West Virginia Beats Villanova

Mike Gansey made two free throws with 0.2 of a second to play to give West Virginia a 78-76 victory over No. 19 Villanova Friday night at Madison Square Garden, sending the Mountaineers into their first Big East tournament championship game.

Gansey, who finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, was fouled as he put up his second rebound of a missed three-pointer by Patrick Beilein. Gansey, a 72% free-throw shooter this season, made both to keep the tournament run alive for West Virginia (21-9), the first eighth-seeded team to reach the title game.

The Mountaineers, who beat top-seeded Boston College in the quarterfinals, have a chance to make Big East history when they play No. 16 Syracuse today. No team has won four games to win the title.

West Virginia, which beat Providence, 82-59, in the opening round, is the third team to win three games and get to the championship game, and it’s the first since Pittsburgh in 2001.

The fourth-seeded Wildcats (22-7) had their eight-game winning streak end. Their last championship game appearance was in 1997 and their last title was in 1995.

Villanova’s Randy Foye scored with 10 seconds to play to tie the score at 76-76. West Virginia didn’t call a timeout and Beilein shot with about four seconds left. Gansey got the loose ball, went up and hit the bottom of the backboard. The ball came right back to him and he was fouled.

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No. 4 Kentucky 76, Tennessee 62 -- The Wildcats (24-4) have lost only three times in their last 36 Southeastern Conference tournament games, and this one at Atlanta was never in doubt. The Wildcats had a double-digit lead over the Vols (14-17) before the game was six minutes old, and they stretched it to 34-14 with more than five minutes left in the first half.

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No. 6 Louisville 74, Alabama Birmingham 67 -- Francisco Garcia broke a tie with a three-point shot with 3:36 left at Memphis, Tenn., and the Cardinals (28-4) held off the Blazers (21-10) in the semifinals of the Conference USA tournament.

The Blazers tied the score, at 61-61, on two free throws by Donell Taylor with 3:54 left. Garcia then made the three-pointer, and the Cardinals sealed the victory by making nine of 12 free throws down the stretch.

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No. 9 Kansas 80, Kansas State 67 -- Wayne Simien had 28 points and 14 rebounds and the short-handed Jayhawks (23-5) extended their winning streak over the Wildcats (17-12) to 31 in a row with the victory in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference tournament at Kansas City, Mo. Guard Keith Langford, Kansas’ second-leading scorer, was out with an ankle injury and a stomach virus.

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No. 10 Oklahoma State 87, Colorado 85 -- Joey Graham made two free throws with 7.8 seconds left, and the Cowboys (22-6) got past the Buffaloes (14-16) in the Big 12 quarterfinals. Colorado’s Andy Osborn made a three-point shot with 8.4 seconds to go, cutting Oklahoma State’s lead to 85-84, but Graham’s free throws made it 87-84.

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No. 16 Syracuse 67, No. 12 Connecticut 63 -- The third-seeded Orange (26-6) advanced to the Big East title game for the first time since 1998. They will try to win their fourth championship, and first since 1992, against eighth-seeded West Virginia.

Hakim Warrick had 26 points and 10 rebounds to help Syracuse end a string of three straight finals for the Huskies (22-7).

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No. 15 Utah 73, Nevada Las Vegas 67 -- The Utes (27-4) nearly blew a 22-point lead before holding on to beat the Rebels (16-13) in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament at Denver.

Utah nearly collapsed against UNLV’s pressure defense. The Utes got it together just in time -- thanks to center Andrew Bogut, who finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds.

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No. 17 Oklahoma 83, Missouri 79 -- The eighth-seeded Tigers (16-16) used runs of 12-2 in the first half and 10-1 in the second to stay close to the Sooners (24-6) in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.

Missouri had tied a team record by making 23 consecutive free throws before Linus Kleiza -- who sank 17 of 19 -- missed the first of two with 22 seconds left. He made the second, making the score 80-77.

But after David Godbold’s free throw for Oklahoma, the Tigers had time for only two more free throws by Jason Conley.

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No. 20 Alabama 69, Mississippi 52 -- Earnest Shelton scored 26 points, most of them on a career-high eight three-point baskets, and the Crimson Tide (24-6) cruised past the Rebels (14-17) into the semifinals of the SEC tournament.

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OTHER GAMES

Bucknell 61, Holy Cross 57 -- Kevin Bettencourt made two free throws with eight seconds left at Worcester, Mass., and the Bison (22-9) held on to beat the Crusaders (24-6) in the Patriot League tournament championship, giving them their first berth in the NCAA tournament since 1989.

The Crusaders used a 14-1 run to make the score 59-57. Bucknell’s Chris McNaughton missed a shot, and Kevin Hamilton grabbed the rebound, but missed a shot and Bettencourt was fouled.

After Bettencourt made the free throws, Keith Simmons missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, and the Crusaders’ 16-game winning streak ended.

St. Joseph’s 73, Xavier 68 -- Pat Carroll scored a career-high 30 points, including a decisive three-pointer with a minute left at Cincinnati, and the Hawks (19-10) held off the Musketeers (17-12) to advance to the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament title game.

Top-seeded St. Joseph’s will play George Washington (21-7), which defeated Temple, 77-58.