Lions

The New York Knicks didn&rsquo;t just beat the Boston Celtics. They unmade them.
It was never just about winning a series. It was about proving a point. About silencing the doubt that crept in after four straight regular-season losses. About validating every roster move, every inch of grit, and every ounce of sweat poured into this season. It was about showing the basketball world &ndash; loudly and unmistakably &ndash; that this team wasn&rsquo;t just trying to contend. They were trying to conquer.
When the final buzzer sounded in Madison Square Garden and the scoreboard read 119&ndash;81, the Knicks had done just that &ndash; burying the defending champions in a Game 6 demolition and clinching their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years.
But the mission is far from over.
A blueprint forged in Celtics&rsquo; green
From the jump, New York&rsquo;s front office operated with one adversary in mind: Boston. The Celtics were the gold standard, the defending champions, and the measuring stick for anyone serious about owning the East.
Leon Rose and company tailored this roster to match up directly with Boston&rsquo;s strengths. They re-signed OG Anunoby and traded for Mikal Bridges &ndash; two of the league&rsquo;s premier wing defenders &ndash; to neutralize Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Then came the blockbuster deal to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns, who gave the Knicks a stretch big man to go toe-to-toe with Kristaps Porzingis.
Everything was calculated. Every move had Boston&rsquo;s name on it.
And yet, the regular season was a humbling reminder of how far they still had to go. The Celtics swept the Knicks 4&ndash;0, and did so with such ease that New York&rsquo;s grand design felt naive. What good was a plan if the execution failed? If Boston could anticipate every counter, every scheme, every attempt at disruption?
But that&rsquo;s the thing about belief &ndash; it doesn&rsquo;t disappear with setbacks. It adapts. It evolves. It waits for its moment.
A series that changed everything
Heading into the second round, the Knicks were underdogs by every metric. They had a seven-man rotation, an ailing Mitchell Robinson, and a superstar in Jalen Brunson carrying an enormous load. Boston had depth, pedigree, and the confidence of having dismantled them all season.
But the Knicks weren&rsquo;t interested in narratives. They were there to rewrite them.
New York stunned the Celtics by taking Games 1 and 2 in Boston &ndash; punctuated by two clutch defensive stops from Mikal Bridges. In Game 1, it was a strip of Jaylen Brown. In Game 2, it was a game-sealing closeout on Tatum. That was the turning point&mdash;when the Knicks wrestled control from the defending champs and refused to let go.
OG Anunoby was nothing short of sensational. His defense on Tatum was suffocating, but it was his offensive output that tilted the series. He punished Boston with timely threes, strong drives, and unrelenting pressure. By the end of Game 6, he had cemented himself as one of the best two-way performers of the postseason.
Karl-Anthony Towns reminded everyone why the Knicks traded for him. He provided invaluable floor spacing, softening Boston&rsquo;s paint defense and making their double-big lineups less effective. His rebounding and decision-making gave the Knicks versatility they sorely lacked in previous playoff runs.
Josh Hart, the team&rsquo;s emotional engine, played like a man possessed. He chased every loose ball, battled for every rebound, and made hustle plays that sent the Garden into a frenzy. In Game 6, he notched the franchise&rsquo;s first playoff triple-double since 1972. He was the spirit of the Knicks personified.
Mitchell Robinson, matched against the veteran Al Horford, was a force on the glass and in the paint. His size and activity made Boston work for everything. And the Towns-Robinson pairing &ndash; while unconventional &ndash;&nbsp; at times gave New York an edge in rim protection and rebounding.
Miles McBride, the fan favorite, was the exclamation point. His clutch shooting and relentless defense made the most of his minutes. The Garden roared every time he touched the ball, and in Game 6, he gave fans even more to cheer for with 10 points and relentless pressure on the perimeter.
And, of course, Jalen Brunson. The league&rsquo;s Clutch Player of the Year showed why he earned that title. Whether it was a floater in traffic, a step-back jumper, or a drive through contact, Brunson delivered in every critical moment. He averaged 26.2 points in the series and captained the Knicks with poise, toughness, and swagger.
He was, and continues to be, the heart of New York&rsquo;s renaissance.
More than just a win &ndash; it&rsquo;s a revival
The impact of this series win goes beyond the scoreboard. It reverberated through the city. New York, a basketball town starving for success, erupted in celebration. Celebrities poured out of the Garden. Streets were flooded with fans chanting &ldquo;Go New York Go New York Go!&rdquo;. Timoth&eacute;e Chalamet &ndash; yes, even the &lsquo;Lisan Al Gaib&rsquo; &ndash; joined in in support of his favorite NBA team
It lit up the NBA world. What was supposed to be Boston&rsquo;s coronation turned into a Knicks uprising. The defending champs were outclassed, outcoached, and outworked. And the league took notice.
It reaffirmed the Knicks&rsquo; vision. Every decision, every gamble &ndash; they were worth it. This wasn&rsquo;t just a team that got hot. This was a team that executed its plan to perfection when it mattered most.
&ndash; &ndash; &ndash;
However, the job is not yet done.&nbsp;
The Knicks have their work cut out for them from here on out. Two series down, two series to go. Now, it&rsquo;s on to Indiana.
The Pacers are no easy out. Led by All-NBA guard Tyrese Haliburton and a deep, versatile supporting cast, they&rsquo;ve steamrolled through the playoffs with pace, ball movement, and shooting.
The Knicks, meanwhile, continue to rely on a tight, seven-man rotation. They&rsquo;ll enter the series with the same urgency, the same intensity &ndash; but also with heavier legs.
It&rsquo;ll be a clash of philosophies: New York&rsquo;s top-heavy, defense-first grind versus Indiana&rsquo;s spread attack and bench firepower. But if the Celtics series proved anything, it&rsquo;s that the Knicks are more than just a system. They&rsquo;re a team that believes &ndash; fiercely and completely.
They believe in each other. They believe in the plan. And now, for the first time in decades, the entire city believes alongside them.
So no, the job&rsquo;s not done, but the Knicks are exactly where they believed they&rsquo;d be.
And they're just getting started.

The Knicks finally beat the Celtics in a dramatic 6-game series, validating their season-long mission, but the job's not finished yet.

The Knicks were built to beat the Celtics – now they’re built for more

As the 2025 NBA Playoffs tip off, every team in the Eastern Conference brings with it a burning question. Some are looking to validate their dominance, others are hoping to make noise for the first time, and a few are simply trying to recapture playoff magic from the past. Here&rsquo;s one key question for each East playoff squad heading into this year&rsquo;s postseason.
Cleveland Cavaliers &ndash; Are they for real?
The Cavaliers were expected to take a leap under new head coach Kenny Atkinson, but few predicted it would be this significant. Cleveland posted a 64-18 record, up from 51 wins last season, and ranked eighth in the NBA in defensive rating (111.8) while climbing to the best in the league in offensive rating (121.0). It&rsquo;s a massive leap in two-way consistency, anchored by Evan Mobley&rsquo;s breakout campaign and a more dynamic offense tailored around Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland.
Mobley&rsquo;s development has been a game-changer. The 22-year-old averaged career-highs in points (18.5), rebounds (9.3), and assists (3.2), while maintaining elite rim protection (1.6 blocks per game). Offensively, his confidence as a shot creator and short-roll playmaker opened up space for the rest of the team. The Cavs now run more actions through Mobley, especially from the elbows, and his improved jump shot has made him far more difficult to guard.
But make no mistake &ndash; Mitchell remains the barometer. The All-Star guard battled injuries down the stretch but still averaged 24.0 points, 4.5 assists, and 5.0 rebounds on 44.3% shooting. If he can stay healthy and lead confidently on both ends, Cleveland has the pieces to make a legitimate run to the conference finals.
The Cavs have the metrics, the momentum, and the maturity. Now it&rsquo;s about proving they belong with the league&rsquo;s elite when the lights are the brightest.
Boston Celtics &ndash; Can they go back-to-back?
The reigning champions enter the playoffs with a sense of unfinished business &mdash; not because they failed last year, but because they&rsquo;re now chasing greatness. The Celtics finished 61-21 this season for back to back 60-win seasons. They had the league&rsquo;s second best net rating at +9.4, fueled by elite balance: second in offensive rating (119.5) and fourth in defensive rating (110.1).
Jayson Tatum continues to evolve as one of the NBA&rsquo;s most complete stars. His 26.8 points per game came with improved efficiency (58.2% true shooting) and a career-high 8.7 rebounds. Tatum has learned to pick his spots better, moving the ball when doubled and attacking mismatches when given space. Jaylen Brown, fresh off his Finals MVP last season, has become a more consistent creator as well, averaging 22.2 points.
Add in Kristaps Porzingis&rsquo; floor spacing and rim protection, Jrue Holiday&rsquo;s stability on both ends, and Derrick White&rsquo;s ability to do everything in between, and the Celtics are again the most complete team in basketball. But repeating is never easy. No team has done it since the Warriors in 2018, and even small injuries or matchup issues can derail a title defense.
Boston is built for this moment, but with every other East contender gunning for them, the question looms large: can they close the deal twice in a row?
New York Knicks &ndash; Can they stay healthy?
When fully healthy, the Knicks look like a team that can hang with anyone &mdash; and that includes Boston and Cleveland. But that&rsquo;s been the caveat all season. Jalen Brunson missed 17 games, Karl-Anthony Towns sat for 10, and OG Anunoby dealt with multiple absences due to elbow and hamstring issues. New York&rsquo;s starting five of Brunson, Hart, Bridges, Anunoby, and Towns had time to play with pace and their own style, and they looked formidable.
Brunson has been the Knicks&rsquo; engine, averaging 26.0 points and 7.3 assists while continuing to elevate in crunch time. His pairing with Towns gave New York a new level of offensive versatility, and Mikal Bridges&rsquo; ability to guard top wings allowed them to scheme freely. But concerns about wear and tear remain &mdash; especially under Tom Thibodeau, whose rotations have leaned heavily on his starters. All five starters have averaged in the top 15 of the most minutes played in the league, and that can likely put a strain on their bodies.
Depth is another concern. The Knicks rely on Precious Achiuwa, Cam Payne, Delon Wright, and Landry Shamet to absorb the bench minutes. A deep run hinges on all starters being available and fresh throughout the postseason. If any one piece breaks down, New York could fall short of its championship aspirations.
This is their most talented team in years &mdash; but availability may be just as important as ability.
Indiana Pacers &ndash; Do they have enough to make a deep run once more?
Last year, the Pacers surprised many by reaching the second round, aided in part by injuries to their first-round opponent. This year, expectations are higher &mdash; and the margin for error is thinner. Indiana finished 50-32 and ranked 9th in offensive rating at 115.4. Their identity remains clear: run fast, shoot threes, and trust in Tyrese Haliburton to control the tempo.
Haliburton posted 18.6 points and 9.2 assists per game this season, and despite shooting efficiency dipped slightly as teams began pressuring him more aggressively, he bounced back quite nicely and got back to the high level he was playing at. That&rsquo;s where Pascal Siakam comes in to help him and provide a stabilizing frontcourt presence, while defending opposing bigs.
Depth-wise, the Pacers have the tools. Myles Turner remains one of the league&rsquo;s best shot blockers, Andrew Nembhard has been solid alongside Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin has been a spark off the bench, and Aaron Nesmith&rsquo;s development as a 3-and-D wing adds much-needed versatility. Still, the question remains: can they win when the pace slows and every possession becomes a grind?
Indiana is fun, fast, and fearless. But deep playoff success often requires more grit than style &mdash; and this postseason will test how much of both they truly possess.
Milwaukee Bucks &ndash; How lethal can the Giannis-Dame combo be?
It&rsquo;s been a bumpy road for the Bucks since pairing Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, but they enter the playoffs with renewed hope. Injuries limited their time together but when both were on the floor, Milwaukee looked like a top 4 team in the East. The potential for a dominant inside-out attack remains, even as questions swirl around their chemistry and late-game execution.
Giannis put up another MVP-caliber campaign (30.4 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 6.5 APG) on 60.1% shooting, while Lillard added 24.9 points and 7.1 assists per game, albeit with a slight dip in efficiency (44.8 FG%, 37.6 3P%). Their pick-and-roll tandem has shown flashes of brilliance, especially with spacing provided by their teammates. But Milwaukee&rsquo;s defense remains a glaring concern, particularly at the point-of-attack.
Much of that responsibility falls on new head coach Doc Rivers, who took over midseason and has spent much of his tenure reshaping the defensive schemes. The team has shown better connectivity lately, but consistency is key. If the Bucks can get solid two-way contributions from Brook Lopez, Taurean Prince, and Kyle Kuzma, their ceiling rises considerably.
This postseason is the first true test of the Giannis-Dame partnership after a failed one last year. Can it deliver in crunch time and carry Milwaukee back to the Finals?
Detroit Pistons &ndash; Can they win a playoff series?
One of the most surprising stories of the season, the Detroit Pistons went from dead last in 2024 to securing the No. 6 seed in 2025 with a 44-38 record. It&rsquo;s a dramatic turnaround fueled by internal growth, better health, and the emergence of Cade Cunningham as a legitimate star. Cunningham averaged 26.1 points, 9.1 assists, and 6.1 rebounds, and improved his shooting splits across the board &mdash; including a respectable 35.6% from three.
Head coach J.B Bickerstaff deserves credit for stabilizing the young roster. Jaden Ivey (despite being out for the year to injury), Ausar Thompson, and Jalen Duren have all taken steps forward in their roles, and the addition of veterans Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Tobias Harris has added much-needed floor spacing and leadership. The Pistons ranked 10th in defensive rating at 112.5 &mdash; a massive leap from their abysmal finish last season
Still, playoff basketball is a different animal. Detroit lacks experience, and their margin for error will be slim. Can Cunningham carry the offense when defenses trap him? Can their shooters hit timely shots? And can Duren hold his own against seasoned playoff bigs?
Winning a series would be monumental for the franchise &mdash; and a sign that Detroit&rsquo;s rebuild is truly behind them.
Orlando Magic &ndash; Can their offense hold up?
There&rsquo;s no questioning the Magic&rsquo;s defensive pedigree. They finished second in defensive rating (109.1) and boast a switch-heavy scheme built around length, versatility, and discipline. But the big question entering the playoffs: can they score enough? Orlando ranked just 27th in offensive rating (108.9), and the loss of Jalen Suggs and Mo Wagner due to injuries further thins their already-limited shot creation.
Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner carry the bulk of the offense, but both have faced inconsistent stretches. Teams often sag off sub-par shooters like Cory Joseph or Jonathan Isaac, daring Orlando to hit perimeter shots &mdash; something they&rsquo;ve struggled to do all year. Against Boston&rsquo;s elite defense, those issues could be magnified.
Orlando will try to control tempo, force turnovers, and win the possession battle. They&rsquo;ve been excellent in close games, but whether they can consistently generate efficient halfcourt looks remains uncertain.
Defense may win championships, but the Magic need buckets to even stay in the fight.
Miami Heat &ndash; Will they be able to replicate the Heat playoff magic this year?
The Heat have built a reputation as a team you never want to face in the playoffs &mdash; especially as a lower seed. In 2023, they made the Finals as an 8-seed. In 2024, they made the Celtics work despite key injuries. But can they pull off another surprise run this year? The roster remains largely intact, but injuries, aging stars, and inconsistency have clouded their outlook.
Without Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo must step up on offense while anchoring the defense. Tyler Herro&rsquo;s scoring punch is much needed, and the role players should contribute as well. But questions linger around depth and chemistry within their lineups after a shaky year.
The Heat finished just 21st in offensive rating (112.4) and 9th in defensive rating (112.0), a sign that the margins are tighter than ever. Still, if any team knows how to punch above its weight class, it&rsquo;s this one. Erik Spoelstra will maximize every mismatch, he always finds a way to manipulate the opposing team.
Don&rsquo;t count them out just yet but don&rsquo;t expect the same magic to happen each and every time as well.

Breaking down the biggest question facing each team in the 2025 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs.

2025 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs: Each team’s biggest question in the playoffs

Blake Stern previews the NBA's Central Division, breaking down each team's projected lineup and burning question entering the year.

NBA Central Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

The NBA announced that 242 players have filed as early-entry candidates for the 2023 NBA Draft. Here is the complete list.

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

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

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

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Tyler Kolek had 21 points and 10 assists, and No. 6 Marquette clinched its first outright Big East championship by beating Butler 72-56 on Tuesday night.
The victory was the fifth in a row and 10th in 11 games for the surprising Golden Eagles (24-6, 16-3), picked ninth by the league&rsquo;s coaches in the preseason poll.
Marquette, which had already secured a share of its first Big East title since 2013, had not won an outright regular-season crown since doing so in Conference USA in 2003.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper added 14 points and Oso Ighodaro had 12 for the Golden Eagles, who will be the top seed in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden &mdash; an event Marquette has never won.
Jayden Taylor scored 13 and Jalen Thomas had 10 for Butler (14-16, 6-13), which finished 4-6 in Big East home games.
NO. 3 KANSAS 67, TEXAS TECH 63
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson scored 21 points in his Allen Fieldhouse farewell, fellow senior Kevin McCullar Jr. added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Kansas clinched a share of the Big 12 regular-season championship.
Dajuan Harris had 16 points for the Jayhawks (25-5, 13-4), who would capture the outright crown if ninth-ranked Texas loses to No. 22 TCU on Wednesday night. Otherwise, the Jayhawks &mdash; now with an NCAA-leading 64 conference championships &mdash; would need to beat the Longhorns in a head-to-head showdown Saturday in Austin.
De&rsquo;Vion Harmon had 15 points to lead Texas Tech (16-14, 5-12), which was just 3 of 16 from the 3-point line. Kevin Obanor added 14 points, Fardaws Aimaq had 13 points and 18 rebounds, and Pop Isaacs finished with 11 points.
NO. 12 TENNESSEE 75, ARKANSAS 57
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Olivier Nkamhoua scored 16 points and Tennessee earned its second consecutive win.
Despite the victory, the Volunteers (22-8, 11-6 Southeastern Conference) may have sustained a significant loss. Three minutes into the game, sophomore point guard Zakai Zeigler, who brings energy on offense and defense, went down with an injury to his left knee. The extent of the injury wasn&rsquo;t immediately known, but he did not return.
Santiago Vescovi, who took over the role of point guard for Zeigler, added 14 points and Josiah-Jordan James scored 11.
Anthony Black and Davonte Davis each scored 13 for the Razorbacks (19-11, 8-9). Nick Smith Jr. scored 14 and Ricky Council 11.
NO. 13 VIRGINIA 64, CLEMSON 57
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Jayden Gardner had 12 points and nine rebounds, Armaan Franklin and Isaac McKneely each scored 12, and Virginia stopped a two-game skid.
The Cavaliers (22-6, 14-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) moved into a tie for second place in the league with No. 16 Miami with one game remaining.
PJ Hall led the Tigers (21-9, 13-6) with 19 points and Hunter Tyson had 17. Clemson got within 59-55 with 33 seconds left, but Virginia made five free throws and had a steal, sending the Tigers to their fifth loss in eight games.
IOWA 90, NO. 15 INDIANA 68
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Kris Murray scored 26 points, Tony Perkins flirted with the first triple-double in Iowa history and the Hawkeyes defeated Indiana.
Perkins had 23 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high eight assists for Iowa (19-11, 11-8 Big Ten).
Trayce Jackson-Davis led the Hoosiers (20-10, 11-8) with 26 points and 13 rebounds. He became the school&rsquo;s career rebounding leader with 1,096 &mdash; on a night the Hoosiers lost their fourth in a row in the series.
BOISE STATE 66, NO. 18 SAN DIEGO STATE 60
BOISE, Idaho (AP) &mdash; Max Rice scored 26 points and reeled off 12 straight points in a 14-0 run to close out the game and Boise State remained perfect at home in conference play.
The Broncos (23-7, 13-4 Mountain West Conference) avenged a 20-point loss to San Diego State on Feb. 3. It was the Broncos&rsquo; first win over a ranked team this season. Tyson Degenhart scored 14 for Boise State, while Naje Smith added 10.
San Diego State (23-6, 14-3), which had already claimed a share of the conference crown with its buzzer-beating win over New Mexico on Saturday, failed to hold onto a late nine-point lead. Matt Bradley paced San Diego State with 16 points, and Micah Parrish chipped in 11.
NO. 24 TEXAS A&amp;M 69, MISSISSIPPI 61
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Tyrece Radford scored 13 points as Texas A&amp;M erased an early 12-point deficit to beat Mississippi.
Wade Taylor IV added 12 points and seven assists and Julius Marble scored 10 for the Aggies, who went 13 of 16 from the free-throw line in the second half to stave off the Rebels&rsquo; attempt at a late rally.
Texas A&amp;M (22-8, 14-3 Southeastern Conference) trailed 20-8 after seven minutes but took a 29-26 lead on Taylor&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 4:06 left in the first half. The Aggies never trailed again.
Matthew Murrell made 8 of 11 from 3-point range and scored 26 points to lead Ole Miss (11-19, 3-13).

The Golden Eagles had not won an outright regular-season crown since doing so in Conference USA in 2003.

No. 6 Marquette clinches first outright Big East title

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Keyontae Johnson scored 25 points, Markquis Nowell added 14 points and 10 assists, and No. 14 Kansas State followed a long first-half slump with a big second-half run to beat ninth-ranked Baylor 75-65 on Tuesday night.
Cam Carter added 10 points for the Wildcats (21-7, 9-6 Big 12), who trailed 34-31 at the break before their 18-4 charge gave them control. They coasted from there to a school record-tying seventh win over a ranked team this season.
Keyonte George hit six 3-pointers and scored 23 points for Baylor (20-8, 9-6), which had won seven of its last eight against the Wildcats and three straight in Manhattan. LJ Cryer added four 3s and finished with 16 points.
The game was a rematch for Bears coach Scott Drew and Kansas State counterpart Jerome Tang, who spent 19 years on Drew&rsquo;s bench. And it was every bit as wild as the Wildcats&rsquo; 97-95 overtime win in early January.
NO. 8 TEXAS 72, NO. 23 IOWA STATE 54
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice and Tyrese Hunter each scored 15 points and Texas raced away from Iowa State with a big first half to keep the Longhorns at the top of the Big 12.
Texas (22-6, 11-4) is tied with No. 3 Kansas for first place with three games left in the regular season. The Longhorns haven&rsquo;t won even a share of the league crown since 2008.
Osun Ossunniyi scored 12 points to lead the Cyclones (17-10, 8-7), who beat Texas in their first matchup.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 73, NO. 19 CREIGHTON 71
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Tyler Kolek&rsquo;s short jump shot gave Marquette the lead with 29 seconds left, and the Golden Eagles took a huge step toward the Big East regular-season title with a win over Creighton.
The Golden Eagles (22-6, 14-3) saw a 10-point lead with eight minutes left evaporate before Kolek came up big during a wild finish before a sellout crowd at CHI Health Center.
Kam Jones led Marquette with 19 points and Kolek and Oso Ighodaro added 18 apiece.
Baylor Scheierman had 18 points to lead the Bluejays (18-10, 12-5). Ryan Nembhard added 16.
NO. 25 TEXAS A&amp;M 68, NO. 11 TENNESSEE 63
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) &mdash; Wade Taylor IV scored 25 points, including four free throws down the stretch, and Texas A&amp;M extended its winning streak to six games.
Julius Marble added 21 points and nine rebounds for the Aggies (21-7, 13-2 Southeastern Conference), who haven&rsquo;t lost since Jan. 21.
It&rsquo;s the fourth loss in five games for the Volunteers (20-8, 9-6), with their only win in this stretch coming in a 68-59 victory over then-No. 1 Alabama on Wednesday.
Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler had 14 points each for Tennessee.
NO. 13 MIAMI 76, VIRGINIA TECH 70
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Norchad Omier had 17 points and 14 rebounds as Miami won its seventh straight.
Nigel Pack added 16 points for the Hurricanes (23-5, 14-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who placed five players in double figures. Isaiah Wong finished with 13 points and Jordan Miller had 11 for Miami, which shot just 42.2% (27 of 64) after leading the ACC at 48.7 percent coming into the game. The Hurricanes helped themselves with 14 offensive rebounds.
Sean Pedulla led Virginia Tech (16-12, 6-11) with 17 points. Hunter Cattoor finished with 15 points for the Hokies, who shot 46.7% (28 of 60).
VILLANOVA 64, NO. 16 XAVIER 63
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Justin Moore scored 25 points to give Villanova its biggest victory under first-year head coach Kyle Neptune.
Cam Whitmore added 11 points for the Wildcats (14-14, 8-9 Big East) who dealt a big blow to the Musketeers&rsquo; Big East title hopes.
Souley Boum led Xavier (20-8, 12-5) with 17 points. Jerome Hunter added 14 and Jack Nunge scored 12.
MICHIGAN STATE 80, NO. 17 INDIANA 65
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Tyson Walker shook off a slow start to score 23 points and lifted Michigan State in its first home game since last week&rsquo;s shootings on campus that killed three students and hospitalized five students.
The Hoosiers (19-9, 10-7) relied heavily on Trayce Jackson-Davis, as usual, and he had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Michigan State&rsquo;s A.J. Hoggard had three turnovers early in the game, then didn&rsquo;t have another turnover and finished with 22 points and five assists. Joey Hauser and Malik Hall each scored 10 points for the Spartans (17-10, 9-7 Big Ten), who have won three of their last four games.
Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 16 and Trey Galloway had 11 points for the Hoosiers.
NO. 22 SAN DIEGO STATE 77, COLORADO STATE 58
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Jaedon LeDee scored 14 points and Matt Bradley scored 10 of his 13 in the first four minutes of the second half for San Diego State, which overwhelmed Colorado State for its fifth straight win.
Bradley, SDSU&rsquo;s leading scorer, appeared to hurt a finger on his left hand and was subbed out during a timeout with 7:47 left and the Aztecs leading 69-48. He returned with 4:55 to go but didn&rsquo;t play the final two minutes.
Micah Parrish added 12 and Lamont Butler and Darrion Trammell had 11 each for SDSU (22-5, 13-2 Mountain West), which solidified its lead in the conference race. The Aztecs have won nine of their last 10 games dating to an 82-76 overtime win at Colorado State on Jan. 18.
John Tonje scored 18 and Isaiah Rivera 15 for the Rams (12-16, 4-11), who have lost seven of nine.&nbsp;

A recap of Tuesday night's action in men's college hoops a battle of top-15 squads in a crucial Big 12 matchup.

No. 14 Kansas State beats No. 9 Baylor with big second half

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and overtime, and No. 6 Texas held off Oklahoma 85-83 on Saturday.
Rice&rsquo;s fourth 3-pointer of the game gave Texas an 84-77 lead with 2:26 left in overtime.
Oklahoma, however, had a chance to tie or win when Texas&rsquo; Tyrese Hunter missed one of two free throws with 6.8 seconds left. But Sam Godwin missed a shot from near the rim, and Texas extended its winning streak against Oklahoma to five games.
Marcus Carr added 17 points for Texas (21-6, 10-4 Big 12), and Timmy Allen had 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Grant Sherfield led Oklahoma (13-14, 3-11) with 18 points, including a 3-pointer that sent the game to overtime. Milos Uzan scored 15 for the Sooners.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 108, GEORGIA 59
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Miller scored 21 points, Nick Pringle had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Mark Sears made five 3-pointers in the first half to lead Alabama.
The Crimson Tide (23-4, 13-1 Southeastern Conference) rebounded from their first SEC loss by racing to a 54-25 halftime lead and a season scoring high. Alabama was coming off a 68-59 loss at No. 10 Tennessee on Wednesday night after rising to No. 1 for only the second time in program history and first in 20 years.&nbsp;
ustin Hill led Georgia (16-11, 6-8) with 17 points. Terry Roberts scored 11 and Braelen Bridges 10.
NO. 4 UCLA 78, CALIFORNIA 43
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 20 points and UCLA routed last-place California to improve to 15-0 at Pauley Pavilion this season and extend the nation&rsquo;s longest home winning streak to 23 games.
Amari Bailey added 16 points and nine rebounds for the first-place Bruins (23-4, 14-2 Pac-12), who clinched a first-round bye in next month&rsquo;s Pac-12 Tournament with their 11th win in a row over last-place Cal.
Kuany Kuany scored 14 points to lead the Golden Bears (3-24, 2-14), who dropped their 11th in a row. They fell to 0-3 against top-5 teams this season, having also lost a pair against No. 8 Arizona.
NO. 5 KANSAS 87, NO. 9 BAYLOR 71
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; DaJuan Harris scored all 14 of his points in the second half as Kansas stormed back from a double-digit halftime deficit.
The Jayhawks (22-5, 10-4 Big 12) outscored the Bears 55-26 in the second half. Jalen Wilson led Kansas with 21 points and 13 rebounds. KJ Adams added 17 points and Gradey Dick had 16.
The Jayhawks are tied with Texas for the top spot in the Big 12 Conference.
Baylor (20-7, 9-5) got nearly all of its scoring from its three-guard combo of Adam Flagler (22 points) Keyonte George (20 points) and LJ Cryer (15 points).
NO. 7 VIRGINIA 57, NOTRE DAME 55
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark scored 15 points, including a pair of critical free throws with 22.6 seconds left, and became Virginia&rsquo;s career assist leader in the narrow win over Notre Dame.
With Notre Dame closing to 55-54, Clark converted both ends of a one-and-one. Trey Wertz made the front end of a one-and-one with 3.9 seconds left for the Fighting Irish, but missed the second after a timeout. The ball was tipped out to Dane Goodwin for a potential game-winning 3-pointer, but his shot bounced off the rim.
Armaan Franklin added 12 points and Reece Beekman had 11 for Virginia (21-4, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). Nate Laszewski led Notre Dame (10-17, 2-14) with 18 points and Goodwin had 12.
NO. 8 ARIZONA 78, COLORADO 68
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Oumar Ballo had 18 points and 16 rebounds, Cedric Henderson Jr. added 15 points and Arizona dominated inside to beat Colorado.
The Wildcats (24-4, 13-4 Pac-12) opened with a rash of turnovers, falling into an early 12-point hole. Arizona righted itself quickly with a big run and slogged through a slowed-down second half by shutting down the Buffaloes.
Tristan da Silva had 18 points the Buffaloes (15-13, 7-10), who shot 38%.
KENTUCKY 66, NO. 10 TENNESSEE 54
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Cason Wallace and Oscar Tshiebwe each scored 16 points and Kentucky rushed to a big lead and beat Tennessee.
The Volunteers (20-7, 9-5 SEC) trailed by 20 points at halftime and lost in their first game since toppling No. 1 Alabama.
The Wildcats (18-9, 9-5) earned their first regular-season sweep of Tennessee since the 2011-12 season. Kentucky defeated the Volunteers 63-56 on Jan. 14 in Knoxville.
Wallace had totaled nine points in the Wildcats&rsquo; previous two games. Chris Livingston added 12 points and Jacob Toppin had 11.
NO. 12 KANSAS STATE 61, NO. 19 IOWA STATE 55
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell hit a 3-pointer from near midcourt with 2:42 remaining to help Kansas State over Iowa State.
Nowell finished with 20 points. Keyontae Johnson had 15 points for the Wildcats (20-7, 8-6 Big 12).
Aljaž Kunc led Iowa State (17-9, 8-6) with 15 points. Without their 3-point leader Caleb Grill in the lineup, the Cyclones worked inside the paint. They had 24 points inside and relied on a balanced scoring line led by Kunc.
NO. 13 GONZAGA 97, PEPPERDINE 88
MALIBU, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 22 of his 34 points in the second half and Julian Strawther added 28 points to help Gonzaga extend its winning streak over the Waves to 45 games.
The Bulldogs (23-5, 12-2 West Coast Conference), who haven&rsquo;t lost to Pepperdine (9-10, 2-12) since Jan. 18, 2002 and have won 20 straight on the road against the Waves.
Timme moved past Bill Cartwright, who scored 2,116 points for San Francisco (1975-79), into eighth on the West Coast Conference&rsquo;s career scoring list with 2,117.
Houston Mallette led the Waves with 22 points. Jevon Porter and Maxwell Lewis added 20 points apiece.
NO. 14 INDIANA 71, ILLINOIS 68
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, Jalen Hood Schifino made two free throws with 30.7 seconds left, and Indiana rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to beat Illinois.
Hood-Schifino had 13 points for the Hoosiers (19-8, 10-6 Big Ten), who have won nine of 11 overall and 15 straight on their homecourt.
Matthew Mayer scored 24 to lead the Fighting Illini (17-9, 8-7), who were without injured leading scorer Terrence Shannon.
NO. 15 MIAMI 96, WAKE FOREST 87
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Isaiah Wong scored 27 points and Nijel Pack finished with 24 in Miami&rsquo;s win over Wake Forest.
Norchard Omier had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting while Jordan Miller added 14 points for the Hurricanes (22-5, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their sixth straight and improved to 15-0 at home.
Tyree Appleby scored 15 points and Damari Monsanto and Cameron Hildreth had 14 each for the Demon Deacons (17-10, 9-7). Andrew Carr and Mathew Marsh finished with 12 points each.
NO. 16 XAVIER 82, DEPAUL 68
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Jack Nunge had 18 points and 10 rebounds as Xavier bounced back from a pair of narrow losses to beat DePaul.
The Musketeers (20-7, 12-4 Big East) reached the 20-win mark for the 34th time in school history, 32 of which have come since the 1982-83 season. It was the 17th career double-double for Nunge, eighth this season. Adam Kunkel scored 16 points and tied a career-high with eight assists for Xavier.
Umoja Gibson had 17 points and De&rsquo;Sean Nelson 16 for DePaul (9-18, 3-13), which lost its eighth in a row.
NO. 17 ST. MARY&rsquo;S 71, BYU 65
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Logan Johnson scored 27 points and Aidan Mahaney delivered once again in the second half to lead Saint Mary&rsquo;s to its 15th win in 16 games.
Mahaney scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and Mitchell Saxen added 13. The Gaels (24-5, 13-1 West Coast Conference) won their 16th straight conference home game to maintain a one-game lead over Gonzaga in the standings.
Fousseyni Traore scored 16 points to lead the Cougars (16-14, 6-9). BYU has lost four straight and was swept in the season series by the Gaels.
NO. 18 CREIGHTON 77, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 67
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Arthur Kaluma hit three straight 3-pointers down the stretch and Creighton overcame a second-half scoring drought to pull away from St. John&rsquo;s.
Creighton (18-9, 12-4) remained in a three-way tie for second place in the Big East after Providence and Xavier won earlier in the day. Marquette holds a one-game lead in the conference standings.
Ryan Nembhard scored 16 points for the Bluejays. Kaluma finished with 13 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 12 as Creighton won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Joel Soriano led St. John&rsquo;s with 15 points and eight rebounds. David Jones added 14 points off the bench but the Red Storm (16-12, 6-11) were unable to get their third straight win.
NO. 20 UCONN 64, SETON HALL 55
STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points and UConn used a big second-half run to beat Seton Hall.
Andre Jackson had a career high 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for UConn (20-7, 9-7 Big East).
Al-Amir Dawes and Tyrese Samuel each had 16 points for Seton Hall (16-12, 9-8), which trailed by 16 points with six minutes to play before a late run that fell short.
NO. 22 TCU 100, OKLAHOMA STATE 75
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; Mike Miles Jr. had 15 points in his first game in three weeks, five other TCU players also scored in double figures, and the Horned Frogs snapped a four-game losing streak by beating Oklahoma State.
Emanuel Miller had 18 points to lead TCU (18-9, 7-7 Big 12), which shot a staggering season-high 68.4% (39 of 57) from the field. Damion Baugh had 16 points with 11 assists. Shahada Wells had 15 points, Chuck O&rsquo;Bannon 12 and Micah Peavy 10.
Bryce Thompson had 18 points and John-Michael White 15 for the Cowboys (16-11, 7-7).
NO. 24 PROVIDENCE 85, VILLANOVA 72
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Ed Croswell scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Providence earned its 20th victory of the season.
Bryce Hopkins added 19 points and 12 rebounds. Noah Locked finished with 16 points. Croswell connected on two late free throws to notch the 1,000th point of his career.
The Friars (20-7, 12-4 Big East) have recorded 20 or more wins in seven of coach Ed Cooley&rsquo;s 12 seasons. They improved to 15-0 at home, including 8-0 in conference play.
Eric Dixon had 18 points and eight rebounds and Justin Moore added 17 points for the Wildcats (13-14, 7-9)&nbsp;

A recap of Saturday's action in men's college basketball includes a full slate of top-25 teams in heavy competition.

No. 6 Texas needs OT at home to hold off Oklahoma 85-83

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; The fans in Salt Lake City used to serenade Donovan Mitchell with &ldquo;MVP&rdquo; chants when he played for the Utah Jazz, a sign of their appreciation and respect.
He plays for Cleveland now. But he wouldn&rsquo;t mind hearing those cries again Sunday.
The 72nd NBA All-Star Game is Sunday night with almost all of the league&rsquo;s biggest names set to take part in Utah.
Captains LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will pick their teams before the game, leaving Team LeBron coach Michael Malone of the Denver Nuggets and Team Giannis coach Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics about five minutes to come up with an actual game plan.
&ldquo;It never gets old,&rdquo; Antetokounmpo said Saturday. &ldquo;Every day, every time I step to my locker and I see my jersey with my name and I&rsquo;m around all these great players, which are the best players in the world, it&rsquo;s always a great feeling. I never take it for granted. God has blessed me enough to be seven times an All-Star so far, and this might be my last one, so I try to enjoy to the fullest and appreciate every moment with the best players in the world.&rdquo;
And most of the best are indeed in Salt Lake City.
There&rsquo;s James, who just passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA&rsquo;s leading scorer. There&rsquo;s Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic and Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid, currently No. 1 and No. 2 in the NBA scoring race, both of them just over 33 points per game. Antetokounmpo and James also are averaging at least 30 points, as are Portland&rsquo;s Damian Lillard, Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Boston&rsquo;s Jayson Tatum.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always great just being out here with these guys, honestly,&rdquo; DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls said. &ldquo;I look forward to just being able to compete. You know, we go against all these guys all season, so just to kind of detach and play with these guys is definitely an honor.&rdquo;
James will be honored at halftime with a ceremony to celebrate his passing Abdul-Jabbar for the scoring record.
&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s probably going to slow down whenever he wants to slow down,&rdquo; Toronto All-Star forward Pascal Siakam said. &ldquo;It feels like he can play forever. It looks like it.&rdquo;
There&rsquo;s never any real defense in these games until the fourth quarter, when players get serious, and there inevitably will be a bunch of them scoring a bunch of points. After all, that&rsquo;s been a trend this season: 20 times a player has scored 50 points in a game, a list topped by Mitchell scoring 71 for the Cavaliers against Chicago on Jan. 2.
He isn&rsquo;t flat-out going for the MVP, but acknowledged that he&rsquo;s thought about it.
&ldquo;That would be nice,&rdquo; Mitchell said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to try and shoot every shot, but close to every shot. Just have fun. That&rsquo;s the biggest thing is kind of going into these spaces and really appreciating the moment. It&rsquo;d be great to win MVP. I&rsquo;ve had a lot of full-circle moments this year. That would be another one.&rdquo;
THE FORMAT
The first three quarters can be considered mini-games, with the score starting at zero &mdash; but with the total score is still tracked because it comes into play later. The winning team in each quarter gets $100,000 for their charity; if the quarter is a tie, that money gets split.
In the fourth quarter, the total score from the first three quarters becomes the score again. The final target score will be the leading team&rsquo;s score to that point plus 24 points. There&rsquo;s no game clock, but there is a shot clock.
The winning team reaches the target score first. If the score is Team LeBron 100, Team Giannis 99 entering the fourth, the winning score would be 124. The winning team also picks up another $150,000 for its charity.
MVP AWARD
The MVP award is named for Kobe Bryant, and there will be a new winner this year. Last year&rsquo;s MVP, Golden State guard Stephen Curry, was voted into the game as a starter but is out with an injury.
Antetokounmpo was MVP in 2021 and James has been All-Star MVP three times, most recently in 2018. The only other past MVP in this year&rsquo;s game is Kyrie Irving, the 2014 winner.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW
There are six players in the All-Star Game who&rsquo;ll be making their debut: Minnesota&rsquo;s Anthony Edwards, Sacramento&rsquo;s De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Indiana&rsquo;s Tyrese Haliburton, Memphis&rsquo; Jaren Jackson Jr., and &mdash; last but certainly not least to Jazz fans &mdash; Utah&rsquo;s Lauri Markkanen.
With those six names, there are now been 450 All-Stars in NBA history.
MOVING UP
If Antetokounmpo scores 26 points Sunday, that would put him at 200 for his career in All-Star Games.
Only 10 other players have scored that many in their combined All-Star appearances: James, Bryant, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Durant, Oscar Robertson, Bob Pettit, Julius Erving, Elgin Baylor and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal.
Antetokounmpo has averaged 29 points in his six previous All-Star Games &mdash; the most in NBA history for those who have appeared in at least three games.
BACK IN UTAH
Salt Lake City becomes the 19th city (or region) to play host to multiple All-Star Games. The Jazz also had the NBA&rsquo;s midseason showcase in 1993.
Indianapolis joins that list next year when it plays host to the weekend&rsquo;s events. It&rsquo;ll be the first time that the Pacers&rsquo; home city has been the All-Star site since 1985.

The 72nd NBA All-Star Game is Sunday night with almost all of the league’s biggest names set to take part in Utah.

2023 NBA All-Star Game: All you need to know about Sunday’s event

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Tyrin Lawrence knocked down a 3-pointer from the right corner at the buzzer as the Vanderbilt Commodores snapped an 11-game skid against its in-state rival by upsetting sixth-ranked Tennessee 66-65 on Wednesday night.
Students rushed the court and joined the Commodores (12-12, 5-6) in celebrating easily the biggest win in coach Jerry Stackhouse&rsquo;s fourth season.
Tennessee (19-5, 8-2) had a chance to finish off the win after Olivier Nkamhoua knocked down a 15-foot jumper with 50 seconds left for a 65-63 lead. Liam Robbins missed a turnaround jumper with 27 seconds for Vanderbilt, and Zakai Zeigler grabbed the rebound.
Lawrence finished with a team-high 19 points. Robbins added 14 and nine rebounds, and Jordan Wright had 12.
Santiago Vescovi and Tyreke Key each had 14 to lead Tennessee. Nkamhoua and Julian Phillips added 10 apiece.
NO. 2 HOUSTON 80, TULSA 42
HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Marcus Sasser scored 25 points and had five 3-pointers, Emanuel Sharp added 13 points and Houston earned its fifth straight win.
Sasser scored 19 points on 8 of 13 shooting in the first half as the Cougars (23-2, 11-1 American Athletic Conference) built a 46-18 halftime lead. The senior guard had the first 12 points in a 24-2 run that gave Houston a 31-12 lead with six minutes remaining in the first half.
Tim Dalger scored 13 points, and Sam Griffin added 11 points for Tulsa (5-18, 1-11).
NO. 3 ALABAMA 97, FLORIDA 69
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Miller scored 24 points and made 4 of 8 3-pointers to lead No. 3 Alabama over Florida.
The Crimson Tide (21-3, 11-0 Southeastern Conference) raced to a 29-point halftime lead against the Gators (13-11, 6-5), who had knocked off then-No. 2 Tennessee a week earlier.
Miller added nine rebounds and three assists for the Tide. Mark Sears made 4 of 6 3s and scored 19 for Alabama, which buried 15 shots from long range. Jahvon Quinerly had 11 points.
Colin Castleton led Florida with 29 points and 10 rebounds. He accounted for 13 of his team&rsquo;s 23 in the first half and made 11 of 14 free throws. Riley Kugel added 15 points and Will Richard scored 11.
WEST VIRGINIA 76, NO. 11 IOWA STATE 71
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) &mdash; Kedrian Johnson tied a career high with 22 points, and West Virginia held off Iowa State.
Emmitt Mathews added a season-high 20 points for the Mountaineers (15-9, 4-7 Big 12), who have won five of seven to get their season moving in the right direction after they dropped five in a row during one stretch.
Jaren Holmes led the Cyclones (16-7, 7-4) with 18 points. Freshman Tamin Lipsey had a season-high 16 points and Caleb Grill added 13.
NO. 14 BAYLOR 82, OKLAHOMA 72
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Keyonte George had 23 points, Adam Flagler scored 20 and big man Johnathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua made a couple of key 3-pointers as Baylor held on to beat Oklahoma.
Langston Love added 19 points for Baylor (18-6, 7-4 Big 12), which has won eight of nine overall since losing its first three league games.
The Sooners (12-12, 2-9) lost their sixth consecutive conference game, the last three since a still-hard-to-explain 93-69 win over then-No. 2 Alabama in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Grant Sherfield had 15 points, including four 3-pointers, for the Sooners, and Milos Uzan added 11 points. Otega Oweh and Joe Bamisile both scored 10.
NO. 20 PROVIDENCE 74, GEORGETOWN 62
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Bryce Hopkins scored 17 points and Providence won for the fourth time in five games.
Devin Carter and Ed Croswell had 12 points apiece as the Friars (18-6, 10-3 Big East). Noah Locke added 11 points, shooting 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
Bradley Ezewiro paced last-place Georgetown (6-19, 1-13) with 19 points and Primo Spears added 18. Brandon Murray scored 16 as the Hoyas dropped their fourth straight.
NO. 23 CREIGHTON 75, SETON HALL 62
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Baylor Scheierman had 19 points and nine rebounds, Ryan Nembhard added 15 on 6-of-7 shooting and dished out four assists, and Creighton fended off a feisty Seton Hall.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 13 points and Arthur Kaluma had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Bluejays (16-8, 10-3 Big East).
Seton Hall (15-10, 8-6) opened up the second half with an Al-Amir Dawes 3-pointer to take the lead before Kalkbrenner quickly tied things up at 42. Tyrese Samuel drilled a 3-pointer in the corner to give Seton Hall a 49-43 lead &ndash; its largest of the game &ndash; with 16:49 left.
Dawes had 19 points, Samuel had 11 points and Kadary Richmond added 10 points for Seton Hall.
NO. 25 SAN DIEGO STATE 63, UTAH STATE 61
LOGAN, Utah (AP) &mdash; Matt Bradley scored 18 points and San Diego State held on to beat Utah State.
Bradley made his first seven shots and went 7 of 9 from the field overall to help keep the Aztecs (19-5, 10-2 Mountain West Conference) atop the conference standings. Jaedon LeDee had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Micah Parrish added 12 points for San Diego State. The Aztecs&rsquo; top three scorers grabbed a combined 22 rebounds.
Steven Ashworth had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds for Utah State (19-6, 8-4). Taylor Funk added 11 points and eight rebounds for the Aggies, who lost at home for just the second time this season.&nbsp;

A recap of Wednesday night's action in men's college hoops includes two top-15 upsets, most notably the Commodores downing the Vols.

Vanderbilt’s late three-pointer stuns No. 6 Tennessee 66-65

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 21 points and Timmy Allen added 18 to send No. 10 Texas to a 76-71 win over No. 11 Baylor on Monday night, ending the Bears&rsquo; six-game win streak and keeping the Longhorns in a share of first place in the Big 12.
Rice made four 3-pointers in the second half and his two free throws with 16 seconds left put Texas ahead by five with the final points.
Baylor had closed to 72-71 on Keyonte George&rsquo;s three-point play before Texas answered with Marcus Carr&rsquo;s fallaway jumper with 27 seconds left. It was Carr&rsquo;s first basket of the second half and just his second of the game.
Rice, a 29% 3-point shooter in Big 12 play, was 4 of 5 shooting from long range. Allen was 7 of 10 from the floor and made two free throws in the final minute that put the Longhorns (18-4, 7-2) ahead by four.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what this league is about. You have to put your hat on every day and come to work. That was one of the hardest games I&rsquo;ve been in since I got here,&rdquo; Allen said. &ldquo;In the Big 12, that&rsquo;s what it takes every night. &rdquo;
Baylor had fought back from nine points down in the first half to tie it at 38 on the opening possession after halftime. Texas answered with a quick 8-0 run punctuated by a 3-pointer by Tyrese Hunter, a put-back dunk by Dillon Mitchell and Allen&rsquo;s short jumper over two defenders.
Rice&rsquo;s 3-pointers kept any chance of a Baylor rally in check and Texas never trailed in the second half.
LJ Cryer scored 19 points to lead four Baylor players in double figures.
Baylor (16-6, 5-4) trailed 70-68 with a chance to take the lead in the final two minutes, but Adam Flagler threw up a quick 3-pointer that missed before Allen made his two late free throws.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to have long winning streaks in this league,&rdquo; Baylor coach Scott Drew said. &ldquo;You can play well and lose games.&rdquo;
Baylor had won 12 of the previous 13 matchups with the Longhorns.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve had our number,&rdquo; Texas interim coach Rodney Terry said. &ldquo;We needed to find a way to get this thing done. We were at home.&rdquo;
MISSING POINTS
Carr, Texas&rsquo; leading scorer this season, had a rare off night as a shooter. He was just 2 of 8 from the floor and didn&rsquo;t score in double figures for just the third time this season, and the first time since Dec. 12.
&ldquo;Guys picked each other up,&rdquo; Rice said. &ldquo;Obviously Marcus didn&rsquo;t have the game everybody&rsquo;s used to him having, but he still made sure we sure we were playing defense ... Things like that got us the win.&rdquo;
BIG PICTURE
Baylor: The Bears fell in love with the 3-pointer and couldn&rsquo;t break out of it against a Texas defense that denied shot after shot near the basket. Baylor was 8 of 26 from long range and made just two in the second half.
&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t let them dictate what we do,&rdquo; Cryer said.
Texas: The Longhorns were coming off a loss at No. 2 Tennessee, when Terry complained the Longhorns let themselves get pushed around in a physical matchup. They had no such problems against the Bears, nearly matching the Bears in rebounding and points in the paint.
&ldquo;(Terry) challenged us on defense. He challenged us to be better. We&rsquo;re not a team that&rsquo;s used to getting out-toughed. We had to respond physically, mentally,&rdquo; Allen said.
UP NEXT
Baylor hosts Texas Tech on Saturday.
Texas plays at No. 7 Kansas State on Saturday.

Texas' win snapped Baylor's six-game win streak and kept the Longhorns in a share of first place in the Big 12.

Rice, Allen lead No. 10 Texas over No. 11 Baylor 76-71

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Ja Morant had 27 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 28 points and the Memphis Grizzlies overcame a lackluster first half to defeat the Indiana Pacers 112-100 on Sunday.
Brandon Clarke had 13 points, hitting all five of his shots as Memphis snapped a five-game losing streak and ran its home record to 21-3. It was Morant&rsquo;s fifth triple-double of the season and second in a row.
Benedict Mathurin, the sixth pick in the 2022 draft, led the Pacers with 27 points and eight rebounds. Aaron Nesmith had 16 points and Myles Turner added 15 points.
The Pacers dominated the first half, leading by as many as 19. First-half shooting, which hovered at 60% at the midway point of the second quarter, helped Indiana to a 62-50 lead at the break.
But 14 straight points brought Memphis back into the game early in the third quarter, and the Grizzlies outscored Indiana 30-17 in the third to retake the lead.
Memphis&rsquo; 13-2 run to open the fourth opened the game up.
Both teams entered the game reeling from losing skids. Memphis was returning home after a winless five-game trip West, while the Pacers had lost nine of their last 10.
TIP-INS
Pacers: Guard Tyrese Haliburton continued to sit out with left knee and elbow sprains, but there were indications Indiana&rsquo;s top scorer could return to action soon. Coach Rick Carlisle expects Haliburton to practice this week &ldquo;and looking toward the real possibility that he could play this weekend.&rdquo;
Grizzlies: Have won eight straight at home; their last home loss was Dec. 27 to Phoenix. ... Guard Desmond Bane sat out with right knee soreness. Coach Taylor Jenkins classified Bane as day-to-day and expects him to return this week.
TURNER EXTENSION
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/myles-turner-pacers-agree-on-twoyear-60m-extension" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Turner will stay with Indiana</a>&nbsp;after agreeing to a two-year contract extension. Carlisle said the team has a Monday news conference planned.
MOMENT OF SILENCE
Sunday was the Grizzlies&rsquo; first home game since the video was released of Memphis police officers beating Tyre Nichols to death after a traffic stop. The Grizzlies held a pregame moment of silence for Nichols, 29, who died three days after the confrontation with police.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-memphis-crime-law-enforcement-1b7e8fa4ed7120a897086250d5d6da35" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Five officers were fired and indicted on an array of charges</a>, including second-degree murder.
&ldquo;Obviously, our city is going through a really tough time right now, I&rsquo;m kind of focused on that more than basketball,&rdquo; Jenkins said, adding that the video was &ldquo;very disturbing.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Pacers: Host the Lakers on Tuesday.
Grizzlies: Host Portland on Wednesday.

Ja Morant had 27 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Indiana Pacers 112-100 on Sunday.

Ja Morant's triple-double rallies Grizzlies over Pacers

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Emanuel Sharp came off the bench to score 18 points and No. 3 Houston bounced back from a loss that knocked it from the top spot in the rankings, beating UCF 82-71 on Wednesday night.
Jarace Walker added 17 points, Jamal Shead had 14 points and 10 assists, and Marcus Sasser also scored 14 for the Cougars (19-2, 7-1 American Athletic Conference), who lost 56-55 at home to Temple on Sunday.
Ithiel Horton scored 18 points and Taylor Hendricks had 17 for UCF (13-7, 4-4). Hendricks&rsquo; three-point play capped a 6-0 run that pulled the Knights within 67-62 with 7:02 remaining.
NO. 2 ALABAMA 66, MISSISSIPPI STATE 63
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Jahvon Quinerly scored 14 points and Alabama rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half to beat Mississippi State.
The Crimson Tide (18-2, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) had to climb out of a hole and then hold on two days after reaching the program&rsquo;s highest ranking since rising to No. 1 in the 2002-03 season. The result was a ninth straight win and the first real scare during that stretch.
Quinerly had four assists for the Tide and scored nine in the second half. Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney both scored 13, and Clowney had eight rebounds.
Tolu Smith led Mississippi State (12-8, 1-7) with 15 points and seven rebounds. Dashawn Davis added 14.
NO. 4 TENNESSEE 70, GEORGIA 41
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Zakai Zeigler had 11 points and seven assists and Tennessee held its 10th opponent to 50 or fewer points.
Tobe Awaka came off the bench to score 10 points. Santiago Vescovi had six rebounds, four assists and six steals to go with his eight points as Tennessee (17-3, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) got its first win at home since having its 25-game home winning streak snapped by Kentucky more than a week ago.
The Bulldogs (13-7, 3-4), who managed just 29% shooting from the field, were led by Terry Roberts with 11 points.
NO. 13 XAVIER 82, NO. 19 UCONN 79
STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Souley Boum scored 21 points, Colby Jones added 20 and Xavier won its 13th in 14 games.
Jack Nunge had 12 points and Jerome Hunter added 11 for Xavier (17-4, 9-1 Big East), which led by 17 in the first half and 39-24 at halftime.
Jordan Hawkins scored 26 of his 28 points in the second half for UConn (16-6, 5-6), leading a comeback that fell just short. Tristen Newton added 23 points for the Huskies.
TEXAS A&amp;M 79, NO. 15 AUBURN 63
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Tyrece Radford had 30 points and nine rebounds and Texas A&amp;M ended the nation&rsquo;s longest active home winning streak at 28 games.
The Aggies (14-6, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) used a strong offensive start to hand Auburn its first loss at Neville Arena since Feb. 23, 2021.
Wade Taylor IV finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting for the Aggies.
Johni Broome and Wendell Green Jr. each scored 16 points for the Tigers (16-4, 6-2), who had won five straight games overall.
NO. 23 PROVIDENCE 79, BUTLER 58
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Bryce Hopkins had 16 points and seven rebounds as Providence dominated Butler inside.
Devin Carter added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Friars (16-5, 8-2 Big East), who have won two straight since back-to-back losses at Creighton and Marquette. Providence had a 42-24 rebounding edge and outscored the Bulldogs 48-20 in the paint.
Eric Hunter Jr. had 12 points and Jayden Taylor scored 10 with a team-high five rebounds for Butler (11-11, 3-8).&nbsp;

A recap of Tuesday night's action in men's college hoops includes a bounce-back victory for the Cougars and an upset at Auburn.

Sharp scores 18 off the bench, leads No. 3 Houston over UCF

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Shahada Wells scored 17 points as No. 14 TCU beat No. 2 Kansas 83-60 on Saturday in one of the worst losses in Bill Self&rsquo;s 20-year coaching career with the Jayhawks.
The loss snapped a 16-game winning streak at home for Kansas and was the second-largest home loss under Self. The Jayhawks (15-3, 5-2 Big 12), who lost 83-82 in overtime at Kansas State on Tuesday, had not lost consecutive games in the state since 1989 &mdash; against K-State and Missouri.
Kansas trailed by 10 at halftime and never closed the gap within single digits. TCU extended the lead to as many as 24 points. The Jayhawks shot only 32.1% in the second half.
TCU (15-4, 4-3 Big 12), which shot 54.4% (31 of 57) from the field, got 15 points from Mike Miles Jr. and 11 from Damion Baugh.
NO. 4 ALABAMA 85, MISSOURI 64
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) &mdash; Noah Clowney and Mark Sears each scored 17 points, and Alabama remained undefeated against unranked teams this season.
Freshman Brandon Miller added 15 points and eight rebounds for Alabama (17-2, 7-0 Southeastern Conference), and reserve Jahvon Quinterly scored 13 points. Clowney also had 14 rebounds, and Sears finished with eight rebounds and three steals.
Isiaih Mosley led Missouri (14-5, 3-4) with 19 points. Mohamed Diarra had eight points and 12 rebounds.
NO. 11 ARIZONA 58, NO. 5 UCLA 52
TUSCON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Oumar Ballo scored 16 points, Azuolas Tubelis had a double-double and Arizona withstood a late rally to end UCLA&rsquo;s 14-game winning streak.
The Wildcats (17-3, 5-3 Pac-12) took a 56-44 lead on Ballo&rsquo;s alley-oop dunk with 2:07 left. But the Bruins (17-3, 8-1) fought back, creating four straight turnovers to pull within 56-52. UCLA then blocked consecutive shots but couldn&rsquo;t convert on two shots of its own. Arizona&rsquo;s Pelle Larsson hit two free throws with 0.9 seconds to close it out.
Tyger Campbell led the Bruins with 13 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 12 with 11 rebounds.
NO. 6 GONZAGA 99, PACIFIC 90
STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 24 of his career-high 38 points in the second half, including 18 straight points during one stretch, and Gonzaga pulled away in the closing minutes.
Timme made 17 of 23 shots and almost all of them within a couple feet of the rim. Anton Watson added 16 points and 13 rebounds for Gonzaga (17-4, 6-1 WCC). Rasir Bolton added 16 points for the Bulldogs, who had won their previous three road games in conference play by a combined eight points, and Julian Strawther had 15.
Jordan Ivy-Curry led five Pacific players in double figures with 17 points. Nick Blake scored 16 before fouling out. Keylan Boone finished with 15, Luke Avdalovic added 13 and Judson Martindale finished with 12. Pacific (10-12, 3-4) made eight 3-pointers in the first half and was tied at 47 at halftime, but the Tigers were just 1 of 8 from deep in the second half.
NO. 7 TEXAS 69, WEST VIRGINIA 61
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- Marcus Carr scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half to lead Texas.
Dylan Disu added 13 points before fouling out, and Christian Bishop and Tyrese Hunter scored 11 apiece for the Longhorns (16-3, 5-2 Big 12), who bounced back from a double-digit loss at No. 12 Iowa State on Wednesday.
The Mountaineers (11-8, 1-6) had several players in early foul trouble. Kedrian Johnson had a career-high 22 points, but his teammates fell flat in the second half against the Longhorns.
NO. 8 XAVIER 95, GEORGETOWN 82
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Zach Freemantle tied a career-high with 30 points and Colby Jones had 20 as Xavier handed Georgetown its 29th straight Big East loss.
Adam Kunkel scored 14 points to help the Musketeers (16-4, 8-1 Big East) bounce back from a 73-72 loss at DePaul on Wednesday.
Primo Spears scored a career-high 37 points and Akok Akok had 14 for the Hoyas (5-15, 0-9 Big East), who have lost 10 straight. Spears&rsquo; previous high was 34 against LaSalle on March 5, 2022.
NO. 9 TENNESSEE 77, LSU 56
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Josiah-Jordan James scored a season-high 22 points and Tennessee defeated LSU, which has lost six straight.
James, who missed eight games in November and December due to injury, made his second straight start for the Volunteers (16-3, 6-1 Southeastern Conference). Playing 31 minutes, James was 9-of-16 from the field and matched his career-high with four 3-pointers.
Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler had 12 points and 10 assists, which tied his career high. Julian Phillips and Tyreke Key each had 10 points.
KJ Williams led LSU (12-7, 1-6) with 16 points. Trae Hannibal added 10 points. The Tigers committed 19 turnovers which resulted in 33 Volunteers points.
NO. 10 VIRGINIA 76, WAKE FOREST 67
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Armaan Franklin scored 18 of his 25 points during the first half and Virginia survived blowing nearly all of a 19-point lead to beat Wake Forest.
Kihei Clark added 12 points despite getting into foul trouble for the Cavaliers (15-3, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). But it was a day of wild swings for Virginia, who went from missing its first eight shots to suddenly being unable to miss to go up 34-15 &mdash; only to see the Demon Deacons push back to within a single point with 8 1/2 minutes left.
Damari Monsanto had a career-high 25 points for the Demon Deacons (14-6, 6-3), highlighted by making 7 of 15 3-pointers.
OKLAHOMA STATE 61, NO. 12 IOWA STATE 59
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Avery Anderson scored 18 points, including the go-ahead free throws, and Oklahoma State defeated Iowa State for its first win over a ranked team this season.
Kalib Boone added 13 points for the Cowboys (11-8, 3-4 Big 12), who won their second straight game.
Osun Osunniyi scored 15 points and Gabe Kalscheur added 14 for Iowa State (14-4, 5-2), which had won seven of its last eight games. Cyclones sharpshooter Caleb Grill spent most of the second half on the bench wearing a back brace and wasn&rsquo;t in the game in the closing minutes.
NO. 13 KANSAS STATE 68, TEXAS TECH 58
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell had 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists in Kansas State&rsquo;s win over Texas Tech.
Keyontae Johnson had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (17-2, 6-1 Big 12), who won for the 11th time in 12 games. Ismael Massoud scored 12 points.
Pop Isaacs and De&rsquo;Vion Harmon each scored 13 points for Texas Tech (10-9, 0-7), which shot 32.4% (23 for 71) from the field.
NO. 16 AUBURN 81, SOUTH CAROLINA 66
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Johni Broome had a season-high 27 points and 11 rebounds as Auburn took control late in the opening half to run past struggling South Carolina.
Broome&rsquo;s performance helped the Tigers to their fifth straight win and offset a career-best 30 points from Gamecocks&rsquo; freshman Gregory &ldquo;GG&rdquo; Jackson II.
The 6-foot-10 Broome took full advantage of South Carolina&rsquo;s undersized interior for the Tigers (16-3, 6-1 Southeastern Conference). He hit 12 of his 17 shots in 30 minutes for his sixth double-double this season and fifth against an SEC opponent.
Meechie Johnson was the only other player for South Carolina (8-11, 1-5) in double figures with 11 points.
DUKE 68, NO. 17 MIAMI
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kyle Filipowski had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Jeremy Roach scored 14 points in his first game in more than two weeks to lift Duke over Miami.
Tyrese Proctor had 11 points and Dariq Whitehead added 10 points for the Blue Devils (15-4, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who played their first game of the season without a national ranking.
Jordan Miller&rsquo;s 19 points and Nijel Pack&rsquo;s 18 were tops for Miami (15-4, 6-3), which has lost three of its last five games.
NO. 18 CHARLESTON 87, NORTHEASTERN 61
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Ben Burnham scored 15 points, Pat Robinson III added 14 and Ryan Larson had 12 to lead Charleston to its 20th win in a row.
The Cougars (21-1, 9-0 Colonial Athletic Association) scored 13 straight points in the first half to pull away and extend the longest active winning streak in the nation. They have not lost since the second game of the season, to then-No. 1 North Carolina on Nov. 11, climbing to their highest ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 since 1999.
Chris Doherty had 11 points and 13 rebounds and Jared Turner also scored 11 for Northeastern (8-11, 4-4). The Huskies haven&rsquo;t beat a Top 25 team since 2015.
NO. 19 CLEMSON 51, VIRGINIA TECH 50
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Hunter Tyson&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 12 seconds left lifted Clemson to a dramatic victory over Virginia Tech.
Tyson caught a pass just left of the key, took a look at at the basket and let it fly. The crowd exploded as the ball went through and the Tigers (16-4, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) continued their unexpected run atop the ACC.
PJ Hall led Clemson with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Grant Basile led the Hokies (11-8, 1-7) with 13 points.
NO. 20 MARQUETTE 74, SETON HALL 53
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones scored 22 points, Oso Ighodaro had 18 on 7-for-7 shooting and Marquette beat Seton Hall.
Marquette (16-5, 8-2 Big East) shot 54% (29 for 54) from the field in its second straight win since an 80-76 loss to Xavier last weekend.
Kadary Richmond led Seton Hall (12-9, 5-5) with 10 points and five assists. The Pirates committed a season-high 26 turnovers.
NO. 21 BAYLOR 62, OKLAHOMA 60
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Bridges scored 11 points and hit a trio of game-turning 3-pointers in the final five minutes as Baylor rallied to hold off Oklahoma.
Adam Flagler had 16 points and five assists, and Keyonte George added 11 points as Baylor (14-5, 4-3 Big 12) won its fourth straight game after opening conference play with three straight losses and briefly dropping out of The Associated Press Top 25.
Jalen Hill had 17 points and nine rebounds, while Tanner Groves added 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots for the Sooners (12-7, 2-5).
NO. 22 PROVIDENCE 75, DEPAUL 64
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Noah Locke had a career-high 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, to help Providence fend off DePaul.
Bryce Hopkins added 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Friars (15-5, 7-2 Big East) snapped a two-game losing skid and improved to 11-0 at home. They are 2-2 without point guard Jared Bynum, who missed his fourth consecutive game with a torso injury.
The Blue Demons (9-11, 3-6) came in fresh off a home victory over eighth-ranked Xavier. But they dropped their sixth straight road game and are now 0-4 in conference games away from home. Umjoja Gibson had 16 points and five assists for DePaul and Da&rsquo;Sean Nelson added 13 points.
NO. 24 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 67, UTEP 59
EL PASO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Johnell Davis scored 20 points on 6-for-9 shooting and Florida Atlantic extended its program record for consecutive wins to 18.
Davis hit 2 of 3 attempts from 3-point distance and was perfect on six shots from the line for FAU (19-1, 9-0 Conference USA). Vladislav Goldin finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks for the Owls.
Calvin Solomon finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Tae Hardy also scored 16 points for UTEP (11-9, 4-5). Mario McKinney Jr. added 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
NO. 25 ARKANSAS 69, OLE MISS 57
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Anthony Black scored 17 points, reserve Joseph Pinion had 13 and Arkansas snapped a four-game losing streak by topping Mississippi.
Only nine teams in Division I had made fewer 3-pointers than Arkansas (13-6, 2-5 Southeastern Conference) this season, but the Razorbacks tied a season high by making eight from beyond the arc. They led by as many as 21 points.
Pinion and Devo Davis each made three 3s. Davis had 16 points and Jordan Walsh finished with 13.
Ole Miss (9-10, 1-6) committed 17 turnovers. The Rebels had six giveaways in the first six minutes of the second half, helping Arkansas extend its three-point halftime lead to 11 at the first media timeout after the break.

A roundup of Saturday's top-25 action in men's college basketball includes a TCU rout of the second-ranked Jayhawks on the road.

No. 14 TCU blows out No. 2 Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; The broad-shouldered Ish Wainright looks as if he should be making plays in the NFL instead of the NBA.
For a while, that was the dream.
But Wainright's athletic career is back on the basketball court these days, and he used his surprising skill set to help the short-handed Phoenix Suns win their second straight game by beating the Indiana Pacers 112-107 on Saturday night.
&ldquo;Obviously, you need talent in this league,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;But playing hard, with talent, it's a great combination.&rdquo;
Josh Okogie led the Suns with 24 points and 10 rebounds while Mikal Bridges added 22 points, but it was a couple clutch plays from Wainright during the final possessions iced it.
The muscular 6-foot-5, 235-pound forward nailed a corner 3 with 1:10 left to push the Suns up by 107-101 and then added a nifty assist on a pass to Jock Landale for an easy basket &mdash; two stellar possessions that kept that feisty Pacers fighting from behind.
Indiana had a chance to tie on its final possession, but Buddy Hield missed a rushed 3-pointer with two seconds left. The Pacers lost despite a triple-double from T.J. McConnell, who had 18 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
Phoenix and its ragtag roster took an 87-83 lead into the fourth quarter. The Suns were once again missing a big chunk of their staring lineup, including the All-Star backcourt of Chris Paul and Devin Booker. Starting center Deandre Ayton was out with a non-COVID-19 illness.
But the Suns are still playing hard and treading water in the Western Conference.
&ldquo;We're holding it down and just building trust,&rdquo; Wainright said of playing without the team's stars. &ldquo;They're trusting us, so when they get back, we'll trust them.&rdquo;
Both the Suns and Pacers struggled to score in the fourth quarter.
The Suns pushed to a 102-94 lead with 2:49 left but the Pacers scored four points on one possession when Phoenix's Saben Lee was called for a flagrant foul after elbowing Hield in the face. Hield hit both free throws and Bennedict Mathurin made a layup after the Pacers retained possession because of the flagrant foul.
The Pacers eventually pulled to 104-101 but Wainright's corner 3 swung the momentum back in the Suns' favor.
The Suns won despite shooting 41.8% from the field. The Pacers shot just 37.5%.
Indiana was without its leading scorer Tyrese Haliburton, who missed his sixth straight game. The Pacers have lost seven straight.
&ldquo;Getting the next win is going to be challenging,&rdquo; Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. &ldquo;That is how it is in his league.&rdquo;
The Suns had a 59-57 lead at halftime. Bridges led the Suns with 14 points while Bismack Biyombo had 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Mathurin &mdash; who played at Arizona in college &mdash; scored 12 points for the Pacers and finished with a team-high 23.
WAINRIGHT'S JOURNEY
Wainright played four seasons of basketball at Baylor before switching to football, where he was a tight end for one season for the Bears.
He played well enough on the football field that he earned a tryout with the NFL's Buffalo Bills in 2018, but didn't make the final roster. Then it was back to basketball, and he played in Europe for a couple years before signing a two-way contract with the Suns in 2021.
He didn't play much at first, but has slowly earned a bigger role.
&ldquo;It's player development,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;But it's also the player committing to the development. You can come in the gym, jack up shots and collect a check, or you can be intentional about it.&rdquo;
MCCONNELL'S TRIPLE DOUBLE
McConnell had the third triple-double of his NBA career, grabbing a 10th rebound late in the fourth quarter.
&ldquo;Rebounding is kind of one of those things as a guard, if you are not blocking out, you have to guess where the ball is going,&rdquo; McConnell said. &ldquo;Try to chase long rebounds and they kind of came to me tonight. I wasn&rsquo;t hunting for them they kind of landed in my hands.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Pacers: Haliburton was wearing the jersey of San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy while sitting on the bench. Haliburton and Purdy both played in college at Iowa State.
Suns: Paul, Booker, Ayton, F Cam Johnson, G Cam Payne and G Landry Shamet were all out. ... Honored the 1992-93 Suns team that won the Western Conference championship. They lost to the Bulls in the NBA Finals in six games. Several players were in attendance, including 11-time All-Star Charles Barkley, who was MVP that season. ... Hosted their 49th straight sellout crowd.
&nbsp;

Josh Okogie put up 24 points and 10 rebounds and the Phoenix Suns beat the Indiana Pacers 112-107.

Okogie, Bridges lead short-handed Suns past Pacers 112-107

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Ja Morant had 23 points, 10 assists and <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1614442556863164416?s=20&amp;t=Nc4lalfJeGRU0uHZfznPqg">another ferocious dunk</a>, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Indiana Pacers 130-112 on Saturday night to extend the NBA's longest current winning streak to nine games.
Desmond Bane scored 25 points to lead the Grizzlies, who tied Denver for the Western Conference's best record at 29-13.
Neither Bane nor Morant was needed in the fourth quarter. Morant's soaring slam over Jalen Smith made it a 20-point game with 4:20 left in the third, and Memphis led by as much as 34 in the fourth.
Asked if the dunk was his best, Morant said, &ldquo;Yeah, easy&rdquo; because of the difficulty, then added, &ldquo;It's what everybody has been waiting for. I finally made it.&rdquo;
Added Bane: &ldquo;I ain't seen nothing like that one. That's probably going to go down as dunk of the year.&rdquo;
The game was tied in the second quarter before Memphis outscored the Pacers 27-11 to take a 68-52 lead at halftime. Morant had five points and four assists during that span.
&ldquo;Obviously we're having fun out there, playing hard and playing together,&rdquo; said Bane, who grew up in Richmond, Indiana.
Santi Aldama added 17 points and Ziaire Williams 13 for the Grizzlies.
&ldquo;We're not playing perfect basketball," Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said of the streak. &ldquo;I'm just glad our guys are finding different ways to win, whether we're playing with a lead or playing from behind. Each game has presented a different challenge for us and our guys have stayed the course.&rdquo;
Reserve guard Chris Duarte scored 25 points for the Pacers. Rookie Bennedict Mathurin had 16 and T.J. McConnell 13.
"That very well may be the best team on the planet right now," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. &ldquo;They're very hard to play.&rdquo;
The Pacers, missing two starters, have lost three in a row. Point guard Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana's leading scorer and NBA assist leader, is expected to miss two weeks after sustaining a left elbow strain and left knee contusion on Wednesday. Center Myles Turner, who averages 17 points, is out with back spasms.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Morant has averaged 28.7 points during the streak. ... Have won four in a row on the road to improve to 11-10 in away games.
Pacers: Duarte angrily exited in the second quarter with a sore left hand and used his right hand to knock over a chair. He returned midway through the third.
&nbsp;

Ja Morant had 23 points, 10 assists and another ferocious dunk, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Indiana Pacers 130-112.

Morant's slam in Indy highlights Grizzlies' 9th straight win

The NBA went into Christmas with a night like none other.
For the first time in NBA history, five players scored at least 43 points on the same day. It happened Friday, with Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic leading the way with 50 points against Houston.
The others: Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid scored 44 against the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a career-high 44 against New Orleans, New York&rsquo;s RJ Barrett had 44 against Chicago and Indiana&rsquo;s Tyrese Haliburton scored a career-best 43 against Miami.
&ldquo;Luka is Luka," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best player in the world and he showed that tonight, carrying the load offensively again."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
THAT'S A 50-PIECE FOR THE DON 🔥🔥🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MFFL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MFFL</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallasmavs</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsSW?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BallySportsSW</a> 📺 <a href="https://t.co/1deZTcSzwv">pic.twitter.com/1deZTcSzwv</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsSW/status/1606492306965659650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>

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As he usually does, Doncic deferred the credit.
&ldquo;My teammates trusted me," he said after his 17-for-30 night that also included 10 rebounds and eight assists.
The biggest shot of the night in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/doncic-scores-50-mavericks-edge-rockets-112106" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dallas' 112-106 win over Houston</a> might have been Doncic hitting a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left to give the Mavericks a five-point lead.
And that wasn't even the most dramatic 3 that the night's big scorers had.
That honor went to Haliburton, who made 10 3-pointers &mdash; the last of them with 4.3 seconds left to give the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/haliburton-hits-winning-3-scores-43-as-pacers-beat-heat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pacers a 111-108 win over the Heat</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Haliburton seals the deal with a clutch game-winner from downtown 🔥. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pacers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pacers</a> TV: Bally Sports Indiana Stream: <a href="https://t.co/dJ7DfL7kr9">https://t.co/dJ7DfL7kr9</a> <a href="https://t.co/1hfDgmDm20">pic.twitter.com/1hfDgmDm20</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Indiana (@BallySportsIN) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsIN/status/1606492549950197760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;Tyrese Haliburton is an artist," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said when asked about Haliburton's different-than-most shooting stroke. &ldquo;And you know, some people that have unconventional ways to be successful in this game, you have to just leave them alone and allow them to do what they do. His artistry is the way he gets the ball in the basket, the way he sees the game, the way he connects teammates and the special person that he is."
Embiid's big night came in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/embiid-harden-help-76ers-beat-clippers-for-homestand-sweep" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philadelphia's seventh consecutive win</a>. Barrett and the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/derozans-jumper-gives-bulls-118117-victory-over-knicks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Knicks wound up falling to the Bulls</a>, and Gilgeous-Alexander's 44&nbsp;came in an <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/murphy-scores-23-pelicans-beat-thunder-in-ot-without-zion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">overtime loss to New Orleans</a> &mdash; which he nearly extended into double overtime, with a 40-foot desperation shot at the end hitting the front rim at the buzzer of a 128-125 final.
&ldquo;It was close. Not close enough," said Gilgeous-Alexander, whose great start to this season has cemented himself as an early front-runner for NBA's Most Improved Player honors &mdash; not to mention other postseason accolades, and likely a trip to the All-Star Game as well.
There now have been just over 4,400 instances of a player scoring 40 or more points in a regular-season game. Friday was only the fifth time that five of those happened on the same day &mdash; and the second time it happened in 2022.
On April 10, the final day of the 2021-22 regular season, Obi Toppin had 42 for New York, Jalen Green had 41 for Houston, Malik Monk scored 41 for the Los Angeles Lakers, Klay Thompson had 41 for Golden State and Victor Oladipo scored 40 for Miami.
The other three instances of five 40-point scorers:
&mdash; Feb. 21, 2003:&nbsp;Tracy McGrady scored 52 for Orlando, Jamal Mashburn 50 for the New Orleans Hornets, Michael Jordan 43 for Washington, Allen Iverson 41 for Philadelphia and Kobe Bryant 40 for the Lakers.
&mdash; Feb. 2, 2001:&nbsp;Allen Iverson scored 47 for Philadelphia, Bryant 44 for the Lakers, Chris Webber 41 for Sacramento, Paul Pierce 40 for Boston and Jerry Stackhouse 40 for Detroit.
&mdash; Dec. 25, 1961:&nbsp;Wilt Chamberlain scored 59 for the Philadelphia Warriors, Tom Heinsohn 45 for Boston, Elgin Baylor 40 for the Lakers, Richie Guerin 40 for New York and Oscar Robertson 40 for Cincinnati.

The NBA went into Christmas with a night like none other. For the first time ever, five players scored at least 43 points on the same day.

A record NBA outburst: 5 players score 43 or more points on same day

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

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 12 of his 16 points in overtime, including the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3:34 remaining, and No. 17 Illinois rallied to hand second-ranked Texas its first loss of the season, 85-78 on Tuesday night in the Jimmy V Classic.
Jayden Epps added 11 points, including the final five points of regulation &mdash; a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left and two tying free throws with 8 seconds remaining. Epps then blocked Marcus Carr&rsquo;s jumper in the lane just before the buzzer to force overtime in an entertaining showdown at Madison Square Garden.
Matthew Mayer, who faced Texas several times at Baylor, tied a career high with 21 points as he made his first seven shots and finished 8 of 10.
Shannon, who missed eight of nine shots in regulation, took over in the extra period to help Illinois (7-2) beat a ranked foe for the second time this season.
Timmy Allen scored a season-high 21 points for Texas (6-1), which failed to open 7-0 for the first time since 2014-15. Tyrese Hunter added 10 points but Carr was held to nine points on 3-of-14 shooting as Texas had 12 shots blocked and shot 42%.
NO. 1 HOUSTON 76, NORTH FLORIDA 42
HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Ja&rsquo;Vier Francis scored 14 points, star Marcus Sasser had 12 points in the first eight minutes before leaving with a cut over his eye, and Houston coasted past North Florida.&nbsp;
Sasser, who entered the game averaging 17.5 points, made two 3-pointers early but got hit in the face and left with a cut that required stitches.
Jarace Walker had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Houston (9-0), and Tramon Mark scored 10.
Jarius Hicklen led the Ospreys (2-6) with 12 points.
NO. 3 VIRGINIA 55, JAMES MADISON 50
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark scored 17 points, Jayden Gardner had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Virginia beat its feisty in-state rival.
The Cavaliers (8-0), who lost starting guard Reece Beekman to a right leg injury early in the first half, prevented the Dukes (7-3) from winning a second straight December game in Charlottesville. James Madison beat Virginia 52-49 last Dec. 7.
Takal Molson scored 20 points for James Madison, including a 3-pointer that tied the game at 42-all with 7:47 to play. Gardner responded for Virginia by scoring five straight points in a 9-1 run.
The Cavaliers kept the Dukes in the game by missing eight of 13 free throws over the last six minutes.
NO. 9 ARKANSAS 65, UNC GREENSBORO 58
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Standout freshman Nick Smith Jr. scored 22 points in just his third game as Arkansas overcame a sluggish offensive showing to beat North Carolina-Greensboro.
The Razorbacks (8-1) shot 33.3% and trailed for a majority of the game.
Makhi Mitchell had 13 points and 14 rebounds for Arkansas, Davis had 10 points and 10 boards, and Black scored 11 points.
Donovan Atwell led UNC Greensboro (4-6) with 12 points and Dante Treacy added 11.
NO. 12 BAYLOR 80, TARLETON STATE 57
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Freshman Keyonte George scored 22 points, redshirt freshman Langston Love added 20 and Baylor beat Tarleton State.
The Bears (7-2) had trouble early pulling away from the Texans, led by former Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie, but finally took a double-digit lead not long after halftime.
Shakur Daniel scored 13 points for the Texans (5-4), who were playing Baylor for the first time since 1986 and the ninth time overall.
WISCONSIN 64, NO. 13 MARYLAND 59
MADISON, Wis. (AP) &mdash; Chucky Hepburn scored 13 points and Steven Crowl added 12 as Wisconsin handed Maryland its first loss under coach Kevin Willard.
Wisconsin (7-2, 1-0 Big Ten) opened a 58-45 lead with a 13-point run, capped by Crowl&rsquo;s two free throws with 3:46 remaining. The Badgers hung on despite making just 15 of 25 free throws in the second half and no field goals over the final 4:03.
Jahmir Young scored 17 points and Julian Reese had 10 for Maryland (8-1, 1-1), which entered averaging 80.8 points per game and outscoring opponents by 19.8.
NO. 15 DUKE 74, IOWA 62
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jeremy Roach tied a career high with 22 points and No. 15 Duke led virtually the entire way against Iowa in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
The Blue Devils (9-2) won their third straight since a 19-point loss to Purdue last month in the championship game of the Phil Knight Legacy.
Mark Mitchell added 13 of his 17 points in the second half. Kyle Filipowski had 12 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double.
Patrick McCaffery led the Hawkeyes (6-2) with 12 points in a game that had special meaning to him. The junior forward was 13 when he was diagnosed with cancer of the thyroid.
NO. 24 TCU 78, JACKSON STATE 51
FORTH WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; JaKobe Coles scored a career-high 21 points, Damion Baugh had 15 points, six rebounds and five assists, and TCU won its fifth straight.
Coles matched his career high with 15 points by halftime. He then had the final six points of an 8-0 run early in the second half for a 54-34 lead. Shahada Wells added 14 points and Chuck O&rsquo;Bannon Jr. scored 11 for TCU (7-1).
Coltie Young made four 3-pointers and scored 14 points for Jackson State (1-7). Romelle Mansel had eight points, 11 rebounds and two blocks.&nbsp;

The Jimmy V Classic started with a bang on Tuesday evening, including a top-tier upset.