CBKB: Ohio State to meet Penn State in Big 10 finale

INDIANAPOLIS - Jared Sullinger had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and No. 1 Ohio State boosted its bid for the NCAA tournament's top overall seed with a 68-61 victory over rival Michigan in the Big Ten semifinals Saturday.

The regular-season league champions and defending tournament champs will play in a record-tying third straight championship game today against sixth-seeded Penn State. Illinois also played in three consecutive title games from 2003-05.

No. 2 Kansas 85,

No. 10 Texas 73

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tyshawn Taylor and Marcus Morris sparked a quick start and Kansas raced past Texas in the Big 12 title game, avenging one of the saddest losses the Jayhawks have experienced in years.

Jordan Hamilton had 21 points for second-seeded Texas (27-7), which beat Kansas 74-63 and snapped the Jayhawks' team-record 69-game home court winning streak on a melancholy afternoon in January.

The night before, the mother of sophomore forward Thomas Robinson had died unexpectedly. Players and coaches were up most of night trying to comfort the grieving young man, who had also lost both grandparents a few weeks earlier and was now left virtually alone with his 7-year-old sister back in Washington, D.C.

No. 5 Duke 77,

Virginia Tech 63

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Nolan Smith scored 27 points and Duke claimed a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game by beating Virginia Tech in the semifinals.

Kyle Singler added 13 points and 11 rebounds and Seth Curry had 10 points for the second-seeded Blue Devils (29-4).

No. 6 North Carolina 92, Clemson 87, OT

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Freshman phenom Harrison Barnes had a season-high 40 points as North Carolina escaped again at the ACC tournament, rallying past Clemson in overtime.

No. 7 San Diego State 72,

No. 8 BYU 54

LAS VEGAS - Billy White put on an offensive display and bedeviled national scoring leader Jimmer Fredette in leading San Diego State past BYU for the Mountain West Conference title.

White had 21 points, 12 rebounds and five steals and Kawhi Leonard pitched in 20 points and eight boards.

No. 12 Florida 77,

Vanderbilt 66

ATLANTA - Kenny Boynton scored 24 points, Erving Walker added 17 and Florida recovered from another slow start to beat Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference semifinals.

The Gators (26-6) matched their biggest comeback of the season, overcoming a 12-point deficit early in the second half. They will meet Kentucky in the championship game today.

No. 21 Connecticut 69,

No. 14 Louisville 66

NEW YORK - Kemba Walker capped the best five days an individual and team may have ever had in college basketball, scoring 19 points to lead UConn to the Big East championship.

No. 15 Kentucky 72,

Alabama 58

ATLANTA - Brandon Knight finally got rolling at the Southeastern Conference tournament and Kentucky looked like a young team peaking at just the right time with a semifinal victory over Alabama.

Knight scored 10 straight points to blow it open for the Wildcats (24-8), who have won seven out of eight with their three freshman starters.

Washington 77, No. 16 Arizona 75, OT

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Isaiah Thomas hit a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer, lifting Washington over Arizona for the Pac-10 tournament championship in the first overtime title game in league history.

No. 23 Utah State 77,

Boise State 69

LAS VEGAS - Tai Wesley scored 19 points after a quiet start and Utah State earned its second straight trip to the NCAA tournament with a win in the Western Athletic Conference championship game.

Utah State (30-3) was solid throughout in its fifth WAC title game in six years, getting big contributions from Brian Green (12 points) and Nate Bendall (16 points) at the start of each half.

Wesley took over down the stretch, scoring nine points in the final 5 minutes to help the Aggies match a school record for wins and set off a wild celebration with the student section at midcourt.

Boise State (20-12) twice came back from double-digit deficits to make it close.

Richmond 58,

No. 24 Temple 54

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Kevin Anderson scored 22 points and Richmond beat three-time defending champion Temple in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.

Justin Harper added 18 points and nine rebounds as the third-seeded Spiders (26-7) avenged a loss to the No. 24-ranked Owls (25-7) in last year's title game and a 20-point loss earlier this season.