Cameron Boozer scores 26 as No. 1 Duke beats No. 17 North Carolina 76-61

By Canadian Press on March 7, 2026.

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Cameron Boozer had 26 points, 15 rebounds and five assists to help No. 1 Duke beat No. 17 North Carolina 76-61 on Saturday night in a rivalry rematch.

Maliq Brown added 15 points as Duke led by a single possession early after halftime before taking over with 16 unanswered points in what ballooned to a 24-2 surge.

The Blue Devils (29-2, 17-1) completed a second straight one-loss run through ACC regular-season play, this one coming a month after losing at North Carolina on Seth Trimble’s last-second 3-pointer. Duke has won eight straight, including a neutral-court victory over then-No. 1 Michigan and a romp against No. 13 Virginia.

The loss capped a rough 24 hours for the Tar Heels (24-7, 12-6). They appeared on the verge of getting star Caleb Wilson back from a fractured left hand just in time for March Madness — and maybe this game — only for him to suffer a season-ending broken right thumb during a non-contact drill Thursday.

The freshman was on the bench with his right thumb wrapped in a black brace as North Carolina fell to 5-2 without him.

Derek Dixon had 17 points for North Carolina, which trailed just 47-44 on Trimble’s drive with 16:45 left before Duke made its decisive push. The Tar Heels went six minutes without a point and managed one basket over more than 10 minutes as Duke blew the game open.

MARQUETTE 68, NO. 4 UCONN 62

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Nigel James Jr. scored 19 points and UConn coach Dan Hurley was ejected in the final second as Marquette hung on for a victory that prevented the Huskies from claiming a share of the Big East regular-season title.

UConn (27-4, 17-3) trailed 64-62 when the Huskies’ Silas Demary Jr. drove to the basket while being defended by Ben Gold. Demary’s shot hit the glass and the rim before the ball bounced off a couple of players and hit the floor.

Marquette’s Chase Ross won the battle for the loose ball and got fouled with one second left. Hurley argued the lack of a foul call and was whistled for two technical fouls before heading to the locker room while shaking his head.

Ross then made four of six free throws to account for the final margin.

NO. 5 FLORIDA 84, KENTUCKY 77

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Thomas Haugh had 20 points and nine rebounds as Florida beat Kentucky to end the regular season with an 11-game winning streak.

Boogie Fland added 16 points and six assists for the Gators (25-6, 16-2 Southeastern Conference), the No. 1 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament at Nashville, Tennessee. The defending national champions completed a regular-season sweep of the Wildcats (19-12, 10-8).

Alex Condon scored 14 points for Florida. Rueben Chinyelu had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Xaivian Lee finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Otega Oweh led Kentucky with 28 points, 17 in the first half. Oweh was honored before the game along with follow senior Denzel Aberdeen and walk-ons Zack Tow and Walker Horn.

Aberdeen scored 15 points, and Mouhamed Dioubate added 10 off the bench for Kentucky.

NO. 6 IOWA STATE 86, ARIZONA STATE 65

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Joshua Jefferson, Tamin Lipsey and Milan Momcilovic had 16 points apiece, and Iowa State scored 24 straight points to break open a victory over Arizona State.

The Sun Devils led 45-41 when the game turned early in the second half. Momcilovic and Jefferson hit consecutive 3s to start the decisive run. Jefferson riled the Hilton Coliseum crowd when he blocked Anthony Johnson’s layup attempt and sped down the court to take Nate Heise’s long pass for a dunk.

Arizona State missed 11 shots and committed five turnovers before Massamba Diop made a free throw for his team’s first points in almost nine minutes. Arizona State’s field-goal drought lasting nearly 11 minutes ended on Andrija Grbovic’s 3-pointer with 6:21 to play. At that point, the Cyclones led by 19.

The 24-0 run was the biggest in coach TJ Otzelberger’s five years and the Cyclones’ 39th double-digit run this season, most in the nation.

Iowa State (25-6, 12-6 Big 12) outscored ASU 49-24 in the second half, the Sun Devils’ fewest points after half since they managed just 21 in a loss to the Cyclones last season.

Diop led the Sun Devils (16-15, 7-11) with 12 points but committed seven of their season-high 23 turnovers.

NO. 7 HOUSTON 82, OKLAHOMA STATE 75

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Reserve Chase McCarty scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half and Houston rallied for a win over Oklahoma State.

Kingston Flemings added 13 points, five rebounds and nine assists for Houston (26-5 overall, 14-4 Big 12 Conference), which clinched the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and a spot in the quarterfinals on Thursday in Kansas City.

The Cougars trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half, but McCarty, a redshirt freshman, made 7 of 10 field goal, including 6 of 9 from beyond the arc to fuel the comeback.

Anthony Roy scored 18 points, Kanye Clary added 14 and Jaylen Curry had 13 for Oklahoma State (18-13, 6-12). Roy (four), Clary (four) and Curry (two) combined for all 10 of the Cowboys’ 3-point baskets.

NO. 13 VIRGINIA 76, VIRGINIA TECH 72

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Ugo Onyenso and Malik Thomas each had 16 points, Sam Lewis scored 15 and Virginia held off Virginia Tech for a win.

The Cavaliers (27-4, 15-3) had already clinched the No. 2 seed in next week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina, and are all but assured of a spot in the NCAA Tournament field. The Hokies (19-12, 8-10) entered squarely on the NCAA bubble and in seek of an AP Top 25 win to enhance their resume.

Ben Hammond led the Hokies with 21 points and five assists. He missed a pair of free throws with 2:09 to play trailing by four points.

Virginia went 15 for 17 at the free-throw line.

NO. 14 KANSAS 104, KANSAS STATE 85

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Freshman star Darryn Peterson scored 27 points in his likely Allen Fieldhouse finale, Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. had memorable senior send-offs of their own, and Kansas routed Kansas State.

Peterson, the potential No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft, was an efficient 10 of 15 from the field for the Jayhawks (22-9, 12-6 Big 12), who clinched a double-bye in next week’s conference tournament by winning on Senior Day for the 43rd consecutive year.

White, a transfer from Illinois, had 23 points and 11 rebounds to cap his lone regular season in Lawrence, while Council — who arrived from St. Bonaventure — nearly had a triple-double with 17 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists in his final game at the Phog.

WISCONSIN 97, NO. 15 PURDUE 93

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — John Blackwell made five 3-pointers and scored 25 points, Nick Boyd added 23 and Wisconsin set a school-record with 18 3-pointers in a road game Saturday in a win over Purdue.

The Badgers (22-9, 14-6 Big Ten) have won three straight overall and six of their last eight after going 18 for 34 from beyond the arc. That tied the second-highest single-game 3-point total in school history, and they also set a school record with 12 3s in the first half, despite playing without forward Nolan Winter, who has an injured left ankle.

Fletcher Loyer had 23 points and six 3-pointers, making his 282nd career 3 to break Carsen Edwards’ school record. Braden Smith had 20 points and nine assists, while Trey Kaufman-Renn added 17 points. Smith, Loyer and Kaufman-Renn all played their home finales.

It marked the first time in nearly 14,000 days and 135 games Purdue topped the 90-point mark and lost. The last time it happened was against Iowa State in Nov. 24, 1987.

Purdue started fast, using an early 13-0 run to take a 22-13 lead. But the Boilermakers couldn’t match the Badgers barrage of 3s that helped them take the lead and thwart every Purdue charge.

NO. 16 ALABAMA 96, AUBURN 84

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway each scored 21 points and Alabama beat Auburn in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Alabama (23-8, 13-5 Southeastern Conference) never trailed, making its first six shots — three by Philon, who scored his 1,000th career point in the game.

The Crimson Tide rebounded from a 98-88 loss at Georgia on Tuesday night. It opened the second half on a 17-8 run to extend its lead to a game-high 28 points.

Kevin Overton led Auburn (16-15, 7-11) with 24 points, and Tahaad Pettiford had 19. The Tigers have lost eight of 10.

NO. 20 ARKANSAS 88, MISSOURI 84, OT

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Arkansas beat Missouri in overtime on Saturday to make John Calipari the fifth Division I men’s basketball coach to win 900 games.

Meleek Thomas scored 28 and Trevon Brazile had 19 points and nine rebounds for Arkansas (23-8, 13-5 Southeastern Conference), which played without star freshman point guard Darius Acuff Jr. He missed the game with an undisclosed injury.

Acuff entered play leading the SEC in scoring and passing with 22 points and 6.2 assists per game.

Malique Ewin had 17 points and nine rebounds, and converted four straight free throws in the final 12 seconds of overtime to seal the game for the Razorbacks.

Brazile, who played his freshman season at Missouri, drained a 3-pointer with 22 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Razorbacks an 84-82 lead.

Mark Mitchell scored a career-best 32, and Shawn Phillips Jr. had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Missouri (20-11, 10-8), which has lost two straight heading into the conference tournament.

LOUISVILLE 92, NO. 22 MIAMI 89

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Conwell scored 18 of his 24 points in the first half, Adrian Wooley hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 18.4 seconds remaining and Louisville wasted a 12-point lead before hanging on to beat Miami.

J’Vonne Hadley scored 16 for the Cardinals, while Wooley and Isaac McKneely each scored 15. Louisville (22-9, 11-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) wrapped up the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament with the win — and could see the Hurricanes (24-7, 13-5) in the quarterfinals.

Tre Donaldson scored 25 points for Miami, which got 18 from Malik Reneau — 14 from the foul line. Tru Washington had 12 and Shelton Henderson finished with 11 for the Hurricanes.

NO. 24 VANDERBILT 86, NO. 23 TENNESSEE 82

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tyler Tanner scored 25 points to lead Vanderbilt past Tennessee.

The Commodores (24-7, 11-7 in Southeastern Conference) led by double digits most of the game. The Volunteers (21-10, 11-7) cut their deficit to five points at 69-64 with a 3-pointer by Amari Evans with 5:25 to play. Vandy’s Chandler Bing answered with a 3-pointer to end that threat.

Tennessee, which scored 60 points in the second half, closed within four points in the final minute, but got no closer.

AK Okereke scored 17 and Duke Miles had 13 for Vandy.

Evans led Tennessee with 24 points. J.P. Estrella had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 17 points and Felix Okpara had 10 rebounds.

GEORGE MASON 86, NO. 25 SAINT LOUIS 57

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Jahari Long had 21 points and nine assists, and George Mason routed Saint Louis in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Kory Mincy added 15 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Patriots (23-8, 11-7 Atlantic 10), who defeated a ranked opponent for the first time since upending then-No. 16 Dayton on Feb. 21, 2024.

Dion Brown had 13 points for the Billikens (27-4, 15-3), who had already clinched the No. 1 seed in next week’s Atlantic 10 tournament. They shared the regular-season title with VCU, a team they defeated twice this season.

Senior center Robbie Avila, who entered averaging a team-high 13.0 points for Saint Louis, played only five scoreless minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. He finished with two points and one rebound in 12 minutes.

The Associated Press