Selection Sunday just two days away, but there’s plenty of college basketball action to keep up with on conference tournament weekend.
Top-ranked Duke returned to action on Friday without Cooper Flagg after the potential NBA Draft No. 1 pick sprained his ankle on Thursday. Without Flagg, the Blue Devils hung on to beat North Carolina 74-71 in the ACC semifinals after nearly coughing up a 24-point lead.
UNC had a chance to take the lead in the final seconds, trailing by one with two free throws. But the first missed and the second was waved off for a lane violation, paving the way for the Duke victory.
Beyond that, there are plenty of other noteworthy games on tap. Auburn, Michigan State, Houston and St. John’s all won Friday as they all vie for a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
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Here are all the games we’ll be keeping a close eye on Friday. (Scroll for live updates.)
Friday’s best games:
ACC
No. 1 Duke 74, North Carolina 71
No. 13 Louisville vs. No. 10 Clemson, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN 2
Big 12
No. 2 Houston 74, No. 17 BYU 54
No. 9 Texas Tech vs. Arizona, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN2
SEC
No. 3 Auburn 62, Ole Miss 57
No. 8 Tennessee 83, Texas 72
No. 4 Florida 95, No. 21 Missouri 81
No. 15 Kentucky vs. No. 5 Alabama, 9:30 p.m. | SECN
Big East
No. 6 St. John’s 79, No. 25 Marquette 63
Creighton vs. UConn, 9 p.m. | Fox
Big Ten
No. 7 Michigan State 74, No. 23 Oregon 64
No. 18 Wisconsin 86, UCLA 70
No. 11 Maryland 88, No. 24 Illinois 65
No. 20 Purdue vs. No. 22 Michigan, 9 p.m. | Big Ten Network
Best of the rest
No. 16 Memphis 83, Wichita State 80
Boise State vs. New Mexico, 9:30 p.m. | CBSSN
Live78 updates
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Arizona-Texas Tech underway in Big 12 semis
The Wildcats are off to a hot start in Kansas City. If this is the first Big 12 game you’ve watched, you may be confused as to what you’re looking at. Here’s Jeff Eisenberg on the curious court choice made by Brett Yormark and Co. for the conference tournament:
Click the photo to read the story. (Scott Winters/Getty Images) -
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FINAL: Duke 74, UNC 71
An off-balance desperation shot clanks wide and Duke will advance by the skin of its teeth, and the sole of Jae’Lyn Withers’ sneaker. What a bizarre ending to a great comeback.
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Kneuppel makes both, but UNC gets the ball into Duke territory and calls a timeout with 2.5 seconds left. Tar Heels aren’t dead yet, but they have to avoid a foul.
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UNC fouls Kon Kneuppel, Duke’s best FT shooter, with 2.8 seconds left.
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Good lord. UNC’s Jae’Lyn Withers gets called for a lane violation and Lubin’s make on the second doesn’t count. UNC has to foul again. That is an emotional crusher.
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Hoo boy, Lubin misses the first one. Shooting for OT now.
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Double-whammy for Duke. Ven-Allen Lubin draws a foul with four seconds left and will get two free throws, and Khaman Maluach fouls out. Here’s UNC shooting for the lead.
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Proctor misses the first of the one-and-one and it’s UNC basketball, 72-71, with 17.6 seconds left. This is March.
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UNC fouls with 21.7 seconds left, Tyrese Proctor to the line.
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Seth Trimble makes both free throws to cut the deficit to one for UNC with 32 seconds left. Now do they foul
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UNC cuts it to three with a minute left
UNC was down by as much as 24. They’ve made it a one-possession game. Duke has the ball up three with 50 seconds left.
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UNC has the deficit down to six vs. Duke…
Situation developing in Charlotte. With 3:41 left, UNC is down only 70-64 against the top-ranked Blue Devils without Cooper Flagg. They have looked like a different team in the second half.
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Zuby Ejiofor (33 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists) comes up one rebound shy of the first 30-point double-double in the Big East tournament since Kemba Walker in the 2011 semifinal vs. Syracuse, via @ESPNStatsInfo. https://t.co/6kUmsgZo37
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 15, 2025
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FINAL: St. John’s 79, Marquette 63
After a hairy first several minutes, it was all St. John’s. Rick Pitino is a win away from another Big East title.
Zuby Ejiofor led all scorers with 33 points plus nine rebounds and three assists. Kam Jones led Marquette with 24 points, on 10-of-22 shooting.
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Zuby Ejiofor has 31 points, with St. John’s rolling
The Red Storm is up 14 with four minutes left. It will face the winner of Creighton and UConn in the Big East final
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Some large halftime leads are getting smaller
Mizzou has pulled within six points of Florida, while UNC has outscored Duke by eight in the second half. Blue Devils still lead by 13, though.
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