Top 25 roundup: No. 3 Purdue claims 2nd straight Big Ten title

 

[March 06, 2024]  Zach Edey poured in 28 points with eight rebounds as No. 3 Purdue rallied for a 77-71 victory over No. 12 Illinois on Tuesday night in Champaign, Ill., to clinch a second straight outright Big Ten regular-season title.

Fletcher Loyer contributed 16 points -- including seven straight in the final four minutes after Illinois regained a two-point lead -- while Braden Smith added 13 points and six assists and Mason Gillis posted 10 points and six boards for the Boilermakers (27-3, 16-3 Big Ten).

After going just 1 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half, Purdue drilled 8 of 10 attempts from long range after halftime to become the Big Ten's first back-to-back champs since Ohio State in 2006-07.

Marcus Domask paced Illinois (22-8, 13-6) with 20 points. Coleman Hawkins recorded 13 points. The Illini led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but they shot just 36 percent in the second half and missed all six of their 3-point tries.

No. 7 North Carolina 84, Notre Dame 51

The Tar Heels claimed at least a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title with a win against the Fighting Irish in Chapel Hill, N.C.

North Carolina (24-6, 16-3 ACC) remains a game ahead of second-place Duke heading into the regular-season finale on Saturday against the No. 9 Blue Devils in Durham, N.C. The Tar Heels, who have won five in a row, beat the Blue Devil 93-84 in the first meeting on Feb. 3.

ACC scoring leader RJ Davis had 22 points and six assists in his final home game, Armando Bacot and Cormac Ryan scored 14 points each and Harrison Ingram finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds for North Carolina. Tae Davis scored 11 points as the lone player in double figures for Notre Dame (12-18, 7-12).

No. 13 Auburn 101, Missouri 74

Auburn shot 76 percent from the field in the second half to stomp Missouri in a Southeastern Conference clash of Tigers at Columbia, Mo.

Johni Broome led the way with 17 points, while Jaylin Williams and Chad Baker-Mazara each added 15 for Auburn (23-7, 12-5 Southeastern Conference). Dylan Cardwell hit for 12, while Denver Jones netted 10 points.

Sean East II scored a game-high 21 points for Missouri (8-22, 0-17), which has dropped 20 of its past 21 games. Missouri needs a victory in its regular-season finale Saturday at LSU to avoid going winless in conference play.

No. 14 Kansas 90, Kansas State 68

Hunter Dickinson amassed 15 points, 20 rebounds and four blocks as the Jayhawks cruised in their regular-season home finale, drubbing the Wildcats in Lawrence, Kan.

Kevin McCullar led Kansas (22-8, 10-7 Big 12) with 19 points. The Jayhawks have not lost on Senior Night since the 1982-83 season.

Will McNair Jr. led the Wildcats (17-13, 7-10) with 17 points. Kansas State's three leading scorers coming into the game, Tylor Perry, Cam Carter and Arthur Kaluma, combined for just 15 points.

Florida 105, No. 16 Alabama 87

Will Richard scored 23 points on 8-for-12 shooting as the Gators sprinted to a win over the Crimson Tide in Gainesville, Fla.

Walter Clayton Jr. added 22 points and shot 15-for-16 from the free-throw line for Florida (21-9, 11-6 SEC). Tyrese Samuel and Zyon Pullin finished with 19 points apiece.

Mark Sears scored 33 points on 10-for-20 shooting to lead Alabama (20-10, 12-5). Aaron Estrada finished with 17 points.

UNLV 62, No. 21 San Diego State 58

Dedan Thomas Jr. broke a tie with a step-back jumper with 18 seconds left and the Runnin' Rebels held on to upset the Aztecs in Las Vegas.

Thomas scored 19 points and Keylan Boone had 16 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for UNLV (19-10, 12-5 Mountain West), which has won five in a row and 10 of 11.

Elijah Saunders scored 14 points off the bench and Jaedon LeDee had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Aztecs (22-8, 11-6), who finished 3-6 on the road in conference play.

No. 24 South Florida 85, Tulane 72

Senior guard Chris Youngblood scored a career-high 29 points and the Bulls extended their school-record winning streak to 15 games by defeating the Green Wave in Tampa.

Kasean Pryor scored 13 points, Selton Miguel had 12 and Jayden Reid added 11 for South Florida (23-5, 16-1 American Athletic Conference), which won its first game since clinching its first regular-season conference championship. The Bulls' 15-game winning streak is the longest active run in the nation.

Jaylen Forbes tied his career high with seven 3-pointers and scored 24 points for Tulane (13-16, 4-13), which lost its seventh consecutive game.

No. 25 Dayton 100, Saint Louis 83

DaRon Holmes II scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and the Flyers hit a season-high-tying 18 3-pointers in a rout of the Billikens in St. Louis.

Kobe Elvis and Koby Brea each added 21 for Dayton (23-6, 13-4 Atlantic 10), which rebounded from a disappointing road loss to Loyola Chicago on Friday. It was the Flyers' first 100-point game since Jan. 12, 2018, a 106-79 win over VCU.

Gibson Jimerson scored 24 and Terrence Hargrove Jr. added 17 for Saint Louis (11-19, 4-13).

--Field Level Media

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