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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — PJ Hall hit a go-ahead basket with just over three minutes remaining and finished with 25 points as Clemson overcame a squandered 16-point lead and beat No. 3 North Carolina 80-76 on Tuesday night in a marquee win to improve its NCAA Tournament chances.
Joseph Girard III added 21 points for the Tigers (15-7, 5-6 Atlantic Coast Conference), including a timely 3-pointer at the 2:09 mark that followed Hall’s basket. That was part of a 7-0 run that gave the Tigers just enough to get past the Tar Heels (18-5, 10-2), who were coming off an emotional rivalry win against No. 9 Duke three days earlier.
Hall hit two free throws with 4.6 seconds left, sealing a win. Ian Schieffelin added 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Armando Bacot had 24 points and 13 rebounds to lead UNC. RJ Davis added 22 for the Tar Heels, who shot 36.9% and made 9 of 27 3-pointers.
NO. 1 UCONN 71, BUTLER 62
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Donovan Clingan had 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead UConn to its 11th straight win.
Cam Spencer added 20 points for the Huskies (21-2, 11-1 Big East).
DJ Davis scored 21 points and Jahmyl Telfort had 17 for Butler (15-8, 6-6), which entered on a four-game winning streak.
The Huskies never trailed and led by 14 in the first half. But an 11-0 run by the Bulldogs that stretched into the second half cut the deficit to 35-32 before UConn extended its lead and held on for the win.
NO. 5 HOUSTON 79, OKLAHOMA STATE 63
HOUSTON (AP) — Jamal Shead scored 23 points, Emanuel Sharp added 16 and Houston extended its home winning streak to 18 games after playing most of the second half without coach Kelvin Sampson, who got two technical fouls and was ejected with about 15 minutes remaining.
Mylik Wilson had 12 points for Houston (20-2, 7-3 Big 12). The Cougars limited Oklahoma State to 40% shooting and 5 for 21 from long distance. Houston also outrebounded the Cowboys 34-27 and turned 17 turnovers into 24 points.
Javon Small scored 18 points and John-Michael Wright added 13 for Oklahoma State (10-13, 2-8).
NO. 13 BAYLOR 79, NO. 23 TEXAS TECH 73
WACO, Texas (AP) — RayJ Dennis scored 21 points, 7-foot freshman Yves Missi had 17 points with some impressive dunks, and Baylor dealt Texas Tech its third consecutive loss.
Jayden Nunn added 14 points for the Bears (17-5, 6-3 Big 12), including seven in the big run that put them ahead to stay.
Baylor tied No. 14 Iowa State for second place in the Big 12 standings, a half-game behind fifth-ranked Houston. Joe Toussaint had 18 points and six assists for Texas Tech (16-6, 5-4), still among the seven teams within two games of the Big 12 lead.
Darrion Williams added 17 points for Texas Tech, while Chance McMillian had 15 and Pop Isaacs 11.
NO. 14 IOWA STATE 70, TEXAS 65
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Milan Momcilovic scored 13 points and Iowa State held off a furious Texas rally over the final 10 minutes.
The Cyclones (17-5, 6-3 Big 12) led by 18 points in the second half only to see Texas claw its way back to within three points. Tamin Lipsey added 12 points in the win.
Dylan Disu scored 28 points, including 16 in a row in the second half, for Texas (15-8, 4-6). The Longhorns scored just 19 points in the first half and guard Max Abmas, the NCAA scoring leader among active players, finished with 13 points after being held scoreless in the first half and shooting just 3 of 11.
NO. 15 SOUTH CAROLINA 68, MISSISSIPPI 65
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Collin Murray-Boyles scored 16 points and South Carolina reached 20 victories for the first time in seven years.
The Gamecocks (20-3, 8-2 Southeastern Conference) won their first game as a ranked team — and sixth in a row overall — after not appearing in the Top 25 since 2017. That was also the last time they reached 20 victories on the way to the Final Four.
Ta’Lon Cooper and Myles Stute had 12 points each for South Carolina.
Allen Flanigan led all scorers with 26 points, including 16 in the second half to fuel the Rebels’ comeback try in the second half.
NO. 17 KENTUCKY 109, VANDERBILT 77
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Antonio Reeves scored 24 points and led six players in double figures as Kentucky snapped a two-game skid.
The Wildcats (16-6, 6-4) had lost three of their last four to fall to sixth in the Southeastern Conference standings with 10 games remaining until the league tournament in Nashville in March. Kentucky also snapped a two-game skid against Vanderbilt.
Rob Dillingham finished with 20 points for Kentucky. Justin Edwards added 17, Jordan Burks 13, Aaron Bradshaw 12 and Zvonimir Ivisic 11.
Evan Taylor led Vanderbilt (6-16, 1-8) with 20 points. Ezra Manjon added 14, and Tyrin Lawrence had 10.
NO. 18 DAYTON 94, SAINT JOSEPH’S 79
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nate Santos and Kobe Elvis each scored 21 points and Javon Bennett added 18 in Dayton’s win overSaint Joseph’s.
DeRon Holmes II had 13 points for the Flyers (19-3, 9-1 Atlantic 10), who shook off a sluggish start and outscored the Hawks 60-41 in the second half.
Cameron Brown led the Hawks (15-8, 5-5) with 19 points.
OKLAHOMA 82, NO. 21 BYU 66
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Javian McCollum scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half in Oklahoma’s win over BYU.
Milos Uzan had 16 points and Rivaldo Soares added 12 for Oklahoma (17-6, 5-5 Big 12), which dropped out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in 10 weeks on Monday.
McCollum converted six free throws down the stretch and made a 3-pointer with 46 seconds remaining to seal the win for the Sooners, who shot 49% from the field and went 23 of 29 from the free-throw line.
Fousseyni Traore led BYU (16-6, 4-5) with 21 points and Dallin Hall finished with 17 for the Cougars, who had won two straight.
NEVADA 77, NO. 22 UTAH STATE 63
LOGAN, Utah (AP) — Nick Davidson had a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds as Nevada ended Utah State’s 13-game home winning streak.
Kenan Blackshear added 18 points for the Wolf Pack (18-5, 5-4 Mountain West), who topped an AP Top 25 team on the road for the first time since beating UNLV in 1981.
Blackshear battled through foul trouble and Nevada’s leading scorer Jarod Lucas struggled from the floor, finishing with nine points on 2-of-8 shooting. Davidson, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward, picked up the slack inside and outside — he had three of the Wolf Pack’s four 3s.
Ian Martinez scored 16 points and Mason Falslev had 14 for the Aggies (19-4, 7-3), who have dropped two straight.
NO. 24 SAN DIEGO STATE 77, AIR FORCE 64
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) — Reese Waters scored 15 points, making five of San Diego State’s season-high 11 3-pointers, and the Aztecs won consecutive games for the first time since early January.
The Aztecs (18-5, 7-3 Mountain West) won their ninth straight over the Falcons (8-14, 1-9) and moved into a four-way tie for first place in the conference standings, joining No. 25 New Mexico, No. 22 Utah State and Boise State.
Jaedon LeDee finished with 14 points and nine rebounds as San Diego State forced 14 turnovers — including three shot-clock infractions.
Beau Becker and Jeffrey Mills both had 15 points to lead Air Force. Two of the Falcons’ top scorers, Rytis Petraitis and Ethan Taylor, were held to a combined 10 points. Petraitis got into foul trouble trying to help contain LeDee.
NO. 25 NEW MEXICO 91, WYOMING 73
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — Donovan Dent had 19 points and seven assists and Jaelen House added 17 points and eight rebounds to lead New Mexico.
J.T. Toppin set a New Mexico freshman record with his eighth double-double, finishing with 11 points and 12 rebounds. He eclipsed the mark set by Kenny Thomas. Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored 15 points and Mustapha Amzil 13 points to lead a balanced effort by the Lobos (19-4, 7-3 Mountain West).
Brendan Wenzel hit four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, and Sam Griffin added 19 to lead Wyoming (12-11, 5-5). Akuel Kot scored 13 points and Cam Manyawu added 12 for the Cowboys, who were outrebounded 51-35.
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