LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA cruised past ninth-ranked Nebraska, leading all the way in a 72–52 win powered by Trent Perry’s 20 points. The Bruins snapped Nebraska’s three-game winning streak and closed their home schedule at Pauley Pavilion with a 17–1 record. Eric Dailey Jr. added 14 points and eight rebounds. UCLA slowed Nebraska's 3-point shooting, with the Cornhuskers going 5 of 24. The loss knocked them out of a second-place tie in the Big Ten. Nebraska was led by Sam Hoiberg with 12 points.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Andrej Stojakovic had 21 points and 12 rebounds off the bench to lead No. 11 Illinois to an 80-54 victory over Oregon on Tuesday night. David Mirkovic added 19 points and seven rebounds, and Keaton Wagler had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Illini (23-7, 14-5 Big Ten). They scored 40 bench points to Oregon’s 14. Illinois is a win away from triple-bye and berth in the quarterfinals next week in the Big Ten Tournament. A Wisconsin loss in one of its two remaining conference games also would get the Illini into the quarterfinals. Nate Bittle had 15 points and Kwame Evans Jr. scored 13 for Oregon (11-19, 4-15) in its first trip to Champaign.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — No. 2 UCLA has spent the past year celebrating one net-cutting ceremony after another. The Bruins won their first conference tournament title in nearly two decades last March. They reached their first Final Four in nearly half a century last April. And on Sunday, they completed the Big Ten’s first perfect conference season since 2014-15 with a victory at longtime rival Southern California. Now they begin another potentially historic quest — winning the program’s first national title since 1978 — and bringing home the first back-to-back conference tourney crowns in school history. It won't be easy with seven Big Ten teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 25.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA coach Mick Cronin warns the transfer portal is pushing college players to change schools too often and miss out on graduating. The men’s Division I portal opens April 7 for a short 15-day window. Cronin says the churn often leaves players without a degree or a resume. He wants schools to be able to exceed the new revenue-sharing cap so they can retain their players. Otherwise, Cronin says, players are bouncing from school to school and not graduating. He says the money they make on name, image and likeness deals isn't enough to retire on. As a result, they're often looking for jobs in the real world when they're done playing basketball in college or overseas.
UNDATED (AP) — Duke has been on a roll since losing to rival North Carolina on a buzzer beater. The Blue Devils have won six straight games by an average of 23 points since their Feb. 7 loss in Chapel Hill and have been No. 1 in the AP Top 25 the past two weeks. Duke will be looking get a little revenge Saturday night after Tar Heels fans stormed the court twice in the first game, leaving a Blue Devils staffer bloodied after being run over. No. 3 Michigan and No. 8 Michigan State also will renew their rivalry this weekend. The Wolverines won the first meeting at Michigan State and have already clinched the Big Ten regular-season title.
NEW YORK (AP) — UConn completed its 11th undefeated regular season with a victory over St. John’s on Sunday night and is nine wins from repeating as national champion with a seventh perfect season. Despite winning by an average of nearly 38 points per game, coach Geno Auriemma insisted this season hasn’t been as easy as it's looked from the outside. He also knows that winning a 13th national championship won’t be as easy as last season’s title run. The Huskies, who have won 47 consecutive games, have two of the best players in college basketball in guard Azzi Fudd and forward Sarah Strong.
UNDATED (AP) — No. 2 Arizona's Brayden Burries is the first player to earn The Associated Press men’s college basketball national player of the week honors twice this season. The 6-foot-3 guard led Wildcats to at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title by averaging 22.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists. He scored 24 points with four assists in an 87-80 win at Baylor. He followed up with 20 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and no turnovers in an 84-61 win over No. 14 Kansas. Burries was also named AP player of the week in Week 13, giving Arizona a third player of the week after Koa Peat earned it the opening week of the season.
UNDATED (AP) — The Associated Press national player of the week in women’s basketball for Week 17 is Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes. The sophomore guard led No. 5 Vanderbilt to wins over Alabama and Tennessee last week, averaging 34.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4,5 assists. Olivia Olson of No. 8 Michigan was runner-up. She led the Wolverines to wins over then-No. 13 Ohio State and 14th-ranked Maryland. Olson, a sophomore, had a career-high 31 points, including the game-winning layup in overtime, in the victory over the Buckeyes.
