No. 9 Baylor, despite losing George, rallies by No. 8 Texas

WACO, Texas — Jalen Bridges had 17 points for ninth-ranked Baylor, which overcame a huge deficit with an impressive run right after freshman standout Keyonte George left injured early, and went on to beat Big 12 co-leader and No. 8 Texas 81-72 on Saturday.

Adam Flagler had 14 points for the Bears (21-8, 10-6 Big 12). Dale Bonner added 13 points, including seven in an quick spurt after halftime while Flo Thamba had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Dylan Disu had a season-high 24 points for Texas (22-7, 11-5), which twice got even early in the second half but never could regain the lead. The Longhorns led by 14 points almost midway through the first half right after George appeared to turn his right ankle and hopped off the court without waiting for a timeout.

Texas went into Saturday tied for the Big 12 lead with reigning national champion and third-ranked Kansas, which played at home later in the day against West Virginia. With two regular-season games left, Baylor avoided being eliminated from a still-slim chance to share in its third consecutive Big 12 title.

George, who entered the game averaging 16.9 points to rank third among Division I freshmen, got hurt when he took an awkward step when dribbling just past midcourt. After taking another step, George lost the ball and left the court, bypassing the Baylor bench and disappearing into the tunnel that leads to the locker room.

NO. 1 HOUSTON 76, EAST CAROLINA 57: Marcus Sasser scored 22 points to help top-ranked Houston won at East Carolina (14-14, 5-10) to clinch outright possession of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title.

Tramon Mark added 20 points for the Cougars (27-2, 15-1), while J’Wan Roberts had 17 points and 12 rebounds in Houston’s ninth straight victory.

And as with the long-running formula under Kelvin Sampson, the Cougars didn’t need a huge offensive performance to assert control of this one while leaning on defense and rebounding.

NO. 2 ALABAMA 86, ARKANSAS 83: Brandon Miller scored 24 points and Mark Sears made 7 of 8 free throws over the final 1:04 to help host Alabama secure a victory over Arkansas.

Miller delivered his second straight huge game for the Crimson Tide (25-4, 15-1 Southeastern Conference) since police alleged in courtroom testimony that Miller brought a gun to former teammate Darius Miles, who is charged with capital murder in a fatal shooting.

Fellow freshman Nick Smith Jr. of Arkansas (19-10, 8-8), another potential NBA draft lottery pick who helped keep the Razorbacks in it with a late 3-pointer, scored 24 points.

NO. 3 KANSAS 76, WEST VIRGINIA 74: Dajuan Harris was one point shy of a career high, scoring 17 points to help lift host Kansas (24-5, 12-4 Big 12) over West Virginia (16-13, 5-11).

Baskets by K.J. Adams and Kevin McCullar extended the Jayhawks’ lead to 75-68 late as they grinded out the victory.

Harris led Kansas with 7-of-9 shooting from the field and had six assists and six steals.

NO. 17 INDIANA 79, NO. 5 PURDUE: Jalen Hood-Schifino scored a career-high 35 points and Trey Galloway added 10 of his 13 in the second half Saturday, leading Indiana to a victory at Purdue.

The Hoosiers (20-9, 11-7 Big Ten) snapped a seven-game losing streak in West Lafayette and pulled their first season sweep in this bitter rivalry since 2012-13.

Zach Edey led the Boilermakers with 26 points and 16 rebounds and Fletcher Loyer added 14 points. Purdue (24-5, 13-5) has lost three of four and blew a chance to clinch a share of the conference crown in front of its home fans, who stood outside in chilly temperatures and snaking lines for hours before tip-off.

NORTH CAROLINA 71, NO. 6 VIRGINIA 63: Pete Nance scored 22 points as the North Carolina Tar Heels secured an important win, defeating visiting Virginia (21-6, 13-5 ACC).

For UNC (18-11, 10-8) the victory is a much-needed boost to its NCAA Tournament resume as it counts as a Quadrant 1 win, the first of the season for the Tar Heels.

Nance shot 7 of 10 from the floor and was a perfect 4 of 4 from behind the arc. It’s the most 3-pointers the fifth-year forward has made in ACC play, and Nance also added two assists and four blocks.

ARIZONA ST. 89, NO. 7 ARIZONA 88: Desmond Cambridge Jr. hit a 60-foot shot at the buzzer and Arizona State (20-9, 11-7) rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Arizona (24-5, 13-5) in Tucson.

Arizona State’s DJ Horne missed a jumper with four seconds left and the Sun Devils had a final shot after Oumar Ballo hit 1 of 2 free throws.

Catching the ball with 2.4 seconds left, Cambridge left the fans at McKale Center stunned, launching a shot from beyond half-court that sent his teammates charging onto the floor in celebration.

NO. 10 MARQUETE 90, DEPAUL 84: Kam Jones and Tyler Kolek each scored 22 points while helping host Marquette clinch a share of its first Big East regular-season championship in a decade with a victory over DePaul.

Kolek also had 14 assists as Marquette (23-6, 15-3) rolled to a 49-28 halftime lead and hung on after DePaul (9-20, 3-15) got close down the stretch. Marquette has won nine of its last 10, while DePaul has lost 10 straight.

This is Marquette’s first conference title in 2013, when the Golden Eagles shared the Big East crown with Georgetown and eventual national champion Louisville. The other Big East teams with a shot to win a share of the title are No. 16 Xavier (21-8, 13-5) and No. 20 Providence (20-8, 12-5).

NO. 11 TENNESSEE 85, SOUTH CAROLINA 45: Josiah-Jordan James came back from missing four games with an injury to score 18 points to lead Tennessee to a home victory over South Carolina.

James, who suffered an ankle injury against Vanderbilt on Feb. 8, hit 4 of 7 3-pointers for the Volunteers (21-8, 10-6 Southeastern Conference). Jahmai Mashack scored 14 points, Zakai Zeigler had 13 points and 11 assists, and Olivier Nkamhoua and Uros Plavsic scored 10 each.

Hayden Brown led the Gamecocks (10-19, 3-13) with 18 points. GG Jackson II scored five points, 10 below his average.

FLORIDA ST. 85, NO. 13 MIAMI 84: Matthew Cleveland’s 3-pointer as time expired capped Florida State’s comeback from a 25-point second-half deficit and the Seminoles stunned host Miami.

Jordan Miller had given Miami the lead on a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left. But Cleveland let fly from about 25 feet and the ball swished to give the Seminoles (9-20, 7-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) their best moment of the season.

They ended Miami’s seven-game winning streak and denied the Hurricanes a perfect season at home; Miami (23-6, 14-5) was 15-0 at the Watsco Center entering Saturday.

NO. 14 KANSAS ST. 73, OKLAHOMA ST. 68: Markquis Nowell had 22 points, eight assists and four steals and Kansas State defeated host Oklahoma State (16-13, 7-9 Big 12) for its third straight win.

Keyontae Johnson added 17 points for the Wildcats (22-7, 10-6), who swept the regular-season series.

NO. 18 UCONN 95, ST. JOHN’S 86: Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points, Adama Sanogo added 18 points and nine rebounds, and UConn beat St. John’s at Madison Square Garden.

Andre Jackson Jr. had 15 points, Joey Calcaterra also scored 15 to lead a strong effort by Connecticut’s bench and the resurgent Huskies (22-7, 11-7 Big East) avenged an 11-point loss to St. John’s (17-13, 7-12) at home last month.

VILLANOVA 79, NO. 19 CREIGHTON 67: Eric Dixon scored 18 of his career-high 31 points in the first half, Cam Whitmore added 17 and host Villanova defeated Creighton (18-11, 12-6 Big East).

Dixon also set a career high with six 3-pointers for Villanova (15-14, 9-9), which has won five of six.

OKLAHOMA 61, NO. 23 IOWA ST. 50: Jacob Groves led Oklahoma with 16 points as the Sooners knocked off host Iowa State (17-11, 8-8 Big 12).

The Sooners (14-15, 4-12) had lost nine of their previous 11 games but erased an early 11-point deficit and seized control with a 17-2 run in the second half.

NO. 24 TCU 83, TEXAS TECH 82: JaKobe Coles made two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining, and TCU held on for a road victory over Texas Tech (16-13, 5-11) despite blowing a 12-point lead in the final eight minutes.

After De’Vion Harmon’s steal and layup put the Red Raiders in front by one with 12 seconds remaining, Coles caught a pass from Emanuel Miller in the lane and was fouled by Fardaws Aimaq going up for the shot. The Horned Frogs (19-10, 8-8) weren’t in the bonus.

MISSISSIPPI ST. 69, NO. 25 TEXAS A&M 62: Tolu Smith had 17 points and Shakeel Moore had 14 as host Mississippi State (19-10 overall, 7-9 SEC) knocked off visiting Texas A&M (21-9, 13-3).

Cameron Matthews had 11 points for the Bulldogs, who held the Aggies to one field goal in the final 14 minutes and outscored them 34-18 during the same time period.