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Top 25 roundup: Duke, Arizona, St. John's nab conference tourney titles

NCAA Basketball: ACC Conference Tournament Championship-Virginia vs DukeMar 14, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) cuts down the net after defeating the Virginia Cavaliers in the men’s ACC Conference Tournament Championship at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Isaiah Evans scored 20 points and No. 1 Duke relied on various sources to beat No. 10 Virginia 74-70 and repeat as Atlantic Coast Conference tournament champion in a tense title game Saturday night at Charlotte.

Cayden Boozer, the twin brother of the ACC Player of the Year, matched his career high with 16 points for the second straight night and Cameron Boozer had 13 points for Duke (32-2), which could be the No. 1 overall seed when the NCAA Tournament bracket is unveiled Sunday.

It’s the first time a team has won consecutive ACC tournaments since the Blue Devils won three straight from 2009-11. Cameron Boozer was bothered by Virginia’s defense, shooting 3-for-17 from the field, but he had eight rebounds and eight assists.

Malik Thomas poured in 18 points and Sam Lewis racked up 17 points for second-seeded Virginia (29-5), which was aiming for its first conference tournament title since 2018. Ugonna Onyenso blocked nine shots as part of a record-setting three-game stretch.

No. 2 Arizona 79, No. 5 Houston 74

Koa Peat scored 21 points before fouling out and Brayden Burries also had 21 as the top-seeded Wildcats defeated the second-seeded Cougars in Kansas City, Mo., to win the Big 12 tournament.

Jaden Bradley scored 13 points and Ivan Kharchenkov added 12 for Arizona, which won its ninth straight game. The Wildcats (32-2) are in the running for the No. 1 overall seed after winning their first Big 12 championship in their second year in the league, avenging last year’s title game loss to Houston.

Joseph “JoJo” Tugler scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Houston (28-6), which had a five-game winning streak snapped. Mercy Miller had 13 points and seven rebounds.

No. 3 Michigan 68, No. 23 Wisconsin 65

Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg hit a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to lift the top-seeded Wolverines to a victory over the fifth-seeded Badgers in the Big Ten Conference tournament semifinals at Chicago.

Lendeborg finished with 12 points for ranked Michigan (31-2), which advances to the Sunday title game Purdue. Aday Mara racked up 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocks as the Wolverines defeated the only Big Ten team they failed to knock off during the regular season.

Austin Rapp paced Wisconsin (24-10) with 18 points. The Badgers rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to take a four-point lead, but their five-game winning streak ended.

No. 22 Vanderbilt 91, No. 4 Florida 74

Tyler Tanner scored 20 points and dished out eight assists, Duke Miles scored 15 with seven assists and the fourth-seeded Commodores earned a victory over the top-seeded Gators in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament at Nashville.

Vanderbilt (26-7) advances to the Sunday title game against Arkansas (25-8). Jalen Washington scored 17 points for the Commodores.

Thomas Haugh had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead the Gators (26-7), who saw their 12-game winning streak come to an end. Florida also received 15 points from Boogie Fland.

No. 13 St. John’s 72, No. 6 UConn 52

Zuby Ejiofor totaled 18 points, nine rebounds, seven blocks and three steals as the top-seeded Red Storm started quickly, never let up and earned a victory over the second-seeded Huskies to win the Big East tournament title in New York.

St. John’s (28-6) won its fifth conference tournament title and achieved the feat in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history. Bryce Hopkins scored 18 and Oziyah Sellers contributed 14 for the Red Storm, who scored the game’s first 10 points.

UConn (29-5) missed its last 13 field-goal attempts over the final eight minutes. Tarris Reed Jr. led the Huskies with 17 points.

No. 17 Arkansas 93, Ole Miss 90

The third-seeded Razorbacks got 29 points from Meleek Thomas, 24 from Darius Acuff Jr. and double-doubles from Trevon Brazile and Malique Ewen to escape with an overtime victory over the 15th-seeded Rebels in the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinals at Nashville.

Ewen scored 14 and pulled down a game-high 13 boards while Brazile scored 16 with 10 rebounds for Arkansas (25-8).

Reserve AJ Storr scored a team-high 24 points for Ole Miss (15-20), which included a basket with one second left to send the game into overtime. Malik Dia chipped in 16 points for the Rebels, who nearly pulled off their fourth upset in as many days.

No. 18 Purdue 73, UCLA 66

Oscar Cluff had 17 points with 14 rebounds and the seventh-seeded Boilermakers advanced to the Big Ten Conference championship game with a semifinal victory over the sixth-seeded Bruins in Chicago.

Purdue (26-8) topped UCLA (23-11) behind two first-half runs as well as Cluff’s dominant play in the paint over the closing five minutes. Fletcher Loyer scored 14 points for the Boilermakers, and Trey Kaufman-Renn totaled 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Trent Perry scored 15 points and had a career high-tying nine assists for UCLA. Tyler Bilodeau, who injured his right knee in the Bruins’ Friday win, did not play, and Donovan Dent exited in the first half with calf injury.

–Field Level Media

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Lakers top Nuggets in OT Luka Doncic's last-second shot

NBA: Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles LakersMar 14, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) controls the ball while under pressure from Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images

Luka Doncic hit a baseline jumper with 0.5 seconds left, and the host Los Angeles Lakers rallied to beat the Denver Nuggets 127-125 in overtime on Saturday night.

Doncic finished with 30 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his 11th triple-double of the season. With its fifth straight win, Los Angeles clinched the season series against Denver.

Austin Reaves had 32 points, including a bucket in the final seconds of the fourth to send it to overtime. Marcus Smart added 21 points and LeBron James scored 17 for the Lakers.

Smart’s fifth 3-pointer of the night gave Los Angeles a 125-123 lead with 30 seconds left in overtime. Nikola Jokic tied it with 15.1 seconds left but Doncic’s 17-foot fadeaway won it for the hosts.

Jokic had 24 points, 16 rebounds and 14 assists for his 27th triple-double of the season and fifth in his last six games. Aaron Gordon finished with 27 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. contributed 20, Cam Johnson scored 18 and Bruce Brown and Christian Braun had 12 apiece for the Nuggets.

Both teams struggled to hit shots in the overtime before Deandre Ayton’s floater gave the Lakers a 122-120 lead. Gordon hit Denver’s first field goal, a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left, to make it 123-122, setting up the final moments.

Hardaway’s 3-pointer to open the fourth gave the Nuggets a 90-87 lead, their first since the opening minutes of the game, and then went ahead 106-98 with 5:13 left.

It was a seven-point Denver lead when Doncic hit a 3-pointer and drained three free throws with 1:57 left to tie it at 109. Gordon hit a corner 3-pointer, Reaves made a driving layup and Smart had a steal and layup to give the Lakers a 113-112 lead with 47 seconds left.

Hardaway hit a corner 3-pointer to put the Nuggets back in front, and Gordon split a pair of free throws to make it 116-113. It was 118-115 when Reaves was fouled with 5.6 seconds left. He made the first, intentionally missed the second, got the rebound and scored to send it to overtime.

–Field Level Media

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Lasse Johnsen's debut goal helps Kansas City earn 1st win at Galaxy

MLS: Sporting Kansas City at LA GalaxyMar 14, 2026; Carson, California, USA; Sporting Kansas City defender Jayden Reid (99) handles the ball while LA Galaxy midfielder Marco Reus (18) defends during the first half at Dignity Health Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-Imagn Images

Dejan Joveljic scored a goal against his former team and Lasse Johnsen also scored in his MLS debut as Sporting Kansas City earned a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy for their first win of the season Saturday at Carson, Calif.

John Pulskamp made four saves as Sporting KC (1-2-1, 4 points) doubled its goal total on the season after they were shut out twice over the first three weeks. It was the first victory with Sporting KC for new head coach Raphael Wicky.

Marco Reus scored a late goal and Novak Micovic had two saves for the Galaxy (1-2-1, 4 points), who lost their second consecutive MLS match after starting the season with a draw and a win.

Los Angeles played without midfielder Gabriel Pec, who was given a red card in last Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids. Pec scored three goals in a CONCACAF Champions Cup match Wednesday.

Joveljic, who scored 34 goals with the Galaxy from 2021-24, delivered his third of the season just before halftime when he moved into the penalty area, made his way around a Los Angeles defender and scored with his right foot past Micovic.

Johnsen, who was acquired in February from Malmo FF in Sweden, had his debut delayed by visa issues but made the wait worthwhile when he scored in the 74th minute. His score came off a touch pass from Joveljic.

Johnsen’s goal proved pivotal when the Galaxy finally got on the scoreboard in the 82nd minute after an offensive flurry when Pulskamp made a diving save and saw two subsequent shots hit off the right post before Reus was finally able to deliver his first of the season on a header.

Los Angeles forward Joao Klauss was replaced by a substitute in the 63rd minute and held without a goal for the first time in four regular-season games with his new club. Klauss was acquired from St. Louis City FC in a January transfer.

–Field Level Media

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Stijn Spierings lifts RSL with late goal in debut

MLS: Austin FC at Real Salt LakeMar 14, 2026; Sandy, Utah, USA; Real Salt Lake forward Morgan Guilavogui (9) reacts to a missed shot on goal during the first half against the Austin FC at America First Field. Mandatory Credit: Peter Creveling-Imagn Images

Stijn Spierings scored on a swerving, long-range effort in the 88th minute — just six minutes after entering his MLS debut — and Real Salt Lake rallied to a 2-1 victory over visiting Austin FC on Saturday night in Sandy, Utah.

The 30-year-old Dutchman, signed in late January from Denmark’s Brondby IF, is the first player above age 23 to score for Salt Lake (3-1-0, 9 points) this season and the only one in Saturday’s victory, RSL’s third straight.

The Claret-and-Cobalt’s earlier tally was an own goal, created by pressure from Noel Caliskan down the left flank about midway through the first half.

Jon Bell scored early for Austin (1-2-1, 4 points), which lost its third straight match in Salt Lake and fifth out of six since the Verde joined MLS in 2021.

Brad Stuver made seven saves in an exceptional performance, but could not keep Spierings’ effort from knuckling into the bottom-left corner.

Diego Luna, RSL’s 2025 leading scorer and an American World Cup hopeful, made his season debut off the bench in the 70th minute after missing the first three games with a knee injury.

Luna nearly broke the tie in the 87th minute on a strong RSL attack down the left, his effort blocked off the line by defender Brendan Hines-Ike.

But Spierings sprung to life a minute later, taking a throughball from center back Justen Glad in stride, turning his hips and immediately firing toward the target from beyond the penalty area before sighting the goal.

Bell put Austin in front at 18 minutes from a set piece. Facundo Torres provided the in-swinging ball on a free kick from the left flank about 12 yards beyond the penalty area.

Bell rose above Sergi Solans near the far post and powered a header back across the goal, bouncing off the turf before it nestled inside the left post.

The advantage lasted only six minutes before Caliskan’s pressure resulted in an equalizer.

After playing a give-and-go with Juan Manuel Sanabria down the left, Caliskan drove in a menacing left-footed cross.

Defender Oleksandr Svatok tried to volley it clear of the area while retreating toward his line. Instead, he hammered it past Stuver into his own net from close range.

–Field Level Media

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