Sun Feb 12 2012
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Minnesota held No. 6 Purdue to the worst first half in the Boilermakers’ record books and rolled to victory in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
Ralph Sampson III scored 13 points for the sixth-seeded Golden Gophers (21-12), who reached the final for the first time. They’ll play No. 5 Ohio State on Sunday for the championship.
Minnesota led 37-11 at halftime. It was the fewest points by Purdue in a half since the school started keeping track in 1950. Only a late layup by Patrick Bade allowed the Boilermakers to avoid the worst defeat ever in a Big Ten Tournament game.
Colton Iverson scored 11 points and Devoe Joseph added 10 as Minnesota won its fourth straight and seventh of nine.
Purdue beat Minnesota twice in the regular season. The Boilermakers had won 13 of 14 and avenged their only loss during that stretch Friday against Northwestern.
No. 2 Kentucky 75,
No. 15 Tennessee 45
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — DeMarcus Cousins had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and No. 2 Kentucky beat 15th-ranked Tennessee 74-45 Saturday and advanced back to the Wildcats’ accustomed spot in the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game.
Kentucky (31-2) will play Mississippi State on Sunday, looking to add a 26th tournament title to the 44th regular-season championship the Wildcats won in coach John Calipari’s first season.
Eric Bledsoe had 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range, and John Wall added 14 as Kentucky chases its first tourney title since 2004.
No. 4 Duke 77, Miami 74
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Kyle Singler scored 27 points to help Duke push ahead in the second half of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals.
No. 17 Temple 57,
Rhode Island 44
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Ryan Brooks scored 16 points and Temple held Rhode Island to its lowest point total in five years in an Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament semifinal.
Sophomore guard Juan Fernandez once again ignited the top-seeded Owls (28-5), scoring the first seven points and nine overall in the two-time defending champions’ game-opening 15-2 run. The spurt took the air out of Rhode Island (23-9) and left it in a precarious position for the NCAA Tournament heading into Selection Sunday.
The Owls will face Richmond in the final.
Fernandez finished with 14 points and matched a career high with seven assists as Temple won its ninth straight game and beat the fifth-seeded Rams for the third time this season. The Owls held URI to 27 percent shooting from the field (16 of 59).
Mississippi State 62,
No. 20 Vanderbilt 52
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Barry Stewart scored 14 points and Mississippi State advanced to its second consecutive Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game.
Dee Bost, Phil Turner and Jarvis Varnado each added 11 for Mississippi State, which won four straight games in the 2009 tournament for its first title in seven seasons. The Bulldogs received a first-round bye this time after sharing the SEC West Division crown with Mississippi, a team they beat twice this season.
Richmond 89,
No. 24 Xavier 85 (OT)
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Kevin Anderson scored 27 points and David Gonzalvez added 26 in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.
Anderson hit a layup with 3.1 seconds left in regulation to force the second overtime game between the teams in less than two weeks. Gonzalvez hit a 3-pointer to open the extra five minutes in helping third-seeded Richmond (26-7) reach the conference final for the first time since 2002.
Houston 81,
No. 25 UTEP 73
TULSA, Okla. — Kelvin Lewis scored 28 points and Houston surged past UTEP down the stretch to claim its first NCAA Tournament berth in 18 years with a victory in the Conference USA Tournament title game that snapped the Miners’ 16-game winning streak.
National scoring leader Aubrey Coleman struggled through a 4-for-20 shooting performance for the seventh-seeded Cougars (19-15), but came up with a critical steal and fast-break layup in the final minute as they won their fourth game in as many days.
Houston trailed by nine with eight minutes to play, but came roaring back against the top-seeded Miners (26-6), who were riding their longest winning streak since their “Glory Road” run to the national title in 1966.
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