College basketball roundup
Conley’s clutch basket lifts Ohio State over Wisconsin COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Mike Conley Jr. drove the lane and made a runner with 4 seconds left to give No. 2 Ohio State a 49-48 victory over top-ranked Wisconsin on Sunday, clinching the Buckeyes’ second consecutive Big Ten title.
With the victory, the Buckeyes (26-3, 14-1) are likely to climb to the top spot in The Associated Press rankings for the first time since Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek and a sub named Bob Knight were ranked No. 1 throughout the 1962 season.
Maryland 89, No. 5 North Carolina 87
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – D.J. Strawberry scored a career-high 27 points, and Maryland rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half to beat North Carolina.
No. 7 Memphis 77, Houston 64
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 19 points and the Tigers extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 17.
No. 17 Vanderbilt 67, Kentucky 65
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Derrick Byars grabbed a rebound off his own missed foul shot and scored to give the Commodores their first lead with 25.5 seconds left, and Vanderbilt held on for the win.
No. 18 Duke 67, St. John’s 50
NEW YORK – Greg Paulus scored 19 points, DeMarcus Nelson added 14 points and seven rebounds and the Blue Devils won their fourth straight.
No. 20 Louisville 76, Connecticut 69
HARTFORD, Conn. – Terrence Williams scored 17 points, freshman Derrick Caracter came off the bench to score 16 and the Cardinals won their fifth straight game.
Women
No. 1 Duke 67, No. 4 North Carolina 62
DURHAM, N.C. – Alison Bales had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 1 Duke pulled away late to beat No. 4 North Carolina and finish the first unbeaten regular season in Atlantic Coast Conference history.
Fellow senior Lindsey Harding added 15 points in her final home game for the Blue Devils (29-0, 14-0), who held the Tar Heels without a field goal for 7 minutes down the stretch while outscoring them 9-0 to remain on track for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Abby Waner added 13 points for Duke, which triumphed in what was its tightest home game of the season by far. The Blue Devils, who won each of their previous 13 games at Cameron Indoor Stadium by at least 10 points, couldn’t put North Carolina away until the closing minutes.
Ivory Latta led North Carolina with 19 points, but was plagued by the same poor shooting that doomed her team in its previous loss to Duke. Latta finished 6-of-17 from the field for the Tar Heels (27-3, 11-3).