NASHVILLE, TN (Sporting Alert) — The following are the scores and results from the NCAA men’s top 25 basketball tournament games that took place on Saturday, March 14.
Among the winners on the day were No. 1 Kentucky, No. 13 Iowa State and No. 6 Wisconsin. Defending national champions Connecticut also picked up a victory on the day.
Kentucky Wildcats players celebrates after the winIn the SEC semifinal, the top-ranked Wildcats (33-0, 18-0 SEC) extended their undefeated season run with a dominating 91-67 victory over Auburn at Bridgestone Arena, in Nashville.
Willie Cauley-Stein scored 17 points, seven rebounds and had three block shots to lead the way for Kentucky, which moves into the SEC title game where they will face No. 21 Arkansas.
Andrew Harrison collected 15 points, while Trey Lyles, Aaron Harrison and Devin Booker all finished with 12 points in the victory for the Wildcats, who went 27-for-48 (56.3 percent) from the field.
Kentucky, which out-rebounded Auburn 39-25, led 47-29 at halftime.
“It was a good game, a hard-fought game and we played well,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said.
Antoine Mason scored 23 points and Malcolm Canada added 16 to lead the way for the Tigers (15-20, 4-14 SEC).
”We obviously knew we had our hands full,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. ”For our guys, we were undersized and undermanned, but we’ve been that way all along.
“I’m just proud of the way my guys competed.”
Over at the United Center, in Chicago, Wisconsin responded from a slow first half to outscore Purdue 41-16 after the interval to setup a 71-51 victory to roll into the Big Ten tournament final.
Bronson Koenig shot 7-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range for 19 points to pace the Badgers (30-3, 16-2 Big Ten).
Sam Dekker ended with 15 points and eight rebounds and Nigel Hayes supported well with 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals for the sixth-ranked Wisconsin, which won five straight.
Star forward Frank Kaminsky chipped in with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks.
Only A.J. Hammons, who scored 10 points, reached double-digits in scoring for the Boilermakers. He also had seven rebounds and three blocks in the defeat.
Michigan State will face the Badgers in the Big Ten final after upsetting No. 8 Maryland (27-6, 14-4 Big Ten) 62-58 in their semifinal contest.
Travis Trice connected on three of his five three points attempts and went 7-of-13 from the field to score 20 points for the Spartans (23-10, 12-6 Big Ten). Branden Dawson finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in supporting role for Michigan State
No. 13 Iowa State rallies from a 17 point deficit to defeat No. 9 Kansas 70-66 to secure its second straight Big 12 tournament title.
Georges Niang scored 19 points and four other players scored in double figures for the Cyclones.
Abdel Nader added 13 points, while Jameel McKay finished with 11 points and eight boards and Monte Morris collected 11 points and six assists for Iowa State (25-8, 12-6 Big 12), which trailed 37-23 at halftime.
Kansas (26-8, 13-5 Big 12), which won the conference regular season title, was led by Wayne Selden Jr.’s game-high 25 points and Frank Mason III’s 13 in the defeat.
The Cyclones, who went on a 17-2 run in the early part of the second half, scored 47 points as a team after the interval.
“We got down 17, and they were still talking and positive in the huddle,” Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said. “And that’s a great sign, when your guys can stick together through adversity.”
In other tournament results on Saturday, No. 4 Villanova routed Xavier 69-52 to win the Big East tournament crown for the first time since 1995.
Dylan Ennis was the top contributor with 16 points and six boards, with Josh Hart finishing with 15 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (32-2, 16-2 Big East), who head into the NCAA Tournament with a 15 game winning streak.
Outside of the top 25 ranked teams, defending NCAA national champions Connecticut squeezed out a 47-42 victory over Tulsa in the American tournament semifinal.
Ryan Boatright scored 21 points and six rebounds, Rodney Purvis added 11 points and Daniel Hamilton grabbed 12 rebounds with five assists for UConn (20-13), which closes on 14-1 run.
Top 25 Games: NCAA Basketball Conference Tournament Scores
(1) Kentucky 91, Auburn 67
(4) Villanova 69, Xavier 52
(5) Arizona 80, Oregon 52
(6) Wisconsin 71, Purdue 51
Michigan St 62, (8) Maryland 58
(13) Iowa State 70, (9) Kansas 66
(11) Notre Dame 90, (19) North Carolina 82
(20) SMU 69, Temple 56
(21) Arkansas 60, Georgia 49
Virginia Commonwealth 93, (24) Davidson 73
Other NCAA Division I Game Scores
Albany 51, Stony Brook 50
Hampton 82, Delaware St 61
Georgia St 83, UL Lafayette 79
UAB 73, Middle Tennessee 60
Harvard 53, Yale 51
Dayton 56, Rhode Island 52
Georgia Southern 44, UL Monroe 43
Connecticut 47, Tulsa 42
Wyoming 45, San Diego St 43
Texas Southern 62, Southern 58
Buffalo 89, Central Michigan 84
Eastern Washington 69, Montana 65
Stephen F. Austin 83, Sam Houston St 70
New Mexico St 80, Seattle 61
UC Irvine 67, Hawaii 58
