With Selection Sunday just days away, the Madness is nearly upon us. College basketball conference tournaments are now in full swing and most of the nation’s top teams will be in action on Thursday.
The day started with a scary moment in Duke’s ACC opener against Georgia Tech. Projected No. 1 NBA Draft pick Cooper Flagg sprained his ankle and needed to be helped off the court just before halftime. The Blue Devils held on for a nervy win, but coach Jon Scheyer was noncommittal on Flagg’s status moving forward.
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Later on Thursday, two-time defending national champion UConn returns to Madison Square Garden to try to remind everybody why the Huskies are so dangerous in March.
This week may just be a prelude to the Big Dance, but there’s a crush of worthwhile action to tune in for in the power conferences and beyond. (Scroll for live updates.)
Thursday’s best games:
ACC
No. 1 Duke 78, No. 8 Georgia Tech 70
No. 5 UNC 68, No. 4 Wake Forest 59
Big 12
No. 4 BYU 96, No. 5 Iowa State 92
No. 2 Texas Tech vs. No. 7 Baylor, 7 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN2
No. 3 Arizona vs. No. 6 Kansas, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN2
SEC
No. 8 Ole Miss 83, No. 9 Arkansas 80
No. 13 Texas 94, No. 5 Texas A&M 89
No. 6 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Oklahoma, 9:30 p.m. | SEC Network
Big East
No. 5 Marquette 89, No. 4 Xavier 87
No. 3 UConn vs. No. 6 Villanova, 9:30 p.m. | FS1
Big Ten
No. 8 Oregon 72, No. 9 Indiana 59
No. 5 Wisconsin 70, No. 13 Northwestern 63
Best of the rest
Boise State vs. San Diego State, 5:30 p.m. ET | CBSS
UNLV at Utah State, 11:30 p.m. ET | CBSS
Live47 updates
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 7:33 PM EDT
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 6:59 PM EDT
Boise trying to fight off the bubble
Yet another bubble team, Boise State, is in a battle with San Diego State in the Mountain West tournament. The bubble drama continues today.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 6:48 PM EDT
Texas wins in double OT!
Tre Johnson scores 20 points and makes a couple clutch shots to help the Longhorns pull off a critical win over Texas A&M in double overtime. Texas absolutely had to have that one to have a realistic shot at the NCAA tourney.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 6:41 PM EDT
Texas takes control in 2OT
The Longhorns lead 89-85 with under a minute to go. This 3 gave them their initial lead:
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 6:31 PM EDT
WE HEAD TO DOUBLE OT!
Texas’ Kadin Shedrick was left wide open under the basket for an easy game-tying dunk in the closing seconds.
Texas 79, Texas A&M 79, after first OT
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 6:28 PM EDT
Texas won’t go away
Longhorns score 4 straight to get it within 1 point. Now under a minute to play.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 6:21 PM EDT
A&M takes upper hand in OT
The Aggies have scored the first 5 points of overtime, opening a 78-73 lead over Texas.
2:15 to play.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 6:14 PM EDT
Overtime in Texas vs. Texas A&M!
Texas holds for the last possession but can’t get a jumper to go.
We’ve got 5 more minutes to go in this SEC 2nd round matchup.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 6:13 PM EDT
Tie game in final seconds
Back-and-forth we go in the final minutes of Texas-Texas A&M.
The Longhorns took the lead on this and-1, but the Aggies responded with a layup at the other end.
73-all with under 30 seconds.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 5:57 PM EDT
All eyes on Texas-Texas A&M
At the under-4 timeout, Texas leads Texas A&M 67-66.
The last 2:53 of this game is going to be fun 👀
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 5:41 PM EDT
Another name emerges in Indiana coaching search
Could Ben McCollum be one-and-done at Drake? He’s reportedly in the running to take over for Indiana next season.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 5:17 PM EDT
Texas fighting for its tourney life
The Longhorns likely need a win to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive. Texas A&M would love to knock its rival out of the field. High stakes SEC tournament action getting tense.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 5:01 PM EDT
Final: UNC 68, Wake Forest 59
North Carolina is also a bubble team, but it helped its case massively with a win here combined with Xavier’s loss earlier. Next up for the Tar Heels? A date with No. 1 Duke in the ACC semifinals tomorrow.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 4:59 PM EDT
UNC feeling good
The Tar Heels are in good shape late in their ACC quarterfinal matchup with Wake Forest, thanks to a big game from RJ Davis.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 4:57 PM EDT
Meaningless buzzer-beater results in painful bad beat
If you had Marquette to cover the 2.5-point spread, we’re sorry 😢
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 4:43 PM EDT
Final: Marquette 89, Xavier 87
Marquette holds off Xavier in the Big East quarterfinals. It’s a costly loss for Xavier, which is squarely on the bubble. Did the Musketeers just cost themselves an NCAA tourney trip?
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 4:26 PM EDT
Marquette-Xavier setting up for wild finish
It’s been close the whole way through. Marquette has the upper hand going into the under-4 timeout.
Xavier is a bubble team that desperately needs a win here. Buckle up.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 4:05 PM EDT
From DEEP to beat the halftime buzzer
New Mexico’s Donovan Dent banked it in from 30 feet at the first-half buzzer in Mountain West tourney action vs. San Jose State.
No. 1 seed Lobos lead 32-23 at the break.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 3:35 PM EDT
Coach Cal, Arkansas ousted from SEC tourney
The Hogs fought valiantly to get back into their second-round game against the Rebels, but they ultimately came up short after two missed free throws in the waning seconds and then the 3-pointer by Pedulla.
Coach Cal’s team will have a nervous few days as the Hogs are firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble.
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Thu, March 13, 2025 at 3:30 PM EDT
Ole Miss buzzer-beater buries Arkansas!
The Rebels got a rebound on a missed free throw with 7.9 seconds left in a tie game and guard Sean Pedulla drilled the game-winning 3:
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