick scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Justin Jackson added 14 points as Cincinnati escaped with a victory over Central Florida in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament.
Kilpatrick was 6 of 12 from the field and converted 3 of 4 field goals in the final 11.3 seconds as Cincinnati defeated the Knights for the third time this season.
No. 14 Creighton 84, DePaul 62
NEW YORK — Doug McDermott put on a dazzling shooting display in his Big East tournament debut, scoring a record 27 of his 35 points in the first half for Creighton during a victory over DePaul.
The nation’s leading scorer hit six of his first seven 3-point attempts, sending the second-seeded Bluejays (25-6) into the semifinals Friday night against third-seeded Xavier or No. 6 seed Marquette.
No. 16 Iowa State 91, Kansas State 85
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Melvin Ejim had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Dustin Hogue added 19 points and 10 boards and No. 16 Iowa State held on through a tense final minute to beat Kansas State in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.
Georges Niang added 18 points and Naz Long finished with 14 points for the fourth-seeded Cyclones (24-7), who advanced to play the winner of Kansas-Oklahoma State in Friday’s semifinals.
Baylor 78, No. 17 Oklahoma 73
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Isaiah Austin scored 18 points and Baylor held on after blowing most of a 21-point lead for a victory over Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals.
Cory Jefferson added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the No. 7 seed Bears (23-10), who became the first lower-seeded team to win in this year’s tournament. They advanced to face the winner of Texas-West Virginia in the semifinals on Friday night.
Cameron Clark scored 19 points and Buddy Hield had 15 for the second-seeded Sooners (23-9), who spent most of the second half frantically rallying from a 52-31 deficit.
No. 21 UConn 72, No. 19 Memphis 53
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Niels Giffey scored a career-high 24 points, hitting six 3-pointers, as No. 21 UConn finished off a season sweep of 19th-ranked Memphis by routing the Tigers in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament.
The fourth-seeded Huskies (25-7) now have won four of their past five, and a team that was barred from the Big East tournament last year will be playing No. 13 Cincinnati, a 61-58 winner over UCF, in the semifinals Friday night.
Memphis (23-9) played as a visitor on its own court as the league’s No. 5 seed where the Tigers had won 15 straight conference tournament games dating back to 2005 in Conference USA.
No. 20 New Mexico 93, Fresno State 77
LAS VEGAS — Cameron Bairstow and Alex Kirk each scored 21 points to lead No. 20 New Mexico to a victory over Fresno State in the Mountain West Conference tournament.
Using an aggressive defense, dominating the boards and capitalizing on the Bulldogs’ mistakes, the second-seeded Lobos (25-6) built a 16-point lead and extended it to as many as 19 in the second half.
No. 24 Ohio State 63, Purdue 61
INDIANAPOLIS — LaQuinton Ross scored 19 points and Aaron Craft finished with 16 on Thursday, helping No. 24 Ohio State hang on against Purdue in the Big Ten tournament.
The win sent the defending tourney champs into Friday’s quarterfinals against fourth-seeded Nebraska.
Purdue (15-17) didn’t make it easy on the fifth-seeded Buckeyes (24-8).
Houston 68, No. 25 SMU 64
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Jherrod Stiggers scored 19 points, including five 3-pointers, and Houston beat No. 25 SMU in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament.
The Cougars (17-15), who will face either No. 5 Louisville or Rutgers, which play later Thursday, converted 9 of 19 3-pointers in the game.
L.J. Rose finished with 16, hitting all three of his shots from outside the arc. TaShawn Thomas added 14 points and nine rebounds and four blocks, including a key one down the stretch, while Danuel House finished with 11 for the sixth-seed Houston.