MADISON, Wis. -- Frank Kaminsky scored 31 points in his final home game, sophomore Nigel Hayes added 14 and No. 5 Wisconsin clinched at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season title with a 68-61 victory Sunday over Michigan State.
Kaminsky celebrated Senior Day with a dominating performance, going 11 of 17 from the field for the Badgers (26-3, 14-2).
The Spartans (19-10, 10-6) trailed by 22 points before rallying in the second half. Bryn Forbes' open 3 from the corner got them within 64-53 with about 2:30 left.
But Michigan State had no answer for Kaminsky.
He banked a short jumper off the glass for a 13-point lead with 1:52 left before blocking a shot on the other end to whip the crowd into a frenzy.
Forbes finished with 21 points.
Wisconsin's frontcourt had another strong performance.
One more win gives the Badgers the outright Big Ten title.
UConn 81, No. 21 SMU 73
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Rodney Purvis scored a career-high 28 points and UConn upset No. 21 SMU 81-73 on Sunday, knocking the Mustangs out of first place in the American Athletic Conference.
Daniel Hamilton scored 14 of his 16 points in the final 7:41 and Ryan Boatright added 23 points for the defending national champion Huskies (17-11, 10-6 American), who won for the first time this season against a ranked opponent.
Markus Kennedy had 18 points to lead SMU (23-6, 14-3), which had won five straight, 13 of its past 14 and 21 of its past 23 games.
The Mustangs led only once at 53-51 on a jumper in the lane by Kennedy with 8:10 left.
But Hamilton responded with back-to-back 3-pointers and UConn pushed the lead back to double figures and hung on for the win.
No. 25 Providence 77, Marquette 66
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- LaDontae Henton had 25 points and 15 rebounds and No. 25 Providence held off Marquette 77-66 on Sunday.
Kris Dunn added 16 points and nine assists for the Friars (20-9, 10-6).
Duane Wilson led Marquette (11-17, 3-13) with 22 points while Matt Carlino had 21 points and six assists. The Golden Eagles have lost five straight and 11 of their past 12.
Providence trailed 19-14 before later going on a 19-5 run to take a 40-29 lead into halftime. The Friars led by 20 points with under 10 minutes remaining before the Golden Eagles rallied to trail 70-63 after Wilson made a 3-pointer with 2:47 left.
The Friars closed out strong as the Golden Eagles managed just one basket the rest of the way.
Sports on 03/02/2015