Big 12 Conference-Around the Big 12

Georgetown guard Chris Wright had a Big East tournament to remember, even if the memories might not always be so kind.

Orlando Johnson led UC Santa Barbara out of an eight-year drought and into the NCAA tournament. The Big West Conference player of the year had 20 points, five rebounds and four assists to lead UC Santa Barbara to a 69-64 victory over Long Beach State for the Big West Conference title Saturday night. "I go into every game looking to be the operator and get everyone involved," said Johnson,...

Georgetown guard Chris Wright had a Big East tournament to remember, even if the memories might not always be so kind. The junior scored 27 points in the No. 22 Hoyas' quarterfinal victory over Syracuse, riddled overmatched Marquette in the semifinals, then had 20 points and seven assists in a 60-58 loss to seventh-ranked West Virginia in Saturday night's championship game.

Da'Sean Butler's second game-winner in three days gave West Virginia its first Big East championship.

It's a long way from Morgantown, W.Va., to Manhattan, but West Virginia and its legion of Mountaineers fans made Madison Square Garden their own Saturday, winning the first Big East championship in program history with a 60-58 victory over Georgetown.

Marcus Morris had 18 points, Tyrel Reed added 15 and No. 1 Kansas held off No. 9 Kansas State down the stretch for a 72-64 victory and its seventh Big 12 tournament title Saturday night.

Snip by snip, the Kansas Jayhawks took down another championship net. So what if there are bigger goals still ahead. Winning a title feels good anytime, especially against a rival in an atmosphere like this. Balanced and sharp when it needed to be, No. 1 Kansas won its seventh Big 12 tournament title Saturday night, holding off No.

Minnesota held No. 5 Purdue to the worst first half in the Boilermakers' record books and rolled to a 69-42 victory to reach the Big Ten title game for the first time. The Golden Gophers will face No. 7 Ohio State, which edged Illinois 88-81 in double overtime in the other semifinal.

Claire Faucher came out and missed her first shot of the game, and Portland State's leading scorer worried that it might be a tough night. She needn't have been concerned. Faucher hit a Big Sky tournament record eight 3-pointers en route to 26 points as Portland State beat Montana State 62-58 on Saturday to win the tournament and its first trip to the NCAA tournament.