Top 25 roundup: No. 22 Auburn pounds No. 8 Tennessee

[March 18, 2019]  Bryce Brown scored 19 points, and Chuma Okeke added 18 points and 13 rebounds to lift No. 22 Auburn to an 84-64 victory over No. 8 Tennessee in the SEC tournament championship game Sunday in Nashville, Tenn.

Okeke made four 3-pointers during a decisive 25-11 run to open the second half, extending the Tigers' lead to 57-34.

Tennessee (29-5) could not get closer than 15 points the rest of the way. Lamonte Turner paced the Volunteers with a game-high 24 points. SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams added 13 points and eight rebounds but had four turnovers.

It was the first SEC tourney title for Auburn (26-9) since 1985, as the Tigers became the first team to win the tournament with four victories in four days. Auburn previously defeated Missouri, South Carolina and Florida.

No. 6 Michigan State 65, No. 10 Michigan 60

Cassius Winston's driving layup with 29.1 seconds left snapped a tie and lifted the Spartans to a victory over the Wolverines for the Big Ten Conference tournament title at the United Center in Chicago.

It was the third victory over the Wolverines by the Spartans (28-6), who will take plenty of momentum into the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Michigan also finished 28-6 despite its struggles with its in-state rival.

Winston finished with 14 points and 11 assists despite a sprained ankle in Saturday's semifinal. But the game's leading scorer was senior Matt McQuaid, who, in his 135th game, pumped in a career-high 27 points, going 7 of 13 on 3-pointers. Ignas Brazdeikis scored 19 points for the Wolverines, but his shot to tie the score in the last 20 seconds was blocked by Aaron Henry.

No. 24 Cincinnati 69, No. 11 Houston 57

Jarron Cumberland proved more than worthy of being named the American Athletic Conference MVP, scoring 33 points to lead the Bearcats to an upset victory over the Cougars in the conference championship game at Memphis.

Cumberland scored 15 of Cincinnati's first 17 points of the second half, finishing 11 for 24 from the floor and 10 for 13 from the free throw line. His 33 points were an AAC title game record. Armoni Brooks led Houston with 17 points.

The second-seeded Bearcats (28-6) notched their second consecutive AAC tournament title, defeating Houston both times. The top-seeded Cougars (31-3) were unable to defeat Cincinnati after beating the Bearcats both times during the regular season.

--Field Level Media

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.