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Connecticut’s Kemba Walker goes up for what will be the winning basket during the final seconds of the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York.
AP PHOTO
NEW YORK — Kemba Walker hit the winning basket on a classic stepback jumper at the buzzer, and No. 21 Connecticut stunned third-ranked Pittsburgh 76-74 in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament on Thursday.
Walker got the ball at the top of the key with 15 seconds left, allowed the clock to melt under five, then made a move toward the basket. He used a crossover and shoulder roll to dump his defender, 6-foot-10 Gary McGhee, right to the ground, then calmly drained the shot.
The buzzer sounded just as the ball went through the net, and freshman Shabazz Napier was the first to grab Walker by the waist and hoist him into the air.
The Huskies (24-9) have won three games in three days after a late-season slide sent them to the No. 9 seed in the Big East tournament.
Notre Dame 89, Connecticut 51
NEW YORK — Ben Hansbrough led a brutally efficient Notre Dame attack with 23 points and the fourth-ranked Fighting Irish dismantled one of the nation’s best defenses in a quarterfinal rout of No. 25 Cincinnati in the Big East tournament.
The league’s player of the year had plenty of help.
Carleton Scott scored 18 points and Tim Abromaitis had 17 for the Irish (26-5), who have already won more games than in any other season under longtime coach Mike Brey.
Syracuse 79, St. John’s 73
NEW YORK — Freshman center Fab Melo scored a career-high 12 points, including two layups in the final 2 minutes, and No. 11 Syracuse beat No. 17 St. John’s in the Big East quarterfinals.
Brandon Triche had a season-high 22 points for the fourth-seeded Orange (26-6), who will meet ninth-seeded and 21st-ranked Connecticut (24-9) in the semifinals Friday night. The Huskies beat top-seeded Pittsburgh 76-74 on Kemba Walker’s buzzer-beating jumper Thursday.
BIG 12 Kansas 63, Oklahoma State 62
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mario Little’s three-point play broke a tie with 71 seconds to go and Oklahoma State missed a desperation heave at the buzzer, allowing No. 2 Kansas to escape with a in the second round of the Big 12 tournament.
Big 12 player of the year Marcus Morris, shut down most of the second half, hit a key 3-pointer for the Jayhawks (30-2). Kansas trailed by as many as eight until Oklahoma State (19-13) got in deep foul trouble in the second half.
Colorado 87, No. 19 Kansas State 75
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Cory Higgins scored 28 points, Alec Burks had 24 and Colorado beat No. 19 Kansas State for the third time this season, ousting the Wildcats in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals.
Texas 74, Oklahoma 54
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jordan Hamilton and Tristan Thompson each had a double-double, helping No. 10 Texas cruise in a lopsided quarterfinal at the Big 12 tournament.
The Longhorns, who beat Oklahoma for the third time this season and 11th in 13 meetings, led by as many as 25 and never let the Sooners (14-18) get closer than 13 after that.
ATLANTIC COAST Miami 69, Virginia 62, OT
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Malcolm Grant scored 16 points as Miami rallied from 10 down in the final minute of regulation to force overtime and beat Virginia in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Garrius Adams added 10 points for the ninth-seeded Hurricanes (19-13), who spent most of the second half struggling to make a shot before their frantic comeback forced the extra period.
Boston College 81, Wake Forest 67
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Reggie Jackson was one of three Boston College players with at least 20 points in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Maryland 75, N.C. State 67
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Jordan Williams had 16 points and 13 rebounds to help Maryland beat North Carolina State in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
SOUTHEASTERN Georgia 69, Auburn 51
ATLANTA — Trey Thompkins scored 22 points to lead Georgia past Auburn in the opening game of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
Georgia (21-10) has a chance to again bolster its NCAA tournament hopes when it faces Alabama, the Western Division’s No. 1 seed, in Friday’s SEC quarterfinals.
Tennessee 74, Arkansas 68
ATLANTA — Freshman Tobias Harris scored 20 points and Tennessee recovered after blowing a 16-point lead to beat Arkansas in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
Tennessee (19-13) bolstered its NCAA tournament case after losing six of its last nine games in the regular season.
Mississippi 66, South Carolina 55
ATLANTA — Chris Warren scored 20 points and Mississippi won a game of spurts, pulling away from South Carolina in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
MID-AMERICAN Akron 82, Miami (Ohio) 75, 2OT
CLEVELAND — Brett McClanahan’s 3-pointer with 32 seconds left in the second overtime helped Akron stave off a stunning comeback by Miami (Ohio) in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament.
Western Michigan 67, Bowling Green 56
CLEVELAND — Demetrius Ward scored 14 points, Flenard Whitfield added 12 and 10 rebounds and Western Michigan advanced in the Mid-American Conference tournament.
Kent State 73, Buffalo 62
CLEVELAND — Rodriquez Sherman scored 18 points, leading top-seeded Kent State in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament.
Justin Greene added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Golden Flashes (22-10).
BIG TEN Penn St. 61, Indiana 55
INDIANAPOLIS — Jeff Brooks finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, Talor Battle scored 13 and sixth-seeded Penn State held off Indiana in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.
The win may help Penn State (17-13) make its case with the NCAA’s selection committee. Four teams, including Penn State, entered the tournament with 9-9 conference records.
Northwestern 75, Minnesota 65
INDIANAPOLIS — Michael Thompson scored a tournament-record 35 points and Drew Crawford added 15, leading Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.
Northwestern (18-12) now faces No. 1 Ohio State (29-2) in the first game of today’s quarterfinals.
Michigan State 66, Iowa 61
INDIANAPOLIS — Draymond Green had 21 points and 14 rebounds to help Michigan State in the first round of the Big Ten tournament and keep its NCAA tournament hopes alive.
Iowa’s Matt Gatens missed a 3-pointer that could have tied the game with six seconds remaining.
SWAC Grambling State 65, MVSU 62
GARLAND, Texas (AP) — Justin Patton scored 25 points to lead Grambling State in the first round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.
CONFERENCE USA E. Carolina 75, UAB 70, OT
EL PASO, Texas — Darrius Morrow finished with 22 points, including six in overtime, and East Carolina upset No. 1 seed Alabama-Birmingham in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA tournament.
Memphis 66, Southern Miss 63
EL PASO, Texas — Joe Jackson scored 15 points and helped seal Memphis’ victory with two key free throws in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA tournament.
UTEP 77, Marshall 65
EL PASO, Texas — UTEP used a big first-half push and had six players score in double figures as the Miners defeated Marshall in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA tournament.
MOUNTAIN WEST No. 8 BYU 64, TCU 58
LAS VEGAS — Jimmer Fredette scored 24 points and No. 8 BYU overcame a slow start in the Mountain West Conference quarterfinals.
No. 7 San Diego State 64, Utah 50
LAS VEGAS — Kawhi Leonard and Malcolm Thomas each had a double-double to help No. 7 San Diego State beat Utah in the Mountain West Conference quarterfinals, giving the Aztecs the first 30-win season in their 90-year history.
WESTERN ATHLETIC San Jose State 74, Idaho 68
LAS VEGAS — Keith Shamburger and Adrian Oliver had 28 points each, and San Jose State knocked off another higher seed in the Western Athletic Conference tournament by beating Idaho in the quarterfinals.
New Mexico 67, Colorado State 61
LAS VEGAS — New Mexico earned a shot at beating BYU for a third time by outlasting Colorado State in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament.
PAC-10 No. 16 Arizona 78, Oregon State 69
LOS ANGELES — Derrick Williams scored 22 points and No. 16 Arizona rode its 3-point shooting to victory in the Pac-10 tournament quarterfinals.
Oregon 76, UCLA 59
LOS ANGELES — E.J. Singler scored a career-high 24 points and Oregon routed second-seeded UCLA in the Pac-10 tournament quarterfinals.
The seventh-seeded Ducks (16-16) advanced to today’s semifinals against either No. 3 seed Washington or sixth-seeded Washington State, which met later at Staples Center.
USC 70, California 56
LOS ANGELES — Maurice Jones scored 16 points, Alex Stepheson added 14 points and 16 rebounds in a strong low-post game, and Southern California advanced to the Pac-10 tournament semifinals.
BIG WEST Long Beach State 79, UC Irvine 72
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Casper Ware scored 23 points and Larry Anderson 18 as Long Beach State defeated UC Irvine in the quarterfinals of the Big West tournament.
UC Santa Barbara 79, Pacific 67
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Orlando Johnson scored 32 points to lead fifth-seeded UC Santa Barbara in the quarterfinals of the Big West tournament.
MEAC Morgan State 77, North Carolina A&T 59
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Kevin Thompson scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Morgan State over North Carolina A&T in the quarterfinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament.