Toreros

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; There was a short list of believers in the potential of a rebuilt UConn roster before the season started.
It was made up mostly of the UConn players and coaches themselves.
The team that was among &ldquo;others receiving votes&rdquo; in the first AP poll of the season ended up cutting down nets after the last game &mdash; as sure a sign as any that in the new college landscape reconstituted by the transfer portal and name, image and likeness deals, anything is possible.
For anyone.
The Huskies not only won the title but won it in one of history&rsquo;s most dominating runs through the NCAA Tournament. They won their six games by an average of 20 points, closing it out Monday night with a 76-59 pasting of San Diego State.
&ldquo;We came into the season unranked,&rdquo; coach Dan Hurley said. &ldquo;So we had an edge to us to start the year to prove people wrong.&rdquo;
Nobody could really blame fans and pundits for overlooking UConn, just as it might have been hard to blame them for pumping up North Carolina, a national runner-up the year before that was bringing back the core of its roster.
UConn won the title. UNC didn&rsquo;t even make the tournament.
It&rsquo;s a testament to how quickly things can change in an era that looks more like NFL free agency than anything college sports has ever seen.&nbsp;
Hurley said he went back to work the day after the Huskies lost to New Mexico State in the first round last season and started looking at retooling his roster. The goal was to add more options from the perimeter. So, he got four new players, including Joey Calcaterra (two 3s for 6 points in the final), who had spent four years at University of San Diego, and Tristen Newton (19 points, 10 rebounds), who had spent three years at East Carolina.
Big East coaches still picked UConn to finish fourth in the conference. Even if the talent is there, it&rsquo;s hard to gauge how it might all come together.
The UConn story played out in different ways at different places all across the sport this season, and had a lot to do with a Final Four that included three underdog programs, seeded fifth (SDSU), fifth (Miami) and ninth (Florida Atlantic), that had never made it to the final weekend.
The Aztecs had two new players this year joining two others who came to San Diego State the year before.
Elsewhere, Kansas State was picked last in the Big 12 and ended up three points shy of making the Final Four, with the help of Keyontae Johnson, a transfer from Florida who was named a third-team AP All-American.
Creighton made its own run to the Elite Eight with big help from a transfer from South Dakota State, Baylor Scheierman, who was also getting looks from Duke and other bluebloods.
Texas withstood the midseason firing of its coach and made the Elite Eight with two transfer-portal players: Tyrese Hunter from Iowa State and Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice from New Mexico State.
Arkansas made its third straight Sweet 16 with a semi-rebuilt roster.
&ldquo;I promise I wouldn&rsquo;t be sitting here if it wasn&rsquo;t for the transfer portal,&rdquo; Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman said earlier in the tournament. &ldquo;Really interesting, because eight years ago, when somebody was transferring, the process was a lot different.&rdquo;
Instead of having to sit out a year, players can now go freely from one school to another. Some coaches find it too destabilizing, too transactional.
No longer, however, is it a matter of faith that veteran teams that stick together &mdash; say, as recently as Villanova&rsquo;s 2018 team that crushed everyone on the way to the title &mdash; have a better chance of winning.
And even though FanDuel Sportsbook is listing UConn (11-1) and Duke (13-1) as the early favorites to win it all next season, there&rsquo;s little reason to put much stock in any &ldquo;way too early&rdquo; looks at next year&rsquo;s top teams.
&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t really know rosters, or how different players are going to fit in,&rdquo; said ESPN analyst Jay Bilas. &ldquo;Will they blossom, will they not? And preseason polls are done for fan interest and nothing else. You can&rsquo;t really predict anything based on those.&rdquo;
Certainly, nobody was picking Florida Atlantic, Miami or San Diego State to make the Final Four back in October.
And UConn with all those new players to win it all? Nobody saw that coming either.
Well, almost nobody.
&ldquo;We knew we were the best team in the tournament going in,&rdquo; Hurley said. &ldquo;We just had to play to our level.&rdquo;

Things can change quickly in an era that looks more like NFL free agency than anything college sports has ever seen.

UConn March Madness steamroller could be start of a new era

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Everything seemed set for a college basketball season marked by the familiar &mdash; right up until the season, anyway.
There was North Carolina returning four starters from a wild ride to last year&rsquo;s NCAA championship game&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-unc-went-from-preseason-no-1-to-missing-ncaa-tournament" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to open at No. 1</a> in the preseason Associated Press poll. Fellow bluebloods Kentucky, reigning champion Kansas and Duke were near the top. Instead, they crashed away to bring us here: the season&rsquo;s final weekend with a decidedly unexpected Final Four.
So what happened? A bad bout of flawed projection? A shift in the sport itself? March Madness arriving early?
&ldquo;I think obviously between the transfer portal, the extra COVID year and NIL, that created a lot of opportunities, I think, for parity,&rdquo; Connecticut coach Dan Hurley said this week, &ldquo;where brand isn&rsquo;t quite as important when there&rsquo;s so much inventory in terms of players, and they can move freely. And they&rsquo;re old and good."
The Huskies are headliners in Houston, both as a four-time national champion and as the team hurtling into the weekend&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/uconn-routs-gonzaga-8254-for-first-final-four-in-9-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener">after dispatching tournament foes with ruthless efficiency</a>. They&rsquo;re also a team that was unranked in preseason, lost six of eight at midseason and was a 4-seed for the NCAA Tournament ahead of San Diego State (5), Miami (5) and Florida Atlantic (9).
Of this quartet, only San Diego State (19th) was ranked in the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll?week=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">preseason AP Top 25</a>. That marks only the second time since the tournament&rsquo;s expansion to 64 teams in 1985 that three teams went from unranked in the preseason to reaching the Final Four, the other coming in 2006 with eventual champion Florida, LSU and the George Mason team led by current Hurricanes coach Jim Larra&ntilde;aga.
&ldquo;I always say with the NCAA Tournament, if you were to start it off with the exact same brackets and start it today, we&rsquo;d have four different teams in the Final Four,&rdquo; Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher said. &ldquo;I mean, this is a hard event to win in, and it&rsquo;s almost a perfect-storm scenario.&rdquo;
Maybe so, but this season&rsquo;s journey is about the headlining teams that didn&rsquo;t make it here too.
Take UNC. Its riveting run last year included&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-north-carolina-tar-heels-mens-basketball-duke-blue-devils-mens-basketball-sports-mike-krzyzewski-76be1099a009ac7c2993c36a2eba00a8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an epic Final Four win against Duke</a>&nbsp;in the first NCAA meeting between the fierce rivals that also marked the farewell for retiring Blue Devils Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski. But this year&rsquo;s team&nbsp;looked weighed down by expectations&nbsp;and became&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-unc-went-from-preseason-no-1-to-missing-ncaa-tournament" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the first team to go from preseason No. 1 to missing the tournament since its 1985 expansion</a>.
Yet it goes further.
Three other preseason top-10 teams (Kentucky, Creighton and Arkansas) finished unranked. Two others (Baylor and Duke) spent at least one week wandering among the &ldquo;Others Receiving Votes.&rdquo; Three teams ended up going from unranked to the top 10 <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in the final poll</a>, including Purdue &mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-fairleigh-dickinson-purdue-16-seed-715e3e361344928ea10880dd9a9d8a58" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which became the second No. 1 seed ever to lose to a 16-seed</a>&nbsp;&mdash; and Marquette joining UConn.
By comparison, only two teams slid from preseason top 10 to unranked at any point last year during the first full season with the transfer portal, while one (Arizona) finished in the top 10 after opening the year unranked.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/1000-3.jpeg" alt="" width="700" height="472" />
In all, four teams held the No. 1 ranking this year, including Houston, Alabama and Purdue. None gave the whiff of a potential juggernaut like 2021 champ Baylor and Gonzaga combining for three losses that season.
&ldquo;Through the season, No. 1s were losing, rankings were always changing,&rdquo; San Diego State senior guard Jared Barnett said Thursday. &ldquo;So we always felt like we had a chance.&rdquo;
Joel Berry II, the Final Four&rsquo;s Most Outstanding Player in 2017 during UNC&rsquo;s title run, is struck by those swings.
He&rsquo;ll never forget the last Final Four in Houston: He was on the court in 2016 for the Tar Heels&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/march-madness-ranking-the-top11-ncaa-tournament-buzzerbeaters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">when Villanova&rsquo;s Kris Jenkins hit a last-second 3-pointer for the title</a>. That crushing moment was the driving force when the Tar Heels returned a year later to claim the title that had eluded them.
Now, he figures those redemption arcs are harder to complete with the transfer portal offering the equivalent of college free agency as a landscape-altering variable.
&ldquo;Schools like North Carolina, Kansas, Villanova, Duke, these teams can&rsquo;t get by anymore just bringing in (high school) All-Americans,&rdquo; said Berry, now an ACC Network analyst. &ldquo;These other teams have All-Americans that went to schools and maybe it didn&rsquo;t work out. Now they&rsquo;re transferring to other places where they have better opportunities.&rdquo;
That was a popular take among players in the locker rooms at Houston&rsquo;s NRG Stadium, too, with several mentioning the portal when asked about whether the season felt more wide open.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t have to sit out now, so people are changing schools whenever,&rdquo; said Florida Atlantic guard Jalen Gaffney, who transferred from UConn. &ldquo;So I guess a lot of players, a lot of teams are just evening out at this point.&rdquo;
And to listen to them, it&rsquo;s both welcome and a sign of what&rsquo;s ahead.
&ldquo;High-major dudes could bounce back and go to some of these low- and mid-majors and really turn a program around,&rdquo; said UConn guard Joey Calcaterra, a graduate transfer from San Diego.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just cool to see the different types of teams who could step up in big moments. It&rsquo;s not always what you expect like in past years.&rdquo;

This is the second time since the tournament’s expansion in 1985 that 3 teams went from unranked in the preseason to the Final Four

March Madness came early in topsy-turvy college hoops season

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Michigan State coach Tom Izzo is not a big fan of the transfer portal, lamenting that it gives young athletes an easy out instead of an opportunity to overcome challenges.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll say until the day I die, I do not see anything good for the players in it,&rdquo; Izzo said Tuesday.
The seventh-seeded Spartans, however, would not be in the Sweet 16 for the 15th time under their Hall of Fame coach without former Northeastern guard Tyson Walker and ex-Marquette forward Joey Hauser.
The Spartans, of course, are not alone in relying on transfers. Not anymore. They are all over March Madness.
Third-seeded Kansas State, which will face the Spartans on Thursday night in New York, has relied heavily on transfers with 12 on its roster under first-year coach Jerome Tang. Former Florida forward Keyontae Johnson and ex-Arkansas-Little Rock guard Markquis Nowell, both of whom earned third-team All-America recognition, are starring for the Wildcats.
UCLA and Princeton are bucking the trend because they&rsquo;re still in the Tournament without a transfer player.
Izzo could have dipped back into the portal to bolster this season&rsquo;s team after losing his top three scorers and a solid post player from last year&rsquo;s team. Instead, he chose to stick with the players he had after they chose to stay.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s something they believed in here,&rdquo; Izzo said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the beauty of sticking together. And if it carries us through the weekend, it&rsquo;ll be one of the great life lessons learned.&rdquo;
EAST REGION
No. 4 seed Tennessee vs. No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic
Like many transfers, Tyreke Key left a smaller program (Indiana State) for a bigger one and the Volunteers are glad he did. After sophomore point guard Zakai Zeigler tore a knee ligament in the final week of the regular season, Key became even more valuable for the postseason.
Vladislav Goldin, meanwhile, went against the grain by leaving a larger school for a mid-major program. The 7-foot-1, shot-blocking Russian bolted from Texas A&amp;M to play for the Owls in search of more playing time. He found what he was looking at FAU, starting in 33 games.
SOUTH REGION
No. 1 seed Alabama vs. No. 5 seed San Diego State
All-America freshman forward Brandon Miller leads the Crimson Tide on the court, but key roles have been filled by a few transfers, including Mark Sears. The former Ohio University guard trails only Miller in scoring and has provided much-needed, 3-point shooting.
Four of San Diego State&rsquo;s top five scorers are transfers, including former California standout Matt Bradley, who is averaging a team-high 13 points per game.
No. 6 seed Creighton vs. No. 15 seed Princeton
The Bluejays have two transfers, two more than the Tigers. Baylor Scheierman starts and Francisco Farabello comes off the bench for Creighton. Scheierman was the Summit League player of the year last year at South Dakota State and Farabello played at TCU for three seasons.
MIDWEST REGION
No. 1 seed Houston vs. No. 5 seed Miami
The Courgars have recruited and developed most of their best players, but former Arkansas forward Reggie Chaney is in the rotation. The Hurricanes second-, third- and fourth-leading scorers are transfers: Jordan Miller (George Mason), Norchad Omier (Arkansas State) and Nijel Pack (Kansas State).
No. 2 seed Texas vs. No. 3 seed Xavier
The Longhorns often have four transfers in their starting lineup and leading scorer, Marcus Carr, has left two schools. The former Pittsburgh and Minnesota guard along with ex-New Mexico State guard Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice, the team&rsquo;s second-leading scorer, are in their sixth season of college. Carr and Rice took advantage of an extra year of eligibility that the NCAA gave athletes if they were in school when the pandemic started.
Souley Boum, who started his career at San Francisco and went on to become a star at New Mexico State, leads the Musketeers with 16.5 points a game and is also in his sixth year of college. Former Iowa forward Jack Nunge, ex-Belmont guard Adam Kunkel and former Indiana forward Adam Kunkel are also among Xavier&rsquo;s top players.
WEST REGION
No. 2 seed UCLA vs. No. 3 seed Gonzaga
While the Bruins have no transfers, the Zags have Rasir Bolton, who ranks fourth on the team in scoring, played at Penn State and for Iowa State before landing at Gonzaga. Malachi Smith went from Wright State to Chattanooga before choosing a lesser role at Gonzaga.
No. 4 seed UConn vs. No. 8 seed Arkansas
The Huskies&rsquo; backcourt is full of transfers. Former East Carolina star Tristen Newton runs the point, averaging 10-plus points and nearly five assists per game. Grad student Joey Calcaterra spent four years at San Diego and Nahiem Alleyne was a three-year starter at Virginia Tech.
The Razorbacks are in the Sweet 16 for a third straight year in part because coach Eric Musselman has made good use of the portal. Former Wichita State guard Ricky Council leads Arkansas in scoring and Makhi Mitchell, who played at Maryland and Rhode Island, is one of team&rsquo;s top rebounders and scores seven points a game.
___
AP Sports Writer John Zenor, Bernie Wilson, Eric Olson, Tom Canavan, Teresa M. Walker, Dave Skretta, Tim Reynolds, Jim Vertuno and Beth Harris contributed.

Nearly every team of the men's Sweet 16 field has been significantly impacted by the NCAA transfer portal.

Transfer portal provided boost for most March Madness teams

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Miller scored 24 points and Mark Sears made seven of eight free throws over the final 1:04 to help No. 2 Alabama top Arkansas 86-83 on Saturday.
Miller delivered his second straight huge game for the Crimson Tide (25-4, 15-1 Southeastern Conference) since police alleged in courtroom testimony that he brought a gun to former teammate Darius Miles, who is charged with capital murder in a fatal shooting.
The week&rsquo;s details cast a different light on Miller&rsquo;s regular pregame introduction, which is a Tide staffer giving him a pat down. Coach Nate Oats said after the game that intro for Miller is now over.
Fellow freshman Nick Smith Jr. of Arkansas (19-10, 8-8), another potential NBA draft lottery pick who helped keep the Razorbacks in it with a late 3-pointer, scored 24 points. Davonte Davis added 21 points for Arkansas, Council scored 20, and the rest of the team combined for 18 points.
Jahvon Quinerly had 16 points and seven assists for the Tide, and Noah Clowney had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
NO. 1 HOUSTON 76, EAST CAROLINA 57
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Marcus Sasser scored 22 points to help Houston clinch outright possession of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title.
Tramon Mark added 20 points for the Cougars (27-2, 15-1), while J&rsquo;Wan Roberts had 17 points and 12 rebounds in Houston&rsquo;s ninth straight victory.
East Carolina (14-14, 5-10) had an energetic home crowd for the first-ever visit from a No. 1-ranked team to Minges Coliseum, as well as the program&rsquo;s first game against a top-ranked opponent in more than 31 years. But the Cougars never trailed and led for all but 56 seconds. Ezra Ausar scored 15 points to lead the Pirates.
NO. 3 KANSAS 76, WEST VIRGINIA 74
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Dajuan Harris was one point shy of a career high, scoring 17 points to help lift Kansas over West Virginia.
The Jayhawks&rsquo; stifling defense kept West Virginia from attempting a shot in the final 20 seconds. The Mountaineers&rsquo; Joe Toussaint traveled on their final possession of the game. Baskets by K.J. Adams and Kevin McCullar extended the Jayhawks&rsquo; lead to 75-68 late as they grinded out the victory.
Harris led Kansas (24-5, 12-4 Big 12) with 7-of-9 shooting from the field and had six assists and six steals.
Erik Stevenson led West Virginia (16-13, 5-11) with 23 points. Tre Mitchell scored 20, Kedrian Johnson scored 15 and Emmitt Mathews Jr. had 13.
NO. 17 INDIANA 79, NO. 5 PURDUE 71
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Hood-Schifino scored a career-high 35 points and Trey Galloway added 10 of his 13 in the second half to lead Indiana over Purdue.
The Hoosiers (20-9, 11-7 Big Ten) snapped a seven-game losing streak in West Lafayette and pulled their first season sweep in this bitter rivalry since 2012-13.
Zach Edey led the Boilermakers with 26 points and 16 rebounds and Fletcher Loyer added 14 points. Purdue (24-5, 13-5) has lost three of four and blew a chance to clinch a share of the conference crown in front of its home fans, who stood outside in chilly temperatures and snaking lines for hours before tip-off.
NORTH CAROLINA 71, NO. 6 VIRGINIA 63
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pete Nance scored 22 points to lead North Carolina past Virginia.
Nance shot 7 of 10 from the floor and was 4 of 4 from behind the arc, the most 3-pointers the fifth-year forward has made in ACC play. He added two assists and four blocks.
R.J. Davis notched the fourth double-double of his career with 16 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina (18-11, 10-8 Atlantic Coast Conference), which got a much-needed boost to its NCAA Tournament resume with a Quadrant 1 win &mdash; the first of the season for the Tar Heels.
Jayden Gardner had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead Virginia (21-6, 13-5), which lost its second in a row. Armaan Franklin added 14 points.
ARIZONA STATE 89, NO. 7 ARIZONA 88
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Desmond Cambridge Jr. hit a 60-foot shot at the buzzer and Arizona State rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Arizona.
The Wildcats (24-5, 13-5 Pac-12) built a 10-point lead midway through the second half before going more than six minutes without a field goal as Arizona State pulled ahead by one.
The Sun Devils (20-9, 11-7) went up 86-85 on Warren Washington&rsquo;s layup with just a minute left, but Pelle Larsson put Arizona back up on a layup with 29 seconds left. Arizona State&rsquo;s DJ Horne missed a jumper with 4 seconds left and the Sun Devils had a final shot after Oumar Ballo hit one of two free throws.
Catching the ball with 2.4 seconds left, Cambridge launched a shot from beyond half-court to finish with 19 points and give the Sun Devils a big boost in their bid to make the NCAA Tournament.
NO. 9 BAYLOR 81, NO. 8 TEXAS 72
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Jalen Bridges had 17 points for ninth-ranked Baylor, which overcame a huge deficit with an impressive run right after freshman standout Keyonte George left injured early and beat Big 12 co-leader Texas.
Adam Flagler had 14 points for the Bears (21-8, 10-6). Dale Bonner added 13 points, including seven in an quick spurt after halftime while Flo Thamba had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Dylan Disu had a season-high 24 points for Texas (22-7, 11-5), which twice got even early in the second half but never could regain the lead.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 90, DEPAUL 84
MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones and Tyler Kolek each scored 22 points while helping Marquette clinch a share of its first Big East regular-season championship in a decade.
Kolek also had 14 assists as Marquette (23-6, 15-3) rolled to a 49-28 halftime lead and hung on after DePaul (9-20, 3-15) got close down the stretch. Marquette has won nine of its last 10, while DePaul has lost 10 straight.
This is Marquette&rsquo;s first conference title in 2013, when the Golden Eagles shared the Big East crown with Georgetown and eventual national champion Louisville.
Umoja Gibson led DePaul with 20 points and eight assists. Nick Ongenda added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
NO. 11 TENNESSEE 85, SOUTH CAROLINA 45
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Josiah-Jordan James came back from missing four games with an injury to score 18 points to lead Tennessee to a rout of South Carolina.
James, who suffered an ankle injury against Vanderbilt on Feb. 8, shot 4 of 7 on 3-pointers for the Volunteers (21-8, 10-6 Southeastern Conference). Jahmai Mashack scored 14 points, Zakai Zeigler had 13 points and 11 assists, and Olivier Nkamhoua and Uros Plavsic scored 10 each.
Hayden Brown led the Gamecocks (10-19, 3-13) with 18 points.
NO. 12 GONZAGA 77, NO. 15 SAINT MARY&rsquo;S 68
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 19 points and Gonzaga earned a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title with a win over Saint Mary&rsquo;s.
Anton Watson had 17 points and Malachi Smith added 13 off the bench for the Bulldogs, who have won or shared the conference title in 11 straight seasons. Gonzaga (25-5, 14-2) also reached the 25-win mark for the 16th season in a row &mdash; and avenged a loss to the Gaels earlier this month in Moraga.
Logan Johnson led the Gaels (25-6, 14-2) with 27 points.
Because the teams shared the regular-season title, the WCC will use the NCAA&rsquo;s NET rankings to determine the top seed for the conference tournament.
FLORIDA STATE 85, NO. 13 MIAMI 84
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Matthew Cleveland&rsquo;s 3-pointer as time expired capped Florida State&rsquo;s comeback from a 25-point second-half deficit and a win over Miami.
Jordan Miller had given Miami the lead on a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left. But Cleveland let fly from about 25 feet and the ball swished to give the Seminoles (9-20, 7-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) their best moment of the season.
Cleveland and Darin Green Jr. each had 20 points for Florida State, which also got 13 from Caleb Mills and 11 from Jalen Warley.
Miller led Miami (23-6, 14-5) with 21 points. Norchad Omier had 15, Isaiah Wong scored 14 and Bensley Joseph added 12 for the Hurricanes, whose seven-game winning streak and perfect home season were ended.
NO. 18 UCONN 95, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 86
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points, Adama Sanogo added 18 points and nine rebounds, and UConn beat St. John&rsquo;s.
Andre Jackson Jr. had 15 points, Joey Calcaterra also scored 15 to lead a strong effort by Connecticut&rsquo;s bench and the resurgent Huskies (22-7, 11-7 Big East) avenged an 11-point loss to St. John&rsquo;s at home last month.
UConn won for the sixth time in seven games, closing in on a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament.
AJ Storr had 20 points and Posh Alexander added 18 for the Red Storm (17-13, 7-12), who had won three of four.
NO. 14 KANSAS STATE 73, OKLAHOMA STATE 68
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell had 22 points, eight assists and four steals in Kansas State&rsquo;s third straight win, beating Oklahoma State.
Keyontae Johnson added 17 points for the Wildcats (22-7, 10-6 Big 12), who swept the regular-season series.
Kalib Boone scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half on Senior Day for Oklahoma State. Caleb Asberry scored 13 points and John-Michael Wright added 12 for the Cowboys (16-13, 7-9), who have lost four straight.
VILLANOVA 79, NO. 19 CREIGHTON 67
PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Eric Dixon scored 18 of his career-high 31 points in the first half, Cam Whitmore added 17 and Villanova defeated Creighton.
Dixon also set a career high with six 3-pointers for Villanova (15-14, 9-9 Big East), which has won five of six.
Arthur Kaluma scored 19 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner had 18 for Creighton (18-11, 12-6). The Bluejays have lost three of four following an eight-game winning streak.
NO. 22 SAN DIEGO STATE 73, NEW MEXICO 71
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) &mdash; Lamont Butler&rsquo;s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave San Diego State a win at New Mexico.
After Jaelen House&rsquo;s steal and end-to-end run for a layup with 5.6 seconds left gave New Mexico a 71-70 lead, Butler unhurriedly brought the ball up court before dropping his shot, giving him 10 points for the Aztecs (23-5, 14-2 Mountain West).
Darrion Trammell scored 18 points to lead the Aztecs. Matt Bradley added 11 as San Diego State won its sixth straight.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. finished with 20 points for New Mexico (20-9, 7-9) and House had 15.
OKLAHOMA 61, NO. 23 IOWA STATE 50
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Jacob Groves led Oklahoma with 16 points as the Sooners knocked off Iowa State.
The Sooners (14-15, 4-12 Big 12) had lost nine of their previous 11 games but erased an early 11-point deficit and seized control with a 17-2 run in the second half.
Groves shot 4 of 5 from the 3-point line. Tanner Groves added 9 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
The Cyclones (17-11, 8-8) shot just 31%. Gabe Kalscheur led Iowa State with 12 points.
NO. 24 TCU 83, TEXAS TECH 82
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash; JaKobe Coles made two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining, and TCU beat Texas Tech despite blowing a 12-point lead in the final eight minutes.
After De&rsquo;Vion Harmon&rsquo;s steal and layup put the Red Raiders in front by one with 12 seconds remaining, Coles caught a pass from Emanuel Miller in the lane and was fouled by Fardaws Aimaq going up for the shot. The Horned Frogs (19-10, 8-8 Big 12) weren&rsquo;t in the bonus.
Harmon&rsquo;s desperation 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded wasn&rsquo;t close, ending a four-game winning streak Texas Tech (16-13, 5-11).
Mike Miles Jr. scored 24 points for the Horned Frogs, who had lost five of six and were coming off a loss to No. 3 Kansas at home. Miller had 14 points and 12 rebounds for TCU.
Aimaq scored 19 points, Harmon had 18 and Kevin Obanor finished with 17 points and nine rebounds for Texas Tech.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 69, NO. 25 TEXAS A&amp;M 62
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Tolu Smith had 17 points and Shakeel Moore had 14 as Mississippi State knocked off Texas A&amp;M.
Cameron Matthews had 11 points for the Bulldogs (19-10, 7-9 Southeastern Conference), who held the Aggies to one field goal in the final 14 minutes and outscored them 34-18 during the same time period.
Wade Taylor IV led Texas A&amp;M (21-9, 13-3) with 21 points, including four 3-pointers, and Henry Coleman III and Andersson Garcia each had 11.

A recap of Saturday's slew of action in top 25 NCAA men's college hoops.

Miller has another big game as No. 2 Alabama tops Arkansas

STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Joey Calcaterra scored all of his 14 points in the second half to help second-ranked UConn rally from its first second-half deficit of the season for an 84-73 victory over Georgetown on Tuesday night.
Tristan Newton had 17 points and seven assists, while Adama Sanogo added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Huskies (13-0, 2-0 Big East). Jordan Hawkins scored 15 points and Andre Jackson finished with seven points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Primo Spears had 19 points and Qudus Wahab 16 points and nine rebounds for Georgetown (5-8, 0-2).
UConn led by seven at halftime, but a dunk by former UConn forward/center Akok Akok gave Georgetown a 51-49 lead with 16:35 left to play. It was the first time this season that the Huskies have trailed in the second half this season.
NO. 5 ARIZONA 85, MONTANA STATE 64
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Kerr Kriisa scored 18 points, Cedric Henderson Jr. added 16 and Arizona pulled away in the second half to beat Montana State.
Arizona (11-1) pulled it out by wearing down Montana State and hitting 10 of 25 3-pointers for its 26th straight home win. Oumar Ballo had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and the Wildcats scored 20 points off Montana State&rsquo;s 20 turnovers. Kriisa went 6 of 9 from 3.
Jubrile Belo had 18 points and RaeQuan Battle added 17 for the Bobcats (7-6), who shot 3 for 24 from the 3-point arc.
NO. 22 MIAMI 66, NO. 6 VIRGINIA 64
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Isaiah Wong scored 24 points and Miami held on during a frantic finish to beat Virginia.
Jordan Miller finished with 11 points while Norchad Omier had 10 for the Hurricanes (12-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who snapped a six-game losing streak against the Cavaliers.
Miami led 61-51 on a free throw by Wong with 1:56 to play. Virginia (8-2, 1-1) went on an 8-0 run from there. Kihei Clark&rsquo;s layup with 26 seconds left made it 61-59, and Clark made three free throws with 5 seconds remaining to get the Cavaliers within 65-64, but Virginia couldn&rsquo;t finish it off and lost its second straight.
Ohio University transfer Ben Vander Plas scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half, his highest-scoring game for the Cavaliers. Clark had 13 points and Beekman finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
NO. 9 ALABAMA 84, JACKSON STATE 64
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Noah Gurley scored a season-high 16 points and Mark Sears had 15, all in the second half, to Alabama past Jackson State.
The Crimson Tide (10-2), coming off a 100-90 loss to No. 11 Gonzaga, struggled much of the way and even trailed a minute into the second half against the Tigers (1-11).
Nick Pringle had 14 points and nine rebounds for Alabama after coming into the game scoring less than one per game.
Ken Evans led Jackson State with 18 points.
NO. 11 GONZAGA 85, MONTANA 75
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored a season-high 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Gonzaga won its 72nd straight home game.
Gonzaga&rsquo;s home win streak is tied with UNLV (1974-78) for the ninth-longest in NCAA history. It&rsquo;s the longest streak since Lamar&rsquo;s 80-game run from 1978-84.
Timme started 4 for 9 from the free throw line but went 4 for 4 down the stretch to seal the game for the Bulldogs (10-3) after a late Montana rally. The Grizzlies (6-6) cut a 17-point, second-half deficit to five with 3:06 to play on Josh Bannan&rsquo;s jumper but couldn&rsquo;t get any closer.
Bannan scored 19 points for Montana.
NO. 12 BAYLOR 58, NORTHWESTERN STATE 48
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Jalen Bridges scored 12 of his 13 points in the second half, and Baylor pulled away from Northwestern State.
LJ Cryer and Dale Bonner added 11 points apiece for the Bears (9-2), who have won four in a row.
Baylor went on a 14-0 run to take control for good after Northwestern State&rsquo;s DeMarcus Sharp made a jumper to open the second-half scoring and tie the game at 24.
Sharp had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Northwestern State (8-4).
WAKE FOREST 81, NO. 14 DUKE 70
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Tyree Appleby had 18 points and eight assists as Wake Forest ended Duke&rsquo;s eight-game road winning streak.
Cameron Hildreth added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Demon Deacons (9-4, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who led nearly the entire game. Wake Forest led 39-30 at halftime, then pushed that margin to as many as 15 points. Wake Forest shot 49.1% and had five double-figure scorers.
Jaylen Blakes scored a career-high 17 points to lead Duke (10-3, 1-1), which never got closer than seven after the break.
DRAKE 58, NO. 15 MISSISSIPPI STATE 52
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Roman Penn scored 19 points, Sardaar Calhoun made four of his career-high five 3-pointers in the second half, and Drake handed Mississippi State its first loss.
Calhoun finished with 17 points and Tucker DeVries added 15 for Drake (9-3), which beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 2013.
Eric Reed Jr. scored all of his team-high 11 points in the first half for Mississippi State (11-1).
DeVries&rsquo; floater in the lane put Drake up 52-50 with 1:51 left in the neutral-site game, and Penn hit a jumper for a four-point lead with just over a minute left. Penn made four free throws in the last 10 seconds to secure Drake&rsquo;s first win over a Power Five opponent since it beat Kansas State in the 2020-21 season opener.
NO. 18 INDIANA 96, ELON 72
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Race Thompson had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and short-handed Indiana beat Elon.
The Hoosiers were missing their two leading scorers. Center Trayce Jackson-Davis (16.4 points per game) sat for precautionary reasons with nagging back and hand injuries, and point guard Xavier Johnson (9.9 points) was sidelined by a foot injury.
But the Hoosiers (9-3) had too much depth against the visitors from the Colonial Athletic Association as they ended a two-game skid. Freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino had 17 points and seven assists for the Hoosiers.
Max Mackinnon led Elon (2-11) with 19 points and Sean Halloran added 15.
PROVIDENCE 103, NO. 24 MARQUETTE 98, 2OT
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Bryce Hopkins had 29 points and 23 rebounds &mdash; both career highs &mdash; and grabbed the offensive board on a missed free throw with 15 seconds left in the second overtime to help Providence run out the clock and beat Marquette.
The Friars (10-3, 2-0 Big East) won their fourth straight game and improved to 4-0 in overtime this season. Devin Carter and Ed Croswell scored 20 points apiece for Providence, which beat a ranked team for the fourth straight season.
Native Rhode Islander Tyler Kolek scored a career-high 29 points before fouling out in the second overtime, and Kam Jones added 24 points for the Golden Eagles (9-4, 1-1).
Marquette blew a nine-point lead in the final minutes of regulation and rallied from an eight-point deficit in the first overtime.

A recap of Tuesday night's men's college basketball slate features a handful of top-15 upsets and a close one for the Huskies.

Calcaterra, No. 2 UConn pull away in second half to beat Hoyas

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) &mdash; Bobby Pettiford Jr. made a twisting reverse layup off a loose rebound with 0.2 seconds left in overtime to give No. 3 Kansas a 69-68 win over Wisconsin in a Battle 4 Atlantis semifinal on Thursday.
Pettiford&rsquo;s layup marked his only points of the game, capping a thriller that saw Wisconsin rally from 15 down early in the second half.
Jalen Wilson scored 29 points and had 14 rebounds for the reigning national champion Jayhawks (6-0), and Kevin McCullar Jr. had 18 points and nine rebounds &mdash; and a 3 to force overtime.
Tyler Wahl led the Badgers (4-1) with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Most of his points came after half in what was at times a one-man comeback, including a spinning drive against a falling Wilson for a layup and a 68-67 lead with 21 seconds left.
Kansas will take on No. 22 Tennessee in the tournament title game on Friday.
NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA 89, PORTLAND 81
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Pete Nance scored 28 points, Caleb Love added 23 and North Carolina survived an unexpected test from Portland in the opening round of the Phil Knight Invitational.
The Tar Heels (5-0) needed a late 14-3 run to finally pull away from one of the tournament&rsquo;s host schools. Love carried them in the first half with 16 points and reached the 1,000-point mark in his career, becoming the 80th North Carolina player to reach that mark.&nbsp;
Nance picked up the slack after halftime with 20 points and matched his career high in scoring set last season when he was playing for Northwestern.
Moses Wood led Portland (4-3) with 21 points.
The Tar Heels will face Iowa State in a semifinal game Friday. Portland will play Villanova in a consolation game.
NO. 8 DUKE 54, OREGON STATE 51
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Kyle Filipowski had 19 points and 14 rebounds as Duke held off a challenge from Oregon State in the opening game of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament.
Ryan Young added 11 points and 15 rebounds off the bench and was the only other Blue Devils (5-1) player to score in double figures.
Jordan Pope led the Beavers (3-2) with 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Dexter Akanno hit two 3-pointers and scored 11 points.
The Blue Devils will face Xavier in a PKL semifinal on Friday, while the Beavers will take on Florida.
NO. 6 GONZAGA 102, PORTLAND STATE 78
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Malachi Smith led six players in double figures with a season-high 23 points and No. 6 Gonzaga used a big first half to beat Portland State in the opening round of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament.
The Bulldogs (4-1) led by 27 in the first half, led 55-31 at halftime and withstood a sloppy second half.
Drew Timme scored 18 points and the only shot he missed was a dunk attempt midway through the second half. Rasir Bolton had 14 points and a career-high eight assists, while Julian Strawther, Anton Watson and Hunter Sallis all finished with 10. Gonzaga shot 60% for the game.
Jorell Saterfield led Portland State (2-3) with 21 points.
Gonzaga will face No. 24 Purdue in the semifinals Friday.
NO. 18 ALABAMA 81, NO. 12 MICHIGAN STATE 70
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Freshman Brandon Miller scored 17 of his 24 points in the first half and Alabama pulled away to beat Michigan State in the opening round of the Phil Knight Invitational.
After a rather light schedule for the first couple of weeks, Alabama (5-0) passed its first test of the season against the short-handed Spartans (3-2).
Tyson Walker led Michigan State with 21 points and A.J. Hoggard added 18.
Alabama will face No. 20 UConn in the semifinals Friday. Michigan State will play face Oregon in&nbsp;
NO. 20 UCONN 83, OREGON 59
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Tristen Newton scored 23 points, leading UConn to a win over Oregon at the Phil Knight Legacy tournament.
Jordan Hawkins scored 18 points, Adama Sanogo added 12 and Joey Calcaterra came off the bench to score 11 for the unbeaten Huskies (6-0).
Kel&rsquo;el Ware led the Ducks (2-3) with 18 points and nine rebounds off the bench. N&rsquo;faly Dante contributed 15 points.
NO. 22 TENNESSEE 73, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 66, OT
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) &mdash; Julian Phillips scored a season-high 25 points to help Tennessee hold off Southern California in overtime at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
The first-year forward made 7 of 13 shots and 10 of 12 free throws to go with eight rebounds for the Volunteers (4-1), with four of those free throws coming in overtime.
Santiago Vescovi overcame a rough shooting game to hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:45 left in the extra period, while Zakai Zeigler went 4 for 4 at the line in the final 23.7 seconds left of overtime to seal the win.
Boogie Ellis scored 21 points in his second big output in as many days to lead the Trojans (4-2).
The Vols advanced to Friday&rsquo;s championship game to face No. 3 Kansas, which edged Wisconsin in overtime.
NO. 24 PURDUE 80, WEST VIRGINIA 68
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Zach Edey had 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead Purdue past West Virginia in the opening round of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament.
Mason Gillis added 14 points for the Boilermakers (4-0), and Brandon Newman came off the bench to score eight points.
Erik Stevenson scored 17 points as the Mountaineers (3-1) lost for the first time this season. Joe Toussaint added 16 points off the bench.
The Boilermakers will face the No. 6 Gonzaga on Friday in the semifinals.

A recap of the standout games on Thanksgiving Thursday was highlighted by a thriller in the Bahamas.