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.
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.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA was having a very bad week. There was a pair of 20-plus point blowout road losses. Coach Mick Cronin angrily ejected one of his own players at Michigan State. Then No. 10 Illinois came into Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins fell behind by 23 points in the first half before pulling off a 95-94 victory in overtime to end their rough stretch. Cronin says he was worried his team was lacking confidence before the game. But the Bruins locked in on defense and held Illinois scoreless from 3-point range in overtime. UCLA is on the NCAA Tournament bubble with four games remaining in the regular season.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA upset 10th-ranked Illinois 95-94 in overtime, complet a 23-point comeback on a last-second layup by Donovan Dent. He scored with one second left in overtime, and fans stormed the court. UCLA trailed by 23 points in the first half. Eric Dailey Jr. leds the Bruins with 20 points, and Tyler Bilodeau added 18. Illinois got 19 points from freshman Keaton Wagler, who briefly put the Illini ahead late. The Bruins improved to 15-1 at home this season.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Pryce Sandfort scored 20 of his career-high 33 points in the first half and finished with eight 3-pointers to lead No. 9 Nebraska in an 87-64 rout of Penn State. Sandfort made his first five deep shots and started 6 for 6 overall against the Nittany Lions. He finished 8 of 14 from beyond the arc. Braden Frager scored 15 points and Sam Hoiberg had a career-high 10 assists to go with 11 points. Ivan Juric had 13 points and 10 rebounds, Kayden Mingo added 13 points and Josh Reed had 11 Penn State, in last place in the Big Ten.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kwame Evans Jr. scored 21 points and Oregon’s 7-0 run in the last 59 seconds helped the Ducks steal a 71-70 win over USC. Chad Baker-Mazara scored 21 points before fouling out for USC. Nate Bittle scored 14 points and his two foul shots with 10 seconds left were Oregon’s go-ahead points. With Baker-Mazara and Ezra Ausar on the bench after each fouled out, Arenas attempted to split defenders before Oregon’s Dezdrick Lindsay swiped the ball and threw it into the front court as time expired.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Cade Tyson had 27 points and 10 rebounds, making seven 3-pointers, and short-handed Minnesota defeated Rutgers 80-61. Minnesota won its second straight game with a lineup of six players. All five Minnesota starters scored in double figures and all five played at least 36 minutes. Backup Kai Shinholster played 13 minutes. Langston Reynolds had 19 points and nine assists, Bobby Durkin scored 12 points, and Isaac Asuma and Grayson Grove scored 11 each for the Golden Gophers. Shinholster did not score. Minnesota shot 60% overall and made 15 of 26 3-pointers. Lino Mark scored 16 points, Dylan Grant 15 and Tariq Francis 10 for Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights had won their last two.
