PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Joel Embiid had 40 points and 19 rebounds to hit a 3-pointer late in the regulation, and Tobias Harris scored 11 of his 22 points in overtime to take the Philadelphia 76ers past Utah Jazz 131-123. The fun game featured the teams with the best records in each conference, and Philly won this time after losing in Utah last month. Ben Simmons added 17 points for the 76ers, who improved their Eastern Conference record to 24-12. Donovan Mitchell had 33 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Jazz, who lost their second straight.
VILLANOVA, PA (AP) – Justin Moore scored 24 points to help Villanova # 10 claim the Big East title with a 72-60 win over Creighton # 14. Creighton trainer Greg McDermott is under fire for using a language reminiscent of slavery. McDermott had apologized for asking his players to stay on the plantation for a locker room chat after the game. McDermott says he didn’t step down because “our guys wanted me to train”. The Wildcats lost star guard Collin Gillespie in the first half to a left knee injury. He doubled up in pain in the square and immediately needed help in the locker room. Mitch Ballock led Creighton with 14 points.
UNDATED (AP) – Pittsburgh Pirates’ left-handed Steven Brault welcomes his newfound job security. Brault is in Pittsburgh’s starting rotation this spring. The 28-year-old spent most of his first four seasons with the majors jumping from rotation to bullpen and back. Not this year. Brault’s solid 2020 earned him a spot on the rotation and he has no plans to look back. Brault had a goalless inning in his spring training debut against Tampa Bay.
UNDATED (AP) – No. 2 Michigan and Michigan State meet twice in four days, Thursday and Sunday. The rivals will finish the regular season against each other, with a lot at stake. The Wolverines are motivated to strengthen their case for number 1 in the NCAA tournament. The Spartans have been in college basketball shop window 22 times in a row, and everyone in the program is keen to extend the series. The first scheduled matchup in February was postponed and moved to Thursday, two days after Michigan was routed from Illinois No. 4 and Michigan state overtook Indiana.
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (AP) – Myreon Jones scored 17 points and knocked four 3-point points when five Penn State players hit double digits and walled the Nittany Lions Minnesota 84-65. Izaiah Brockington scored 14 points on seven boards, and Trent Buttrick finished on 13 points, three from distance. John Harrar added 12 points with 11 rebounds and Jamari Wheeler scored 10 with five assists. Minnesota’s Marcus Carr took 22 points to hit 1,000 for his career and scored that many, with 13 coming in the second half. Tre ‘Williams added 17 points for Minnesota and Isaiah them scored 12 with 10 rebounds. The Gophers have lost six straight times and haven’t won a street game in ten attempts this season.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Ryan Daly scored 23 points when Saint Joseph led La Salle 72-66 in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament. The number 13 Hawks will face number 5 UMass on Thursday. Jordan Hall added 17 points and seven rebounds for Saint Joseph’s. Taylor Funk added 12 points and seven rebounds. Jack Clark had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Explorers. Scott Spencer added 11 points. Sherif Kenney, the Explorers’ top scorer (10 ppg), scored two hits in a 5–1 draw before retiring in 23 minutes.
