WASHINGTON (AP) — No. 3 Duke has made a statement by outhustling and outplaying top-ranked Michigan. The Blue Devils ended the Wolverines' 11-game losing streak with a 68-63 win on Saturday night before a riveted crowd at Capital One Arena in Washington. Freshman star Cameron Boozer and the Blue Devils could return to the nation's capital five weeks from now to play in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament. Duke was projected earlier Saturday as the No. 1 seed in the East. Coach Jon Scheyer says he's thankful his team got to play in a “tournament environment.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — Cameron Boozer scored 18 points and No. 3 Duke handed another neutral-site loss to fellow blueblood Michigan, knocking off the top-ranked Wolverines 68-63 in a raucous possible Final Four preview in the nation’s capital. The Wolverines had won 11 straight and replaced Arizona atop the AP Top 25 this week. The now-fourth-ranked Wildcats won at No. 2 Houston earlier Saturday, making it the first time since Feb. 8, 2025 that the teams ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the poll lost on the same day.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Chance Mallory drew a foul on a 3-point attempt with 3.6 seconds to play, and then sank all three free throws to lift No. 14 Virginia to an 86-83 win over Miami. Jacari White came off the bench to score 17 points, hitting five 3-pointers for the Cavaliers, who won their eighth straight. Sam Lewis had 15 points, Thijs De Ridder scored 14, and Mallory had all 12 of his points in the second half. Shelton Henderson and Tre Donaldson each scored 18 to lead Miami.
UNDATED (AP) — Michigan is the No. 1 overall seed in the preliminary rankings by the committee that will select the 68-team men's field for the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines were joined by Duke, Arizona and Iowa State as the 1-seeds in Saturday's reveal show on CBS. The Cyclones got the last No. 1 seed ahead of UConn and Houston. Saturday’s reveal is a snapshot of where things stand with less than a month left until Selection Sunday. Generally the teams listed above the cutline for a top-four regional seed stay there. Selection Sunday is March 15. The Final Four is in Indianapolis.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Henri Veesaar returned to the starting lineup and scored 19 points in leading No. 16 North Carolina to a 77-64 win over Syracuse. The 7-foot center, who averages 16.4 points and 9.0 rebounds for the Tar Heels, missed the Tar Heels’ past two games, most recently Tuesday’s 24-point loss at N.C. State. Seth Trimble and Luka Bogavac each had 13 points and Zayden High added nine for North Carolina. J.J. Starling led Syracuse with 22 points.
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Robert McCray V matched his season-high with 29 points, including Florida State’s final 10, and Florida State defeated Clemson 70-65. There were 22 lead changes in the game, the last when McRay hit a 3-pointer for a 66-65 lead. The Tigers did not score thereafter, missing their last six shots, five of them from 3-point range. McRay closed it out with a layup and a couple of free throws. The Seminoles have won seven of their last nine games. In contrast, Clemson has lost four in a row since a 10-1 start to the conference season.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said 7-footer Henri Veesaar would return to limited practice Friday while freshman star Caleb Wilson will have another evaluation next week as both players recover from injuries. Veesaar is dealing with a lower-body injury. Davis said Veesaar returned to individual workouts Thursday. He is considered questionable for Saturday's game at Syracuse. Wilson has a fracture in his left hand. The high-end NBA prospect is out indefinitely. Wilson and Veesaar are ranked 1-2 on the team in scoring and rebounding. They've each missed two straight games.
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Toby Fournier had 26 points and 12 rebounds as No. 9 Duke extended its winning streak to 17 games by beating N.C. State 83-65. Arianna Roberson scored 15 points in 17 minutes off the bench and Ashlon Jackson had 14 points for Duke, which improved to 15-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Khamil Pierre scored 24 points and Zoe Brooks had 21 for N.C. State, which has lost three of its last five games. he Wolfpack went 0 for 6 on 3-point attempts, the first time in more than three years that they did not have a 3-pointer.
