ORONO — The University of Maine completed its men’s basketball season with a 75-56 loss to Vermont on Tuesday night.

The Black Bears (6-22, 3-15 America East) ended with three straight losses.

Ryan Davis scored 16 points, and Ben Shungu, Aaron Deloney and Nick Fiorillo added 14 points apiece for the Catamounts (25-5, 17-1).

Peter Filipovity scored nine points for Maine. Byron Ireland helped with seven points. Vukasin Masic added five points and 10 rebounds.

(4) DUKE 86, PITTSBURGH 56: Freshman guard Trevor Keels scored a career-high 27 points, Paolo Banchero added 21 and visiting Duke (26-4, 16-3) clinched at least a share of its 13th Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title under Coach Mike Krzyzewski by beating Pittsburgh (11-19, 6-13).

The Blue Devils wasted little time making sure Krzyzewski would pick up his ACC-record 201st road win, taking a 13-point lead before the game was four minutes old and cruising.

Krzyzewski improved to 272-154 in road games with the Blue Devils.

TCU 74, (6) KANSAS 64: Mike Miles Jr. had 19 points and six assists as host TCU (19-9, 8-8 Big 12) solidified its once-shaky NCAA Tournament resume with a second consecutive win over a top-10 team, beating Kansas (23-6, 12-4).

The Horned Frogs secured the game during a stretch when Miles made a strong move around KJ Adams Jr. for a layup, and then made a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 59-49 with 7:44 left. After a Kansas miss, Xavier Cork had a slam dunk that sent the sold-out crowd into a frenzy, and students swarmed the court when it was over.

(7) KENTUCKY 83, MISSISSIPPI 72: Oscar Tshiebwe had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Sahvir Wheeler added 16 points and Kentucky (24-6, 13-4 Southeastern Conference) shot 60% before holding off Mississippi (13-17, 4-13) in its home finale.

Kentucky took control after four minutes behind hot shooting, hitting 9 of its first 12 attempts including 4 of 6 from long range and finishing 59% at halftime. The Wildcats spread the offense well, with five players scoring at least seven points in the first 20 minutes.

(11) VILLANOVA 76, (9) PROVIDENCE 74: Caleb Daniels scored 20 points, Eric Dixon scored 15, Collin Gillespie 14 as host Villanova (24-4, 14-3) beat Providence (22-7, 15-4)  in a fantastic Big East matchup.

The Big East regular-season champion Friars and Wildcats could not shake the other over the final furious minutes. Providence’s A.J. Reeves hit a 3-pointer from long distance that brought the Friars within 62-60. Justin Moore hit a 3 for Villanova, and that was answered by one from Providence’s Jared Bynum.

With Providence trailing by four, Nate Watson picked up his fourth foul with 2:35 left in the game on a charge call that sent furious Coach Ed Cooley on the court to argue.

Justin Minaya buried a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left that pulled Providence within 69-68.

(13) TENNESSEE 75, GEORGIA 68: Josiah-Jordan James scored a career-high 23 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers that gave visiting Tennessee (22-7, 13-4 Southeastern Conference) the lead early in the second half in beating Georgia (6-24, 1-16).

Georgia led 44-43 following a 3-pointer by Kario Oquendo. James answered with his 3s on consecutive possessions, and another 3 from James capped Tennessee’s 11-0 run for a 54-44 lead.

Georgia suffered its 10th consecutive loss since beating Alabama on Jan. 25, its only SEC win. The Bulldogs have lost 18 of 19 games.

NEBRASKA 78, (23) OHIO STATE 70: Bryce McGowens scored 26 points, Alonzo Verge Jr. had 13 points and 11 assists, and visiting Nebraska (9-21, 3-16 Big Ten) upset Ohio State (18-9, 11-7).

The Cornhuskers beat a ranked opponent for the first time under third-year coach Fred Hoiberg. He came in 0-23 against teams in the AP Top 25, and Nebraska was 0-24 overall since beating a ranked Maryland squad during the 2019 Big Ten Tournament.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

PLYMOUTH STATE 13, U. OF NEW ENGLAND 7: Julia Donovan had four goals for the visiting Panthers (2-0), who built a 10-3 lead in the first half and went on to beat the Nor’easters (0-2) in Biddeford.

Kelsey Hartigan scored two goals, Ann Chapman had a goal and an assist and Madison Bruzzese stopped 10 shots for the Nor’easters.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

AWARDS: South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston has been named the Southeastern Conference women’s player of the year and for the third straight year she has been honored as the league’s top defensive player.

The top-ranked Gamecocks’ star headlined the honors that were voted on by the league’s coaches. Her coach, Dawn Staley, won her fifth SEC coach of the year honor.

Arkansas’s Samara Spencer was named freshman of the year and Mississippi’s Angel Baker was picked as sixth woman of the year. Georgia’s Mikayla Coombs was named the top scholar-athlete.

The first-team All-SEC list included Boston and South Carolina teammate Destanni Henderson. The rest of the first-teamers: Florida’s Kiara Smith, Georgia’s Jenna Staiti, Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard, LSU’s Khayla Pointer, Mississippi’s Shakira Austin and Tennessee’s Jordan Horston.

• National scoring leader Caitlin Clark of Iowa is the Big Ten player of the year and Kim Barnes Arico of Michigan is coach of the year, the conference announced.

Clark, who averages 27.5 points per game, was the choice for the top honor in voting by league coaches and a panel of media members. The sophomore is the first non-senior to win the award since 2015.

Barnes Arico has led Michigan to a 22-5 record, and the Wolverines finished the regular season tied for third in the Big Ten at 13-4. The Wolverines have been ranked in the top 10 most of the season.

Nebraska forward Alexis Markowski was named freshman of the year after leading the Cornhuskers with 13 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
Northwestern’s Veronica Burton is defensive player of the year and Maryland’s Shyanne Sellers is sixth player of the year.

• Virginia Tech center Elizabeth Kitley has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, and North Carolina State’s Wes Moore has been chosen as coach of the year.

Kitley, a 6-foot-6 junior, finished second in the league in both scoring (17.7 points per game) and rebounding (10.2) for the 21st-ranked Hokies, marking the first time a Virginia Tech player has earned the honor.

She finished ahead of North Carolina State center Elissa Cunane – the preseason pick for player of the year – and Louisville forward Emily Engstler in a vote by the league’s Blue Ribbon Panel that includes media members along with the ACC’s 15 head coaches.

Moore was voted top coach after guiding the third-ranked Wolfpack to the program’s first regular-season title since 1990.

Notre Dame freshman guard Sonia Citron was selected as rookie of the year. Among the coaches, Duke’s Shayeann Day-Wilson was their choice for top rookie while they aligned with the overall panel on Kitley and Moore.

The coaches also voted on additional categories, choosing Georgia Tech’s Lorela Cubaj as defensive player of the year, N.C. State’s Diamond Johnson as sixth player of the year and Boston College’s Cameron Swartz as most improved player.

Kitley’s selection ended a run of four straight years with Cardinals players being selected as top player, though fourth-ranked Louisville was the only team with two first-team all-ACC picks in Engstler and guard Hailey Van Lith.

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