Kentucky’s Kellan Grady drives past Alabama’s Noah Gurley, right, during the Wildcats’ 90-81 win on Saturday in Lexington, Kentucky. James Crisp/Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kellan Brooks made seven 3-pointers for a season-high 25 points, Oscar Tshiebwe added 21 points with 14 rebounds and No. 4 Kentucky rallied twice to top No. 25 Alabama 90-81 on Saturday.
Short-handed because of injuries to starting guards TyTy Washington Jr. and Sahvir Wheeler, the Wildcats (22-5, 11-3 SEC) trailed 46-34 with 3½ minutes remaining before halftime before closing with 13 straight points for their first lead. Grady’s 3-pointer capped the run that draw a thunderous roar in Rupp Arena.
The Crimson Tide (17-10, 7-7 SEC) erased a 54-48 deficit early in the second with eight points in a row to go up by two before Kentucky responded with a 20-2 surge over 5:47 to seize control at 74-58.
(1) GONZAGA 81, SANTA CLARA 69: Drew Timme scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Andrew Nembhard added 21 points, and the Zags (23-2, 12-0) beat the Bulldogs (18-10, 8-5) in Spokane, Washington to clinch their 10th straight West Coast Conference regular-season title.
Rasir Bolton added 18 points for Gonzaga, which won its 16th consecutive game and its 67th straight home game, a streak that dates to 2018 and is the longest in the nation. The Zags are the current front-runner for the top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
PJ Pipes scored 27 points and Jalen Williams 15 for Santa Clara, which ranks third in the WCC. The team is fighting for Santa Clara’s first postseason tournament berth since 2013.
FLORIDA 63, (2) AUBURN 62: Tyree Appleby scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half, Colin Castleton added 19 and the Gators (17-10, 7-7 SEC) rallied to beat the Tigers (24-3, 12-2) to extend their home dominance in the series.
The Tigers lost their second straight on the road and dropped their first game in regulation. They previously lost to UConn and Arkansas in overtime.
Appleby had everything to do with this one, which was Florida’s 14th straight over Auburn in Gainesville. The senior made 6 of 9 shots in the second half, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and was perfect from the free-throw line.
(6) KANSAS 71, WEST VIRGINIA 58: Ochai Agbaji scored 23 points, and David McCormack had 19 points and 11 rebounds to help the Jayhawks (22-4, 11-2 Big 12) beat the Mountaineers (14-12, 3-10) in Morgantown, West Virginia.
The Jayhawks maintained their two-game lead in the Big 12 over No. 7 Baylor and No. 11 Texas Tech with five games remaining before the conference tournament.
(7) BAYLOR 72, TCU 62: Jeremy Sochan matched his season high with 17 points as five players scored in double figures for the Bears (22-5, 10-4 Big 12), who led throughout despite missing two hurting guards in a victory over the Horned Frogs (16-8, 5-7) in Waco, Texas.
Baylor played with only six players, except for a two-minute stretch by a seldom-used sophomore in the first half, while bouncing back from a 10-point loss at No. 11 Texas Tech three nights earlier.
(9) DUKE 88, FLORIDA STATE 70: Freshman forward Paolo Banchero scored 17 points as the Blue Devils (23-4, 13-3 ACC) beat the Seminoles (14-12, 7-9) in Durham, North Carolina with retiring Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski back after missing the second half of the Blue Devils’ previous game because he wasn’t feeling well.
Reserve forward Joey Baker provided a big lift for Duke, scoring 12 points on four first-half 3-pointers. That included back-to-back shots from each corner during the Blue Devils’ push shortly before halftime that finally stretched out the lead after both teams rarely missed to start.
(10) VILLANOVA 74, GEORGETOWN 66: Justin Moore scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half to lead the Wildcats (21-6, 14-3 Big East) to a victory over the Hoyas (6-20, 0-15) in Villanova. Pennsylvania.
Brandon Slater added 11 points and Caleb Daniels and Eric Dixon each had 10 for Villanova, which has won five in a row.
(11) TEXAS TECH 61, (20) TEXAS 55: Bryson Williams scored 17 points and the Red Raiders (21-6, 10-4 Big 12) held off a late charge by the Longhorns (19-8, 8-6) to win in Austin, Texas earn a sweep of the regular-season series in the heated rivalry.
Clarence Nadolny added 14 points for the Red Raiders, who led by 10 with just over 3 minutes to play before the Longhorns got within 56-55 with a 9-0 run.
But Andrew Jones’ long 3-pointer with 1:10 to play was the last Texas field goal and Texas Tech put the game away from the free throw line.
(12) ILLINOIS 79, (19) MICHIGAN STATE 74: Kofi Cockburn scored 27 points, Jacob Grandison had a season-high 24 and the Fightin’ Illini (19-7, 12-4 Big Ten) held off the Spartans (18-9, 9-6) in East Lansing, Michigan.
Illinois moved ahead of No. 15 Wisconsin and into a first-place tie with No. 5 Purdue in the conference standings.
(23) ARKANSAS 58, (16) VOLUNTEERS 48: The Razorbacks (21-6, 10-4 SEC) held Tennessee to two field goals in the final eight minutes and used an 11-1 run late in the second half for a win over the No. 16 Volunteers (19-7, 10-4) in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The win is Arkansas’ 11th in 12 games, while the Volunteers’ loss is just their second since Jan. 15.
IOWA 75, (18) OHIO STATE 62: Keegan Murray scored 24 points and the Hawkeyes (18-8, 8-7 Big Ten) used a big run early in the second half to beat the Buckeyes (16-7, 9-5) in Columbus, Ohio.
Murray made 10 of 17 shots to lead the Hawkeyes.
(21) MURRAY STATE 62, UT MARTIN 60: KJ Williams made a three-point play with 10 seconds left and the Racers (26-2, 15-0 OVC) got past the Skyhawks (8-20, 4-12) in Martin, Tennessee for their 16th straight win.
Down 59-54 with under three minutes left, the Racers rallied. Williams capped the comeback with a layup and foul shot to overcome a 60-59 deficit — Murray State made only two baskets in the final nine minutes.
(22) WYOMING 75, AIR FORCE 67: Hunter Maldonado scored 29 points and Graham Ike had 27 to lead the Cowboys (22-4, 11-2 MWC) to a the Falcons (10-15, 3-11) in Laramie, Wyoming.
(24) UCONN 72, XAVIER 61: Former UConn star James Bouknight of the Charlotte Hornets was tossed from his courtside side by a game official in the second half as the No. 24 Huskies (19-7, 10-5 Big East) held off the Musketeers (17-9, 7-8) in Storrs, Connecticut.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
(22) IOWA 96, (5) INDIANA 91: Monika Czinano scored 22 points, Caitlin Clark added 16 of her 18 points in the second half and No. 5 Indiana’s fourth quarter rally fell short as the Hoosiers (19-5, 11-3 Big 10) lost to the Hawkeyes (17-7, 11-4) in Bloomington, Indiana.
Indiana scored a program-record 42 points in the fourth quarter to close a 22-point deficit, but missed its last three shots. Iowa had 25 points in the quarter and made nine of 14 free throws to close the game.
(6) IOWA STATE 89, (15) OKLAHOMA 67: Ashley Joens scored 28 points to help the Cyclones (22-4, 11-3 Big 12) cruise to a win over the Sooners (20-6, 9-5) in Ames, Iowa.
(7) BAYLOR 78, TCU 59: NaLyssa Smith scored 23 points, Queen Egbo had 14 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out and the the Bears (21-5, 11-3 Big 12) beat TCU (6-17, 2-12) in Fort Worth, Texas for a second win in four days over the Horned Frogs.
(20) BYU 63, GONZAGA 39: Shaylee Gonzales scored 21 points and the Cougars (23-2, 13-1 WCC) dominated the middle two quarters to romp to a win over the Zags (21-6, 12-2) in Provo, Utah.
(25) FLORIDA GULF COAST 63, NORTH FLORIDA 52: Tishara Morehouse scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Eagles (24-2, 13-1 Atlantic Sun) to a win over the Osprey (11-15, 4-1) in Jacksonville, Florida.
TENNESSEE: No. 12 Tennessee will be without leading scorer Jordan Horston for a few weeks with a fractured dislocation of her left elbow.
The Lady Vols (21-5, 10-3 Southeastern Conference) visit top-ranked South Carolina (24-1, 12-1) on Sunday. Harper said she doesn’t know how many weeks Horston will miss because the elbow has to heal.
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