th associated press
NEW YORK — Kyle Guy scored 15 points and No. 1 Virginia advanced to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with a 64-58 victory over No. 19 Clemson on Friday night.
The top-seeded Cavaliers (30-2) got several crucial plays from role player Jack Salt down the stretch and will face f12th-ranked and sixth-seeded North Carolina for the tournament title Saturday night in Brooklyn.
Virginia’s only ACC Tournament crowns came in 1976 and 2014.
Shelton Mitchell had 18 points and Elijah Thomas added 15 for the fourth-seeded Tigers (23-9), who remain the lone original member of the ACC that hasn’t won the conference tournament. Clemson was trying to reach the finals for only the third time.
Tigers leading scorer Marcquise Reed, who was averaging better than 16 points, was held to six on 2-for-14 shooting by the nation’s most suffocating defense. He missed nine of 10 tries from 3-point range.
No. 2 VILLANOVA 87,
BUTLER 68
NEW YORK — Mikal Bridges had 18 points and Villanova scored the first 19 points and cruised toward its fourth straight trip in the Big East Tournament championship game in a win over Butler.
About 30 minutes after top-seeded Xavier was upset by Providence in overtime, the Wildcats (29-4) hit the court and showed how a favorite should play in a tournament semifinal.
The Wildcats scored five seconds into the game and used near-perfect execution on a 16-0 run before Butler coach LaVall Jordan finally called a timeout at the 15:37 mark. He could have waved a white flag to signal for the TO.
NO. 12 NORTH CAROLINA 74, No. 5 DUKE 69
NEW YORK — Luke Maye scored 17 points, including North Carolina’s last field goal with 5:33 remaining, and North Carolina held off a late rally by Duke to advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game.
The sixth-seeded Tar Heels (25-9) will face top-seeded and top-ranked Virginia on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn in a rematch of the 2016 ACC championship, won by North Carolina.
No. 8 CINCINNATI 61, SMU 51
ORLANDO, Fla. — Kyle Washington scored 15 points and Gary Clark added 12 points and 11 rebounds Friday to help Cincinnati beat SMU in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
No. 9 KANSAS 83,
KANSAS STATE 67
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Malik Newman poured in 22 points, Silvio De Sousa filled in admirably for ailing big man Udoka Azubuike and Kansas beat short-handed Kansas State to reach the Big 12 Tournament title game.
Devonte Graham added 15 points and Svi Mykhailiuk had 12 for the top-seeded Jayhawks (26-7), who will play No. 14 Texas Tech or No. 18 West Virginia for the championship on Saturday night.
No. 11 WICHITA STATE 89, TEMPLE 81
ORLANDO, Fla. — Landry Shamet scored 24 points, Rashard Kelly had 16 and Wichita State beat Temple in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament.
The Shockers (25-6) also got a strong performance from their reserves, including 13 points from Austin Reaves. Next up is the winner of the Houston-Central Florida game.
No. 13 TENNESSEE 62, MISSISSIPPI STATE 59
ST. LOUIS — Lamonte turner scored 15 points and Tennessee locked down on defense to beat Mississippi State in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
The second-seeded Volunteers (24-7) led nearly the entire game, but the Bulldogs (22-11) had an opportunity to take the lead in the final 10 seconds. Down 61-59, Xavian Stapleton missed a 3-pointer that would have put the Bulldogs ahead.
No. 18 WEST VIRGINIA 66, No. 14 TEXAS TECH 63
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Daxter Miles Jr. had 22 points for West Virginia, and Niem Stevenson’s half-court heave at the buzzer bounced harmlessly off the iron, giving the Mountaineers a win over Texas Tech in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
Jevon Carter added 17 points and Sagaba Konate had 11 for the third-seeded Mountaineers (24-9), who advance to their third straight title game. They’ll face No. 9 Kansas on Saturday night.
No. 15 ARIZONA 78,
UCLA 67, OT
LAS VEGAS — Deandre Ayton scored seven of his 32 points in overtime and grabbed 14 rebounds, lifting Arizona to a victory over UCLA in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals.
Arizona (26-7) labored offensively before Ayton sparked the Wildcats in the second half. UCLA (21-11) matched Arizona nearly shot for shot, tying the game with about 5 minutes to go.
UCLA’s Jaylen Hands tied it at 67 on a drive with 8 seconds left in regulation and teammate Aaron Holiday’s runner at the buzzer was off the mark after an Arizona turnover.
Ayton dominated overtime and made 13 of 16 shots overall after struggling in the quarterfinals against Colorado.
ALABAMA 81,
No. 16 AUBURN 63
ST. LOUIS — Collin Sexton scored 31 points and Alabama used a strong second half to defeat Auburn in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
The Crimson Tide trailed 41-31 at halftime but started the second half on a 28-3 run. The stretch was keyed by three consecutive 3s by Sexton. Alabama’s surge put the Tigers away early in the half, and the Crimson Tide (19-14) outscored Auburn 50-22 after the break.
No. 21 HOUSTON 84, UCF 56
ORLANDO, Fla. — Galen Robinson scored 18 points, Rob Gray had 17 points, six assists and five rebounds, and Houston beat UCF in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
The third-seeded Cougars will face 11th-ranked and second-seeded Wichita State on Saturday in the semifinal round.
SAN DIEGO STATE 90,
No. 22 NEVADA 73
LAS VEGAS — Devin Watson scored 20 points to lead San Diego State to a blowout victory over Nevada in the Mountain West Conference semifinals.
The Aztecs, who haven’t won a tournament championship since 2011, will play in the title game for the fourth time in five years, and eighth time in 10 seasons.
Jalen McDaniels had his ninth double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
San Diego State, which trailed for only 42 seconds in the game, faces the winner of Friday’s late semifinal between New Mexico and Utah State.
ARKANSAS 80,
No. 23 FLORIDA 72
ST. LOUIS — Jaylen Barford scored 27 points and matched his career high with 10 rebounds to help send Arkansas to the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament with a win over Florida.
The win ends an eight-game losing streak to the Gators for the sixth-seeded Razorbacks (23-10), who are now 5-1 against ranked opponents this season and advance to face No. 13 Tennessee on Saturday.
No. 25 RHODE ISLAND 76, VCU 67
WASHINGTON — Jeff Dowtin scored 18 points, Jared Terrell added 16 points and Rhode Island survived a challenge from VCU in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
Top-seeded Rhode Island (24-6) snapped a two-game slide as it began its tournament defense.
Justin Tillman had 23 points and 15 rebounds for eighth-seeded VCU (18-15), which lost to Rhode Island in the conference tournament for the second consecutive season.
It wasn’t an easy afternoon for Rhode Island, which won its first 13 Atlantic 10 games before dropping three of its last five regular-season contests. After building a 9-point lead in the first 11 minutes, Rhode Island held a 36-33 edge at the break.