It was a tough night for four ranked teams. Of course, one of them had to lose when Stanford visited UCLA.
The third-ranked Bruins prevailed over No. 7 Stanford 77-67 in overtime Thursday to win their third consecutive regular-season Pac-10 title and put themselves in solid position to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Darren Collison scored 24 points to help UCLA (27-3, 15-2) rally from a 14-point deficit.
“It feels great. We’re going to soak it all up,” said freshman Kevin Love, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds for his 19th double-double.
Elsewhere, No. 8 Xavier fell 71-66 at Saint Joseph’s; No. 13 Connecticut was beaten 85-76 at Providence; and No. 24 Clemson lost at Georgia Tech 80-75.
Michigan State, the other ranked school at No. 17, survived with a 59-51 win at Illinois.
No. 3 UCLA 77, No. 7 Stanford 67, OT
Collison scored off his own miss for the go-ahead basket in overtime. Russell Westbrook added 19 points and Kevin Love had 17 points and 10 rebounds for his 19th double-double. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
“When you want to win something so bad, everything works in your favor,” Collison said. “That was a great team. Stanford gave us their best shot.”
Brook Lopez had 18 points and 13 rebounds and his 7-foot twin Robin added 14 points for Stanford (24-5, 13-4), which has lost five of its last six against the Bruins.
Tied at 63 after regulation, the Bruins dominated overtime by outscoring the Cardinal 14-2. Brook Lopez scored Stanford’s only basket and Anthony Goods committed an intentional foul on Westbrook.
“They played well for 42 minutes and came up short. I feel for them,” Stanford coach Trent Johnson said.
Saint Joseph’s 71, No. 8 Xavier 66
At Philadelphia, Pat Calathes scored 17 points and Saint Joseph’s closed Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse with one more upset win.
With former Hawks stars courtside, including Jack Ramsay and Jameer Nelson, Saint Joseph’s (18-10, 9-6 Atlantic 10) added to the history of its venerable arena. Playing the 401st and final game in their on-campus arena until the 2009-10 season, the Hawks marked the occasion by knocking off Xavier, the highest-ranked opponent to lose at the Fieldhouse.
“It was an opportunity for them to create their own memories at the Fieldhouse,” said coach Phil Martelli.
Derrick Brown led the Musketeers (25-5, 13-2) with 18 points.
Xavier’s only two A-10 losses came in Philadelphia, the other a 78-59 loss Jan. 16 at Temple.
The Hawks will play next season at the Palestra while the antiquated Fieldhouse undergoes sorely needed renovations, including new locker rooms and 1,000 more seats.
Providence 85, No. 13 Connecticut 76
Weyinmi Efejuku scored 25 points and Providence kept alive its chances of qualifying for the Big East tournament.
Jeff Xavier added 21 points for the host Friars (15-14, 6-11), who swept the Huskies this season. Providence closes its regular season at home against Villanova on Saturday. The Friars are tied for the 12th and last spot available in the tournament that starts next week in New York.
Stanley Robinson and Hasheem Thabeet both had 16 points to lead Connecticut (23-7, 12-5), which had already clinched a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
Georgia Tech 80, No. 24 Clemson 75
At Atlanta, Zack Peacock hit four straight free throws in the final 16 seconds for Georgia Tech. Anthony Morrow led Tech with 16 points.
Clemson (21-8, 9-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) was coming off a 73-70 comeback victory at Maryland five days ago. But Clemson never led after Moe Miller’s 3-pointer with 11:52 left in the game.
Neither team scored a field goal after Clemson’s Demontez Stitt made a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 74-72 with 2:16 remaining.
No. 17 Michigan State 59, Illinois 51
Senior guard Drew Neitzel overcame a slow start to score 17 points for the visiting Spartans.
Illinois led most of the first half and by as many as 10 points. But Michigan State (24-7, 12-5 Big Ten) took its first lead with 2:29 left in the first half on a layup by Neitzel and never trailed again.
The Illini (12-18, 4-13) were led by Shaun Pruitt’s 13 points and six rebounds.
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