Top-25 College Basketball Game Capsules
Nashville, TN (Sports Network) - DeMarcus Cousins beat the buzzer to force overtime and John Wall nailed a critical three-pointer late in the extra session, as second-ranked Kentucky edged Mississippi State, 75-74, to claim its record 26th SEC tournament championship. Eric Bledsoe led all Wildcats (32-2) in scoring with 18 points, while Wall, the tourney's most outstanding player, scored seven of his 17 points in overtime. The sensational Freshman also handed out nine assists, grabbed six rebounds and recorded five steals. Kentucky made its first appearance in the SEC Final since 2005 and captured its first title in six years. The victory solidified Kentucky as the East Region's No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a first-round tilt against Atlantic Sun champs East Tennessee State. Ravern Johnson had a game-high 20 points for the Bulldogs (23-11), who took down Tennessee in last year's conference title game but weren't so lucky this season in failing to secure an at-large bid to the "Big Dance." Jarvis Varnado tallied 18 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in the loss.
Final Score: (4) Duke 65, Georgia Tech 61
Greensboro, NC (Sports Network) - Jon Scheyer hit a clutch three-pointer with 20 seconds left to make it a four-point game and Kyle Singler got 14 of his 20 points at the line, as fourth-ranked Duke captured a record 18th ACC Tournament crown with a 65-61 victory against Georgia Tech. Scheyer finished with 16 points as did Nolan Smith with the Blue Devils (29-5) overcoming a shoddy 35.3-percent shooting effort by making 24-of-28 at the free throw line to make it back-to-back ACC tourney titles. Duke had been tied with rival North Carolina at 17 tournament championships and later secured the South Region's No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a first-round matchup with the winner of the play-in game between Arkansas- Pine Bluff and Winthrop. ACC Rookie of the Year Derrick Favors posted 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Iman Shumpert contributed a dozen points, five boards and five assists in the loss. Maurice Miller chipped in 10 points for the Yellow Jackets (22-12), whose run to the final included wins over UNC and No. 19 Maryland to secure an at-large bid in the NCAAs as the Midwest Region's 10th seed opposite Oklahoma State.
Final Score: (5) Ohio State 90, Minnesota 61
Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Evan Turner capped a dominant performance in the Big Ten Tournament with 31 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, as fifth-ranked Ohio State pulled away late to notch an impressive 90-61 win over Minnesota to secure the conference championship. David Lighty was equally impressive with 20 points, seven boards and five assists, while Jon Diebler knocked down five three-pointers en route to 19 points. The balanced attack also included 13 points from William Buford as the Buckeyes (27-7) won their third Big Ten title. OSU was later handed a No. 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament in the Midwest Region and will take on Big West champs UC Santa Barbara. Lawrence Westbrook had 17 points and Devoe Joseph added 14 on four three- pointers for the sixth-seeded Golden Gophers (21-13), who were aiming for their first Big Ten Tournament championship. Minnesota's incredible run through the conference bracket, which included wins over the likes of 11th-ranked Michigan State and sixth-ranked Purdue, secured an at-large bid in the NCAAs as the 11th seed in the West Region opposite Xavier.
Final Score: (17) Temple 56, Richmond 52
Atlantic City, NJ (Sports Network) - Juan Fernandez led all scorers with 18 points, as 17th-ranked Temple held on to claim its third straight Atlantic 10 Conference title and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament with a 56-52 win over Richmond. Ryan Brooks and Ramone Moore each finished with 12 points for Temple (29-5), which locked up a fifth seed for the NCAA Tournament in the East Region against Ivy League champions Cornell. Lavoy Allen chipped in with a game-best 11 rebounds to go along with four points for the Owls, who earned their ninth A-10 title. Kevin Anderson had 14 points for Richmond (26-8), which defeated Massachusetts and Xavier on the way to the tourney final. Justin Harper ended with 10 points and seven rebounds, while Ryan Butler also donated 10 points for the Spiders.
