No. 5 San Diego State gets past Air Force in MWC tournament
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jordan Schakel scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half as No. 5 San Diego State rallied for a 73-60 win over Air Force in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament on Thursday.
Schakel, who shot 1 of 5 in the first half, hit four 3-pointers in the second half for the top-seeded Aztecs (29-1), who rode a 21-3 run to their 13th consecutive quarterfinal victory.
Yanni Wetzell and Malachi Flynn had 16 points each for San Diego State, which is hoping to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. After surviving the scare from Air Force, SDSU plays the winner of Boise State-UNLV in the semifinals.
AJ Walker scored 18 points for Air Force (12-20), which advanced off a 77-70 win against Fresno State on Wednesday.
NO. 13 OREGON 90, CALIFORNIA 56
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Payton Pritchard led five Ducks players in double figures with 20 points and Oregon used an early scoring outburst to pull away from California in the first half.
The win moved the Ducks (23-7) back into a tie with UCLA for first place in the Pac-12 at 12-5 with the regular season ending Saturday.
Pritchard added nine assists in Oregon’s 21st consecutive home victory, including all 16 home games this season. He shot 6 of 8 overall, including making all three of his 3-point attempts.
Oregon shot 63% from the field overall, including 71% (12 for 17) on 3s as Anthony Matthis added 17 points on 5-for-6 shooting from 3-point range. Will Richardson and Addison Patterson each had 13, and Shakur Juiston chipped in 10.
Matt Bradley led the Bears (13-17, 7-10) with 15 points. Grant Anticevich added 10.
NO. 19 OHIO STATE 71, NO. 23 ILLINOIS 63
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kaleb Wesson scored 19 points to lead Ohio State past Illinois.
E.J. Liddell tied a career high with 17 points and had 11 rebounds for the Buckeyes (21-9, 11-8 Big Ten), who have won four in a row and nine of their last 11. They are playing well at a critical time, with a road matchup against No. 16 Michigan State looming this weekend and the Big Ten tournament beginning Wednesday in Indianapolis.
Ayo Dosunmu had 21 points and five assists to pace Illinois (20-10, 12-7), which saw its conference championship hopes fade a bit more after starting the day a half-game behind leaders Maryland, Wisconsin and Michigan State. Still, the Illini are poised for a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years.
UCONN 77, NO. 21 HOUSTON 71
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Christian Vital scored 26 points in his final home game and UConn beat Houston.
Freshman James Bouknight added 17 points and Isaiah Whaley had 13 for the Huskies (18-12, 9-8 American Athletic Conference), who won their fourth straight game, but just their second this season over a ranked opponent.
Quentin Grimes scored 24 points and Caleb Mills added 20 for Houston (22-8, 12-5), which fell into a tie for second place in the conference.
UConn took control with a 15-2 run in the second half.
NO. 25 MICHIGAN 82, NEBRASKA 58
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Jon Teske scored 12 points and Zavier Simpson added 11 in their home finale, and Michigan beat Nebraska as Wolverines fans welcomed former coach John Beilein back to Crisler Center.
Nebraska (7-23, 2-17) was without guard Cam Mack, suspended for a violation of team rules. The Cornhuskers have lost 15 straight.
Isaiah Livers had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Michigan (19-11, 10-9 Big Ten), and Simpson had 10 assists. Haanif Cheatham led Nebraska with 19 points.
