Top 25 Roundup: No. 10 Wisconsin Clinches Share of Big Ten Title

Wisconsin Badgers guard Chucky Hepburn (23) looks to pass as Purdue Boilermakers guard Isaiah Thompson (11) defends at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis., on Mar 1, 2022. Mary Langenfeld/USA TODAY Sports via Field Level Media

Freshman Chucky Hepburn hit a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left to give No. 10 Wisconsin a 70–67 victory over No. 8 Purdue on Tuesday in Madison, Wis., allowing the Badgers to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.

Wisconsin (24–5, 15–4 Big Ten), which swept the two-game series against Purdue for the first time since 2013–14, finishes Sunday at home against last-place Nebraska. Purdue (24–6, 13–6), which also lost to Michigan State 68–65 on Saturday on another late 3-pointer, fell to third, a half-game behind Illinois (20–8, 13–5).

Tyler Wahl had 19 points and Davis added 16 points and eight rebounds for Wisconsin, which won its fifth straight and improved to 15–1 in games decided by six points or fewer.

Ivey had 22 points and Edey contributed 17 points and nine rebounds for the Boilermakers.

No. 2 Arizona 91, No. 16 USC 71

Bennedict Mathurin scored 19 points, Kerr Kriisa added 18 and the Wildcats clinched the Pac-12 regular-season title with a dominating performance against the Trojans in Los Angeles.

Arizona (26–3, 16–2 Pac-12), coming off a loss at unranked Colorado, was bracing for a conference showdown. However, the Wildcats were in total command from the start against the second-place Trojans (25–5, 14–5), who had won six games in a row and were playing in front of a sold-out crowd on Senior Night.

Arizona earned its first regular-season conference title since sharing the crown with Oregon in 2016–17. Max Agbonkpolo led USC with 14 points.

No. 4 Duke 86, Pittsburgh 56

Trevor Keels racked up a season-high 27 points and Paolo Banchero poured in 21 points as the Blue Devils blew out host Pittsburgh to win the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

Wendell Moore Jr. had 13 points and AJ Griffin added 12 points for Duke (26–4, 16–3 ACC), which clinched a share of the regular-season championship and secured the No. 1 seed for next week’s ACC tournament. It’s Duke’s first ACC title since sharing the 2009–10 edition with Maryland. It is the 13th regular-season ACC crown for Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is retiring at season’s end.

John Hugley’s 19 points and Jamarius Burton’s 13 led Pittsburgh (11–19, 9–13), which has dropped three games in a row since a three-game winning string.

TCU 74, No. 6 Kansas 64

Mike Miles Jr. poured in 19 points and Damion Baugh added 11, with six on free throws in the final 46 seconds, as the surging Horned Frogs ran past the Jayhawks in a key Big 12 Conference game in Fort Worth, Texas.

TCU cemented its victory with six straight free throws by Baugh, captured its second consecutive win over a Top 10 team and its fourth this year against a Top 25 team, the most in program history.

The teams will square off again Thursday in Lawrence, Kansas, as part of a COVID-influenced home-and-home back-to-back. Emanuel Miller also scored 11 points for the Horned Frogs. Jalen Wilson and Agbaji led the Jayhawks with 13 points apiece, with David McCormack adding 11 and Christian Braun scoring 10.

No. 7 Kentucky 83, Ole Miss 72

Oscar Tshiebwe had his 12th consecutive double-double as the Wildcats defeated the Rebels in Lexington, Ky.

Tshiebwe finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds for his 24th double-double of the season. Sahvir Wheeler added 16 points, TyTy Washington Jr. scored 14 and Keion Brooks Jr. had 10 for Kentucky (24–6, 13–4 Southeastern Conference), which bounced back from a Saturday loss at then-No. 18 Arkansas.

Matthew Murrell scored 25 points and Nysier Brooks added 14 to lead the Rebels (13–17, 4–13), who lost for the seventh time in the past eight games.

No. 11 Villanova 76, No. 9 Providence 74

Caleb Daniels scored 20 points, including four free throws in the final 9.6 seconds, and the Wildcats defeated the visiting Friars.

Eric Dixon added 15 points, Collin Gillespie contributed 14 and Justin Moore had 13 for No. 11 Villanova (22–7, 15–4 Big East), which improved to 12–1 at home. Jared Bynum led the Friars (24–4, 14–3) with 19 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.

Despite the loss and a season sweep against Villanova, Providence had already clinched the Big East regular-season title for the first time in program history. The Friars will be the top seed in the conference tournament.

No. 13 Tennessee 75, Georgia 68

Josiah-Jordan James scored 14 of his game-high 23 points in the second half as the Volunteers beat the Bulldogs in Athens, Ga., for the first time in seven tries dating to the 2011–12 season.

James shot 8-for-12, including 3-for-7 from 3-point range, in addition to amassing eight rebounds and five assists for Tennessee (22–7, 13–4 SEC), which won a third straight game and the eighth in nine games. Kennedy Chandler added 16 points.

Aaron Cook had 17 points and Kario Oquendo added 16 for Georgia (6–24, 1–16), which has lost 10 straight games and 18 of its past 19.

No. 14 Houston 71, Cincinnati 53

Fabian White Jr. scored a career-high 28 points as the Cougars clinched the American Athletic Conference regular-season championship by turning back the visiting Bobcats.

Josh Carlton chipped in with 15 points, and Kyler Edwards and Taze Moore both added 12 points for the Cougars (25–4, 14–2 AAC), who’ve captured the AAC for the third time in a four-year span. It’s the 10th regular-season conference crown in program history.

Mike Saunders Jr. posted 14 points off the bench and John Newman III had 11 points for Cincinnati (17–13, 7–10), which has lost a season-high four consecutive games.

Nebraska 78, No. 23 Ohio State 70

Bryce McGowens and C.J. Wilcher combined for 41 points as the resurgent Cornhuskers upset the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio.

McGowens scored 14 of his 26 points in the second half after the Cornhuskers (9–21, 3–16 Big Ten) led by four at halftime. Wilcher had 15 points and Alonzo Verge Jr. added 13 as Nebraska won its second straight following a 1–14 stretch.

E.J. Liddell led the short-handed Buckeyes (18–9, 11–7) with 27 points. Malaki Branham had 16 points before fouling out with 25 seconds left as Ohio State lost its second game in a row and fell to 12–2 at home this season.