Top 25 roundup: No. 8 Arizona clinches second in Pac-12

 

[March 03, 2023]  Azuolas Tubelis scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as No. 8 Arizona clinched second place in the Pac-12 and ended Southern California's 14-game home winning streak with an 87-81 victory on Thursday in Los Angeles.

Tubelis made 11 of 17 shots en route to his 12th double-double of the season as Arizona (25-5, 14-5 Pac-12) bounced back from a home loss to Arizona State. The Wildcats still have not lost consecutive games under second-year coach Tommy Lloyd.

Courtney Ramey added 16 points for the Wildcats, who shot 54.2 percent.

Boogie Ellis, a senior, poured in a career-high 35 for USC (21-9, 13-6), which will finish third in the conference. Reese Dixon-Waters contributed 17 points.

No. 1 Houston 83, Wichita State 66

Jamal Shead tallied 25 points for the Cougars, who emerged with a victory over the visiting Shockers.

The win marked the 10th straight for Houston (28-2, 16-1 AAC), as Marcus Sasser scored 24 points and Jarace Walker chipped in 11 for the AAC regular-season champions.

Wichita State, without leading scorer Jaykwon Walton (illness), hung in the contest into the second half before Houston gained separation late. Craig Porter Jr. had 13 of his 17 points in the first half to pace the Shockers (15-14, 8-9) and Jaron Pierre Jr. added 16.

No. 4 UCLA 79, Arizona State 61

The Bruins shook off a sluggish start to remain perfect at home, overwhelming the Sun Devils on the defensive end en route to a win in Los Angeles.

The Bruins (26-4, 17-2 Pac-12) won their ninth straight and improved to 16-0 at home. Jaime Jaquez Jr. led all scorers with 26 points and also grabbed seven rebounds. Adem Bona and Jaylen Clark led the Bruins' rebounding efforts with 11 each.

Mar 2, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans guard Reese Dixon-Waters (2) drives past Arizona Wildcats guard Cedric Henderson Jr. (45) and forward Azuolas Tubelis (10) in the second half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

DJ Horne led Arizona State (20-10, 11-8) with 13 points and was 3-for-5 from 3-point range. The Sun Devils outscored UCLA 21-12 from beyond the arc but were otherwise overmatched.

No. 5 Purdue 63, Wisconsin 61

Zach Edey tallied 17 points and 19 rebounds as the Boilermakers held off the Badgers despite hitting no field goals over the final 5:42 in Madison, Wis.

After Edey's dunk put the Boilermakers up 54-53, Purdue closed it out by hitting 9 of 10 free throws over the final 3:45. Ethan Morton hit the second of two free throws to make it 63-61 with 4.4 seconds left, and Wisconsin's Max Klesmit's desperation heave just inside halfcourt was short.

Fletcher Loyer added 13 points for Purdue (25-5, 14-5 Big Ten), which had lost four of its previous six. Edey, who entered as the nation's second-leading rebounder at 12.9 per game and fifth-leading scorer at 22.3 points, hit 7 of 9 shots.

--Field Level Media