College basketball: De'Andre Hunter's three helps No. 1 Virginia edge Louisville, 67-66

By Associated Press

March 1, 2018 7:27 PM PT

De’Andre Hunter’s 3-pointer as time expired gave No. 1 Virginia a 67-66 victory over Louisville on Thursday night in a wild finish that made the Cavaliers the first Atlantic Coast Conference team to go 9-0 on the road in league play.

Needing everything to overcome an energized Cardinals squad desperate for a statement victory, the Cavaliers (27-2, 16-1) tied the game at 58 with 2 minutes left and overcame another five-point deficit in the final minute. Louisville led 66-64 and tried to inbounds with .9 seconds left, but Virginia got the ball after Deng Adel was called for traveling on the baseline.

After a timeout, Hunter got the ball and sank a long 3 that banked in at the horn, sparking a wild dog pile of Cavaliers celebrating in front of Louisville bench.

Ty Jerome scored 21 points while Devon Hall and Kyle Guy each had 10 and Hunter seven as Virginia became the first ACC team with perfect road league record since Duke (8-0) in the 2011-12 season.

Adel had 18 points for Louisville (19-11, 9-8).

No. 10 Cincinnati 78, Tulane 49: Kyle Washington had 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, and Cincinnati clinched a share of the American Athletic Conference title.

Cane Broome scored 13 for the Bearcats (26-4, 15-2), whose stifling defensive play helped them build leads as large as 19 in the first half and 33 in the second.

The Bearcats can clinch the title outright with a victory at No. 11 Wichita State on Sunday.

Melvin Frazier scored 13 points for Tulane (14-15, 5-12).

No. 11 Wichita State 75, at Central Florida 71 OT: Shaquille Morris scored 19 points and Conner Frankamp added 16 as No. 11 Wichita State beat the University of Central Florida 75-71 in overtime on Thursday night.

Landry Shamet scored 14 points and had six assists for the Shockers (24-5, 14-3 American Athletic Conference), who have won seven straight.

A.J. Davis led UCF (17-12, 8-9) with 31 points, including a desperation 3-pointer with .7 seconds left in regulation that sent the game into overtime. B.J. Taylor scored 23 for the Knights, who lost their third straight.

Darral Willis nailed a fallaway jumper with 37 seconds left in overtime that gave Wichita State a 72-69 lead. The Shockers made three of four free throws in the final 19 seconds to keep UCF at bay.

No. 15 Michigan 77, Iowa 71 OT: With Michigan’s stars saddled with foul trouble, and the shots just not falling, the 15th-ranked Wolverines got a lift from their senior sixth man to survive their Big Ten Tournament opener.

Duncan Robinson made Michigan’s only field goal in overtime, a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:15 left, and the Wolverines overcame an assortment of issues to beat Iowa 77-71 on Thursday to move on to the quarterfinals.

The fifth-seeded Wolverines (25-7) face fourth-seeded Nebraska on Friday at Madison Square Garden.

at No. 24 Middle Tennessee 82, Western Kentucky 64: Brandon Walters scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as No. 24 Middle Tennessee clinched its second straight Conference USA title with an 82-64 victory over second-place Western Kentucky on Thursday night.

Nick King, the leading candidate for C-USA Player of the Year, scored 18 points and had nine rebounds for the Blue Raiders (24-5, 16-1), who cracked the national rankings for the first time in school history last week.

Antwain Johnson added 17 points and Giddy Potts had 11 as Middle Tennessee shot 55 percent from the field, extending its winning streak to 11 in front of the season’s biggest crowd (11,307) at the Murphy Center.

The Blue Raiders swept the regular-season series with the Hilltoppers (22-8, 14-3), including a 66-62 win on Jan. 20. Middle Tennessee has won 13 of the last 15 against Western Kentucky.

Lamonte Bearden led the Hilltoppers with 24 points and Justin Johnson had 14.

SOUTHLAND

MEN

at UC Riverside 72, Cal Poly 63: Dikymbe Martin had 20 points with eight rebounds and six assists and the Highlanders (9-20, 4-11) led throughout to beat the Mustangs to secure a spot in the Big West Conference tournament beginning March 8. Jakub Niziol led Cal Poly (9-20, 4-11) with 15 points.

Long Beach State 70, at UC Santa Barbara 69: Deishuan Booker scored 20 points, including the winning layup as time expired, to give the 49ers (14-17, 8-7 Big West) a dramatic win over the Gauchos (21-8, 10-5). Booker shot eight for 11 from the field. Gabe Vincent led UC Santa Barbara with a career-high 28 points, and Jalen Canty scored 17.

WCC TOURNAMENTS

at Las Vegas

MEN

TODAY: FIRST ROUND

Game 1: No. 8 Loyola Marymount (10-19, 5-13) vs. No. 9 Portland (10-21, 4-14), 6 p.m.

Game 2: No. 7 Santa Clara (11-19, 8-10) vs. No. 10 Pepperdine (5-25, 2-16), 8 p.m.

SATURDAY: QUARTERFINALS

Game 3: No. 3 Brigham Young (22-9, 11-7) vs. No. 6 San Diego (18-12, 9-9), 1 p.m.

Game 4: No. 4 San Francisco (17-14, 9-9) vs. No. 5 Pacific (14-17, 9-9), 3 p.m.

Game 5: No. 1 Gonzaga (27-4), 17-1) vs. Game 1 winner, 7 p.m., ESPN2

Game 6: No. 2 St. Mary’s (27-4, 16-2) vs. Game 2 winner, 9 p.m., ESPN2

MONDAY: SEMIFINALS