Sports

'Zona seeded No. 1 despite loss to UCLA

Men's NCAA notebook

Charley Miles

Steve Lavin knew his days were numbered as coach of the UCLA Bruins. So, in what would be his last Pacific 10 Conference tournament as the Bruinsihead coach, Lavin pulled another unlikely victory out of his hat. The Bruins stole a 96-89 win from No. 1 Arizona in overtime Thursday. Lavin was dismissed Monday.

The loss ended a 10-game winning streak for the Wildcats but did not hurt their seeding in the NCAA tournament. The win was the 10th in UCLA history over a team ranked No. 1 in the country, setting a new national record. Jason Kapono led the Bruins with 26 points.

Four other Bruins were in double figures. Ray Young hit a crucial three-pointer with 4.9 seconds left, forcing overtime and completing a comeback from a 15-point deficit. 

Arizonais Rick Anderson scored a career-high 23 points for the Wildcats. Jason Gardner was a dismal 0-for-12 from three-point range and finished the game with only six points.

UCLA has shown an ability to turn things around in the postseason in recent years -- but not this time. The Oregon Ducks ended the Bruinsi season with a 75-74 win Saturday. UCLA finished the season 10-19.

Red Raiders knock off 'Horns

In a fight for their playoff lives, the Texas Tech Red Raiders eliminated Texas from the Big 12 tournament on Friday. The Raiders jumped on the Longhorns early and would not relinquish control of the game, winning 92-81. The win ended a run of 13 consecutive losses to the Longhorns.

Texas Tech was noticeably undersized compared to the Horns but overcame its lack of size with pinpoint accuracy from the perimeter. The Raiders also hit 12 of their first 20 shots to begin the game.

Andre Emmett led Tech with 30 points and 11 rebounds while Kasib Powell had the first triple-double in Big 12 history with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. T.J. Ford led the Longhorns with 23 points and eight assists.

Texas Tech was hoping to make a good showing in the Big 12 tournament to reserve a spot in the NCAA tournament. But with a loss to Oklahoma in the semifinals and their lackluster conference record, the Red Raiders wonit go dancing this year.

The loss didnit hurt Texasi prospects for the NCAA tournament at all. The Horns are the No. 1 seed in the South Regional and will play the winner of the Texas Southern-UNC-Asheville play-in game.

Conference tournament summary

Oklahoma capped one of the best seasons in school history with a win over Missouri in the Big 12 Conference Championship Game on Sunday. It was the Soonersi third consecutive conference title. OU pounced on the Tigers early, holding Missouri to 18 points in the first half.

Missouri came on strong in the second half, out-scoring the Sooners 23-3 over the last 15 minutes, but OU held on and walked away with a 49-47 victory. Hollis Price was named tournament MVP. The Sooners earned a No. 1 seed in the East Regional.

Kentucky finished with a perfect record in conference play with a 64-57 victory over Mississippi State. Tournament MVP Keith Bogans led the way for the Wildcats with 22 points.

With the win, Kentucky stretched its winning streak to 23 games. The iCats are the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional and many are predicting Kentucky will continue to roll and gain the eighth national championship in school history.

With this in mind, the Wildcat players decided not to cut the nets in celebration of the Southeastern Conference Championship, but rather to do it in celebration after the Final Four.

Duke won its fifth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference title with its win over the North Carolina State Wolfpack. J.J. Redick led the Blue Devils with 30 points in the 84-77 victory.

Daniel Ewing, who was named tournament MVP, had 11 points. He scored 62 points in the three conference tournament games. The Blue Devils are the No. 3 seed in the West Regional, and will dance with the Colorado State Rams in the first round.

Illinois is tops in the Big Ten after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes 72-59 on Sunday. It was the Illiniis eighth win in their last nine games, and it improved their record to 24-6 on the season.

But they didnit improve on their tournament seeding. Roger Powell led Illinois with 16 points, and Sean Harrington had 12 points for the Buckeyes. The fourth-seeded Illini open the NCAA Tournament with a game against No. 13 Western Kentucky.

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