Top 25 roundup: No. 5 Florida blitzes Mississippi State, seals SEC title
Florida forward Alex Condon (21) dunks under pressure from Mississippi State guard King Grace (23) during the second half of an NCAA mens basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun] Alex Condon netted a season-high 26 points and added seven rebounds as fifth-ranked Florida claimed the Southeastern Conference's regular-season title outright for the first time since 2014 with a 108-74 pasting of Mississippi State on Tuesday in Gainesville, Fla.
In their home finale, the Gators (24-6, 15-2 SEC) played without leading scorer Thomas Haugh but led by 12 at halftime and never let up in their 10th straight win.
Florida's Xaivian Lee registered 19 points, six assists, five boards and four steals before fouling out. Rueben Chinyelu had 11 points and 16 rebounds for his 18th double-double of the season, tying the school record.
The Bulldogs (13-17, 5-12) got 21 points and five assists from Josh Hubbard but lost for the seventh time in nine games.
UCLA 72, No. 9 Nebraska 52
Trent Perry scored 20 points as the Bruins earned their third home win over a Top 10 team, beating the Cornhuskers in Los Angeles.
UCLA (20-10, 12-7 Big Ten) finished with a 16-1 record at Pauley Pavilion, its only loss in double overtime to Indiana. The Bruins also beat then-No. 4 Purdue and then-No. 10 Illinois at home. UCLA's Eric Dailey Jr. logged 14 points and eight rebounds.
Nebraska (25-5, 14-5) missed out on a chance to lock up a triple bye given to the top four teams in next week's Big Ten conference tournament. Sam Hoiberg led the Cornhuskers with 12 points.
TCU 73, No. 10 Texas Tech 65
Xavier Edmonds posted his 10th double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds, leading the Horned Frogs past the Red Raiders in Lubbock, Texas.
Micah Robinson contributed 15 points and Jayden Pierre tallied 14 points for TCU (20-10, 10-7 Big 12), which won its fourth straight game. TCU had a 39-25 rebounding edge, including a 16-7 margin on offensive rebounds, and also won the battle for second-chance points 22-8.
Donovan Atwell paced Texas Tech (22-8, 12-5) with 19 points. Jaylen Petty added 17 points for the Red Raiders, whose three-game winning streak ended.
No. 11 Illinois 80, Oregon 54
Andrej Stojakovic notched 21 points and 12 rebounds and David Mirkovic added 19 points and seven boards to help the Illini rout the Ducks in Champaign, Ill.
Illinois (23-7, 14-5 Big Ten) dominated behind multiple extended runs to stop a two-game losing streak while sending Oregon to its third loss in five games. The Ducks (11-19, 4-15) have dropped seven of their past eight road contests.
Oregon, which entered the game shooting 32.6% from long range this season, went 5-for-29 (17.2%) as part of a 32.8% overall effort from the floor. Illinois shot 40.8% while holding a 36-26 edge in points in the paint.
No. 13 Virginia 75, Wake Forest 70
Thijs De Ridder scored 16 points and the Cavaliers held on for a victory over the Demon Deacons in Charlottesville, Va. Jacari White added 14 points and Johann Grunloh had 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks for Virginia.
The Cavaliers (26-4, 14-3 ACC) never trailed and clinched the No. 2 seed and a double bye at next week's ACC tournament in Charlotte. They are 15-1 at home heading into their regular-season finale against visiting Virginia Tech on Saturday.
The Demon Deacons (15-15, 6-11) have lost three of their last four games and are 0-7 against ranked opponents. Mekhi Mason scored a season-high 26 points, and Juke Harris put up 21.
Arizona State 70, No. 14 Kansas 60
Maurice Odum made five 3-pointers and recorded 23 points and six assists to lead the Sun Devils to a victory over the Jayhawks in Tempe, Ariz.
Massamba Diop added 19 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots for Arizona State (16-14, 7-10 Big 12), which never trailed while improving to 5-0 at home all-time against Kansas. The Sun Devils led by as many as 20 points while winning for the fourth time in the past six games.
Tre White had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Jayhawks (21-9, 11-6), who lost for the fourth time in the past six games. Darryn Peterson added 15 points, 10 rebounds and five steals but made just 3 of 18 field-goal attempts.
Georgia 98, No. 16 Alabama 88
Kanon Catchings made seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 32 points to help the Bulldogs prevail in Athens, Ga., snapping the Crimson Tide's eight-game winning streak.
Catchings was 12-for-20 from the floor and 7-for-13 from long distance, two of them in the final five minutes, while grabbing six rebounds. The Bulldogs (21-9, 9-8 SEC) also got 16 points from Blue Cain, leaving him one point shy of reaching the 1,000-point career mark.
Alabama (22-8, 12-5) was led by Labaron Philon Jr.'s 26 points, including four 3-pointers. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. added 19 points, with five 3-pointers and five rebounds.
No. 17 North Carolina 67, Clemson 63
Luka Bogavac drained three 3-pointers in the final seven minutes and finished with a career-high 20 points to propel the Tar Heels to a victory over the Tigers in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Henri Veesaar contributed 13 points as North Carolina (24-6, 12-5 ACC) finished 18-0 at Dean E. Smith Center, a single-season program record for wins at home. The win got North Carolina a step closer to gaining a double bye in the ACC tournament.
RJ Godfrey scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds to pace Clemson (21-9, 11-6), which lost for the fifth time in the past six games.
No. 18 St. John's 72, Georgetown 69
Zuby Ejiofor scored 23 points as the Red Storm survived several shaky moments in their final home game of the season, earning a victory over the Hoyas in New York.
Ejiofor also contributed seven rebounds and five assists as St. John's (24-6, 17-2 Big East) overcame a 12-point deficit in the second half. Joson Sanon scored all 15 of his points in the second half as the Red Storm beat the Hoyas for the 11th straight time.
Kayvaun Mulready scored 20 points for the Hoyas (13-17, 5-14), who took their seventh straight loss. Jeremiah Williams added 17 but missed a critical free throw that would have tied the game in the final seconds.
No. 19 Miami (Ohio) 74, Toledo 72
Peter Suder scored 19 points and Brant Byers added 13 as the RedHawks overcame sloppiness throughout to outlast the Rockets in Oxford, Ohio, and remain the nation's only unbeaten team.
Antwone Woolfolk added 14 for Miami (30-0, 17-0 Mid-American Conference), which committed 15 turnovers while recording just 12 assists on the night.
Leroy Blyden Jr. put up 21 points while Sonny Wilson added 13 for Toledo (16-14, 10-7), which stayed close thanks to outscoring Miami 48-26 in the paint and holding a 17-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
No. 23 Tennessee 78, South Carolina 59
J.P. Estrella shot 10-for-13 and scored 22 points as the Volunteers defeated the Gamecocks in Columbia, S.C.
Felix Okpara made 10 of 14 shots, finishing with 20 points and a team-high eight rebounds as the Volunteers (21-9, 11-6 SEC) won for the sixth time in their past seven games at South Carolina.
It was Tennessee's 13th win in its last 15 meetings with the Gamecocks (12-18, 3-14) dating back to January of 2018. Meechie Johnson scored 14 of his team-high 20 points after the break for South Carolina.
No. 24 Vanderbilt 89, Ole Miss 86 (OT)
Tyler Tanner scored a game-high 34 points, dished out seven assists and grabbed five steals while leading the Commodores to an overtime victory over the Rebels in Oxford, Miss.
Duke Miles and AK Okereke each finished with 16 points for the Commodores (23-7, 10-7 SEC). Devin McGlockton fouled out after pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds.
The Rebels (12-18, 4-13 SEC) were unable to make it back-to-back wins after snapping a 10-game losing streak on Saturday when they prevailed at Auburn. Patton Pinkins led the Rebels with 16 points.
--Field Level Media
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