No. 1 Ohio State 71,
Penn State 60
INDIANAPOLIS — Jared Sullinger had 15 points and 11 rebounds and No. 1 Ohio State defeated Penn State in the Big Ten tournament final on Sunday.
Sullinger, the tournament's most outstanding player, averaged 16.3 points and 14 rebounds in the tournament to help the top-seeded Buckeyes (32-2) repeat as champions.
William Buford scored 18 points and Jon Diebler added 15 for the Buckeyes, who also won the league's regular-season title.
Talor Battle scored 24 points and Jeff Brooks added 19 for Penn State (19-14), which reached the final for the first time. The Nittany Lions, who haven't reached the NCAA tournament since 2001, were trying to become the first team since Iowa in 2001 to win four consecutive games to claim the title.
The Nittany Lions had allowed 45.3 points per game in their three tournament wins, but Ohio State surpassed that total with 13 minutes remaining. The Buckeyes shot 64 percent in the second half.
The Buckeyes won their seventh straight game and became the second team in conference history to play in the final three straight years. They became the first repeat tournament champion since Michigan State in 1999 and 2000, and both of those teams reached the Final Four.
No. 5 Duke 75,
No. 6 North Carolina 58
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Nolan Smith had 20 points and 10 assists and Duke ended North Carolina's run of big comebacks at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Kyle Singler added 11 points for the Blue Devils (30-4), who won a record 19th tournament title. In the first finals meeting between the rivals in a decade, second-seeded Duke led by 18 points in the first half and never let the top-seeded Tar Heels (26-7) build any momentum for a third straight tournament escape.
North Carolina had rallied from 19 down in the final 10 minutes to beat Miami on a last-play layup in the quarterfinals, then rallied from 14 down to force overtime and beat Clemson in the semifinals.
Smith was selected tournament MVP.
Seth Curry had 11 points, including a crucial 3-pointer after the Tar Heels had pulled within nine.
Duke shot 62 percent in the first half and 50 percent for the game. The Blue Devils held the Tar Heels to 34 percent shooting.
Harrison Barnes struggled a day after scoring a tournament freshman record 40 points against Clemson, finishing with 16 points to lead the Tar Heels.
No. 15 Kentucky 70,
Delete - Merge UpNo. 12 Florida 54
ATLANTA — Brandon Knight scored 17 points, MVP Darius Miller hit two crucial 3-pointers and Kentucky cruised to another Southeastern Conference tournament title.
The 12th-ranked Gators (26-7), the regular-season champs, had a miserable day shooting, especially guards Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker. They combined to go 7 of 26 from the field, their woes epitomized in the closing minutes when they put up back-to-back airballs trying desperately to bring Florida back.
Kentucky (25-8) streaked into the NCAAs with its sixth straight win, second straight SEC tournament crown and 27th title overall — more than every other school combined.
Boynton scored 10 points, the only Florida player in double figures. But he was just 4 of 16 from the field. The Gators shot just 39 percent (22 of 57), matched their second-lowest scoring game of the season and almost took their worst loss, just getting in under a 93-75 defeat to Ohio State back in November.
