AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Tyrese Hunter scored 26 points and a led a 3-point shooting spree for No. 11 Texas that carried the Longhorns to a 93-74 win over No. 2 Gonzaga. Last season’s Big 12 freshman of the year at Iowa State was 9-of-14 shooting and made five of Texas’ 13 3-pointers. Hunter made three from long range in the opening minutes of the second half as the Longhorns seized control and pushed their lead to 20 points. Gonzaga All-American forward Drew Timme scored 18 points but was mostly held in check when the game was still close.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Gianna Kneepkens scored 24 points, Kennady McQueen and Alissa Pili added 21 each and No. 25 Utah routed No. 16 Oklahoma 124-78. After racing to a 54-39 halftime lead the Utes outscored the Sooners 41-20 in the third quarter and matched the school record for points in a game. Utah was 13 of 40 from 3-point range and shot 55% overall (45 of 82) after a blistering 64% second half and assisted on 33 of 45 baskets. They outrebounded Oklahoma 51-31 and had 10 fewer turnovers. Reyna Scott scored 15 points for Oklahoma.
UNDATED (AP) — There is no playbook to instruct how athletic departments are to respond to the tragic death of one of their athletes. But those who have experienced the trauma say the increased emphasis on mental health care in athletic departments and universities at-large — spurred in part by the pandemic — help when a crisis strikes. Tragedy struck the University of Virginia earlier this week. Three members of the football team were shot and killed while on a bus returning to the Charlottesville campus from a field trip to Washington.
UNDATED (AP) — Six teams remain alive for the second spot in the Big 12 championship game with two weeks to go and others are still trying to become bowl-eligible. It’s likely many of these final games will be close. The average winning margin in Big 12 games is 13.5 points. That’s the lowest among the Power Five conferences. In 27 of the 35 Big 12 games the margin at some point in the fourth quarter was eight points or less. Fifteen of those 27 games ended up decided by one score.
UNDATED (AP) — The Pac-12 heads into the weekend with some marquee matchups. It has four top-16 teams that could determine who plays in the league championship game. No. 7 USC is at No. 16 UCLA, which was upset by Arizona last week. No. 10 Utah is at No. 12 Oregon, which was upset at home by Washington. They are among the five most intriguing games this weekend.
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