Georgetown And Syracuse, One More Time – Top 25 News And Scores For March 15th

UNDATED (AP) — Georgetown and Syracuse will meet in the Big East tournament for the 14th and final time Friday at Madison Square Garden. The Orange earned a berth in the semifinals of what will be their last Big East tourney before leaving for the ACC.

James Southerland and Michael Carter-Williams kept No. 19 Syracuse's run at one more Big East title going as the Orange beat No. 17 Pittsburgh 62-59 to advance to a semifinal date with the Hoyas. Southerland had 20 points and Carter-Williams scored the Orange's last seven points.

Meanwhile, Otto Porter Jr. scored 18 points and Markel Starks added 14 as the fifth-ranked Hoyas advanced with a 62-43 win over Cincinnati. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera added 13 off the bench, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer that sparked a game-turning run after the Hoyas blew a 16-point lead.

The Hoyas and Orange have combined for 12 Big East crowns, with Georgetown winning seven times. The Hoyas are 7-6 versus Syracuse in the tournament.

The other Big East semifinal will have fourth-ranked Louisville against No. 24 Notre Dame.

The Cardinals took advantage of 25 turnovers in a 74-55 rout of Villanova. Russ Smith scored 28 points and Luke Hancock came off the bench to add 14 in the Cardinals' eighth straight win.

Pat Connaughton scored 18 points on six 3-pointers as Notre Dame downed No. 12 Marquette 72-65. Jerian Grant shot just 4-for-15 but finished with 17 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Irish.

In other tournament action involving AP Top-25 teams:

— Trey Burke scored 21 points and the sixth-ranked Michigan Wolverines beat Penn State 83-66 in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.

— Ben McLemore scored 24 points to lead No. 7 Kansas to a 91-63 rout of Texas Tech in the Big 12 quarterfinals. Joining the Jayhawks in the semifinals is 11th-ranked Kansas State after Rodney McGruder scored 24 points and sparked an 11-0 run in the second half of the Wildcats' 66-49 dismantling of Texas.

— Oklahoma State also reached the Big 12 semis, although the 14th-ranked Cowboys squandered a 20-point lead before Phil Forte hit two free throws with 2.9 seconds left to seal a 74-72 win over Baylor.

— Nick Johnson scored 18 points and No. 18 Arizona beat Colorado 79-69 to reach the Pac-12 semifinals.

— Chris Crawford set career highs with six three-pointers and 24 points as 20th-rated Memphis dumped Tulane 81-68 in the Conference USA quarterfinals.

— Freshman Shabazz Muhammad scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half, Travis Wear hit a jumper with 11 seconds left and No. 21 UCLA rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat Arizona State 80-75 in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament.