Top 25 roundup: Williamson returns, No. 5 Duke rolls

[March 15, 2019]  Zion Williamson returned in fine form, scoring 29 points as fifth-ranked Duke defeated Syracuse 84-72 in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals Thursday night at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.

Williamson, the ACC Player of the Year, was in action for the first time since sustaining a sprained knee in the opening minute of a Feb. 20 loss to North Carolina. The freshman forward shot 13-for-13 from the field but 2-for-9 on foul shots. He finished with 14 rebounds and five steals.

Duke (27-5), the third seed in the tournament, will meet third-ranked and second-seeded North Carolina in Friday night's late semifinal. North Carolina won the two regular-season meetings, with Williamson playing less than a minute total in those contests.

Syracuse wiped out a 17-point hole on Thursday, pulling even at 46-46 with 13 minutes to play when Buddy Boeheim drained the second of consecutive 3-point shots, but Duke recovered. Frank Howard scored 28 points, Boeheim had 15 and Oshae Brissett added 14 for the sixth-seeded Orange (20-13).

No. 2 Virginia 76, North Carolina State 56

Kyle Guy scored 29 points as the top-seeded Cavaliers used a second-half surge to cruise by the eighth-seeded Wolfpack in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament in Charlotte, N.C. The Cavaliers will face fourth-seeded Florida State on Friday in the semifinals.

Guy knocked down 7 of 9 3-point attempts, helping spark Virginia's second-half offense, as the second-ranked Cavaliers shot a blistering 62.5 percent (15 of 24) after the break. Jack Salt scored a career-high 18 points for Virginia (29-2).

North Carolina State (22-11) got 13 points from guard Markell Johnson and 12 from Derek Funderburk. The Wolfpack shot just 38.8 percent and were limited to 3-of-20 shooting from beyond the arc.

No. 3 North Carolina 83, Louisville 70

Luke Maye and Coby White scored 19 points apiece, and the Tar Heels pulled away from the Cardinals to win an ACC tournament quarterfinal in Charlotte, N.C.

Cameron Johnson added 14 points and Garrison Brooks had 11 points for North Carolina, which has won eight consecutive games. The second-seeded Tar Heels (27-5) advance to a semifinal against Duke.

Dwayne Sutton scored 14 points to lead the Cardinals (20-13). Steven Enoch fouled out with 4:54 remaining after scoring 12 points.

West Virginia 79, No. 7 Texas Tech 74

Freshman Emmitt Matthews Jr. scored a career-high 28 points as the 10th-seeded Mountaineers continued their surprising surge in the Big 12 tournament, stunning the Red Raiders in the quarterfinals at Kansas City, Mo.

The Mountaineers, who finished in last place in the regular season, will attempt to reach the tournament final for the fourth straight year. Jordan McCabe added 13 points and Jermaine Haley 11 for West Virginia (14-19).

Jarrett Culver netted all but five of his 26 points in the second half for Texas Tech, which roared back with a 22-5 run to take a 69-68 lead with 1:58 left.

No. 12 Florida State 65, No. 16 Virginia Tech

Terance Mann hit a 17-foot, fallaway running jumper with 1.8 seconds left in overtime to give the fourth-seeded Seminoles a stunning victory over the Hokies in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament.

The loss was a heartbreaker for the fifth-seeded Hokies (24-8), who held a three-point lead with 19 seconds left in regulation. Florida State's Devin Vassell hit a corner 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds left to tie the game at 56 and force overtime.

Vassell led the Seminoles (26-6) with 14 points, connecting on four 3-pointers.

Virginia Tech's loss overshadowed outstanding performances from Nickeil Alexander-Walker (21), Kerry Blackshear Jr. (17 points) and Ahmed Hill (16 points).

No. 14 Nevada 77, Boise State 69

Jazz Johnson came off the bench to score 20 points, and the Wolf Pack rallied from a 15-point, first-half deficit to defeat the Broncos in a Mountain West Conference tournament quarterfinal at Las Vegas.

Top-seeded Nevada will play fourth-seeded San Diego State in Friday night semifinal. The Aztecs topped fifth-seeded UNLV 63-55 on Thursday.

Caleb Martin had 19 points, and Cody Martin finished with 10 points, nine assists and five rebounds for the Wolf Pack. Derrick Alston led eighth-seeded Boise State (13-20) with 21 points.

The Wolf Pack (29-3) trailed by 15 in the first half

No. 15 Kansas State 70, TCU 61

The Wildcats overcame a sluggish first half to defeat the Horned Frogs in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament at Kansas City, Mo. The Wildcats will face Iowa State in Friday's first semifinal. The Cyclones defeated Baylor 83-66 on Thursday.

Top-seeded Kansas State struggled without first-team all-Big 12 forward Dean Wade, who was sidelined due to with a foot injury. Coach Bruce Weber said Wednesday that Wade likely would not play in this week's tournament.

Xavier Sneed led Kansas State (25-7) with 19 points. TCU (20-13) was led by Desmond Bane with 16 points.

No. 17 Kansas 65, Texas 57

Devon Dotson scored 17 points, and Dedric Lawson added 16 as the third-seeded Jayhawks tripped the sixth-seeded Longhorns in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament at Kansas City, Mo.

David McCormack also provided an impact underneath, contributing 13 points and nine rebounds as Kansas (24-8) improved to 21-3 in opening games at the Big 12 tournament. The defending champion Jayhawks will face West Virginia in semifinals on Friday.

Dylan Osetkowski paced Texas (16-16) with 18 points, and Jase Febres scored 11.
 

No. 18 Buffalo 82, Akron 46

Jeremy Harris scored 23 points and Jayvon Graves added 13 as the Bulls had an easy time advancing to the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament with a victory over the Zips in Cleveland.

Dontay Caruthers scored 12 points for the top-seeded Bulls (29-3). Buffalo, the MAC tournament champion last season, advances to the semifinals, where it will face Central Michigan, an 89-81 winner over Kent State on Thursday.

Loren Cristian Jackson scored 16 points for eighth-seeded Akron (17-16).

Nebraska 69, No. 21 Maryland 61

The 13th-seeded Cornhuskers continued their surprising run in the Big Ten tournament with an upset of the Terrapins in Chicago. Nebraska will meet fourth-seeded Wisconsin in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Short-handed Nebraska (18-15), down to six scholarship players because of injury and suspension, won for the second straight day, holding off the fifth-seeded Terrapins. Maryland (22-10) failed to win a game at the Big Ten tournament for the third straight year.

James Palmer Jr. had 24 points to lead the Cornhuskers while Glynn Watson Jr. chipped in 19 and Isaiah Roby added 15. Anthony Cowan Jr. scored Maryland's last 11 points and finished with 18.

No. 22 Auburn 81, Missouri 71

Bryce Brown scored 17 points to lead a balanced scoring attack as fifth-seeded Auburn defeated 12th-seeded Missouri in the second round of the SEC tournament at Nashville, Tenn.

Brown made 5 of 10 3-point attempts, Chuma Okeke scored 12 points and Horace Spencer and Malik Dunbar scored 11 each as Auburn (23-9) advanced to face fourth-seeded South Carolina in the quarterfinals.

Missouri's Jordan Geist, who scored a career-high 30 points in a first-round victory against 13th-seeded Georgia on Tuesday, scored 25 against Auburn, making 5 of 11 3-pointers. Torrence Watson made 6 of 9 3-pointers en route to 20 points for Missouri (15-17).

No. 23 Marquette 86, St. John's 54

Markus Howard scored 30 points, and the Golden Eagles rolled to a win over the Red Storm in a Big East tournament quarterfinal at New York.

Howard also grabbed seven rebounds and dished four assists for second-seeded Marquette (24-8). The Golden Eagles' semifinal opponent will be third-seeded Seton Hall, which topped sixth-seeded Georgetown 73-57 on Friday.

Justin Simon scored 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead seventh-seeded St. John's (21-12), which lost for the fourth time in five games. Shamorie Ponds finished with 13 points.

No. 25 Villanova 73, Providence 62

Eric Paschall scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the top-seeded Wildcats defeated the Friars in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament at New York City.

Collin Gillespie added 19 points and Phil Booth had 13 for Villanova, which will face fourth-seeded Xavier in the semifinals. The Musketeers beat fifth-seeded Creighton 63-61. Villanova (23-9) won all three games against Providence this season.

Nate Watson led the eighth-seeded Friars (18-15) with 15 points while Alpha Diallo and Isaiah Jackson added 14 each.

--Field Level Media

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