Times wires
Thursday, March 3, 2011
NEWARK, N.J. — Jeremy Hazell scored a season-high 31 and Seton Hall, the worst 3-point shooting team in the Big East, made a season-best 12 to upset No. 15 St. John's 84-70 Thursday.
The Pirates entered shooting 28.4 percent from 3-point range. But they made 7 of 11 during the first half and 12 of 18 overall.
"They did a nice job of spacing, and they moved the ball very well and were able to find shooters," Red Storm coach Steve Lavin said. "That's as remarkable a shooting performance from any team I've faced in my career."
St. John's (19-10, 11-6) had won six in a row but no longer can earn a double-bye in the quarterfinals of next week's Big East tournament. It fell apart late, getting outscored 14-2 over the last four minutes and seeing Lavin and senior forward Justin Burrell ejected.
Lavin was given two technicals for arguing during a timeout with 1:55 to play. Burrell was called for a flagrant foul with 7.6 seconds left.
First-year Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard put a local spin on the closing minutes.
"New York and New Jersey. …I cross that bridge every day," he said. "Try crossing that bridge, and you'll get a little chippy, too."
No. 10 Wis. 77, Indiana 67: Jordan Taylor scored a career-high 39, including all 14 of a 14-4 run that helped the visiting Badgers (23-6, 13-4 Big Ten) pull away in the second half. The run turned a 46-45 lead into a 60-49 advantage.
No. 18 Ariz. 70, Oregon St. 59: Derrick Williams had 13 of his 15 points and 11 of his 12 rebounds during the first half for the host Wildcats. Arizona (24-6, 13-4 Pac-10) earned at least a share of its first conference title since 2004-05. It can win it outright by beating Oregon on Saturday.
BYU seeks to rebound
PROVO, Utah — Dave Rose, coach of No. 3 BYU coach, vowed his team will recover from twin challenges that put a damper on their standout season.
The Cougars began the week by entering the top five for the first time. But their leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, Brandon Davies, was kicked off the team Tuesday for violating the university's honor code. (The Salt Lake City Tribune reported it was for having premarital sex.) Then came Wednesday's 82-64 home loss to New Mexico. Star Jimmer Fredette scored 33. But he made only 10 of 26 field goals and got little help.
BYU got a much-needed day off Thursday, and Rose insisted his team would recover.
"This team has found ways to win games all year, and I have all the confidence in the world we'll continue to do that," he said. "We'll find ways to deal with the loss of a player that we've relied on."
State: Alexander Starling stole an inbounds pass and banked in a 10-foot shot with 2.2 seconds left in overtime to lift host Bethune-Cookman past Florida A&M 73-71. It's the first 20-win season since the Wildcats (20-11) moved up to Division I in 1980-81. … Tampa senior Rashad Callaway was named to the All-Sunshine State Conference first team for the third straight year, and Saint Leo's Nate Johnson was named freshman of the year.
Women: Gators earn a win at SEC tourney
NASHVILLE — Ndidi Madu had 12 points and 10 rebounds and No. 8 seed Florida scored the game's final nine points to beat Arkansas 68-59 in the first round of the SEC tournament.
The Gators' reward? Tennessee, the top seed and No. 4 team in the nation in today's quarterfinals. The Vols won the two regular-season matchups by an average of 32.5 points.
"To play the type of defense down the stretch to get the win," coach Amanda Butler said, "I'm really proud of our team and the guts we showed in particular to make the plays to finish it off."
More SEC: South Carolina led almost from the start in beating Mississippi 62-50 and earning a matchup with Georgia. … LSU, which failed to earn a first-round bye for the first time in 10 seasons, scored the game's first 13 on its way to routing Alabama 60-36. It next faces No. 16 Kentucky.
FSU GETS UNC: No. 19 North Carolina opened with a 17-4 run to beat Clemson 78-64 in the first round of the ACC tournament in Greensboro, N.C. In today's quarterfinals, it faces No. 14 Florida State, the third seed. … Brittany Strachan's two free throws with 14.3 seconds left lifted N.C. State past Boston College 71-70 and into today's matchup with No. 10 Miami. … Wake Forest used a late 12-2 run to pull away and beat Virginia 74-68 and set up a game with No. 8 Duke, the top seed. … Georgia Tech opened with an 11-1 run and led 40-14 at halftime in beating Virginia Tech 81-58. It next faces No. 13 Maryland.
No. 9 UCLA 60, Wash. 42: The host Bruins (25-3, 15-2 Pac-10) forced 23 turnovers and held the Huskies without a field goal for an eight-minute span in the first half.
No. 15 Wis.-Green Bay 75, Wright St. 54: Up by just six at halftime, the visiting Phoenix (28-1, 17-0 Horizon) opened the second half with a 17-6 run.