COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Iowa State Shoots Down No. 2 Kansas, 80-72

If it had been November instead of March, Hurl Beechum would have been sitting on the bench Saturday when Iowa State went into overtime to upset second-ranked Kansas, 80-72, in the semifinals of the Big Eight Conference tournament at Kansas City.

Beechum wasn’t good enough then. But he worked himself into favor and made two three-point shots in overtime, finishing with 25 points as Iowa State moved into the final.

“It’s all about sitting,” Cyclone Coach Tim Floyd said. “If you like to play, you’ll work harder. He’s playing defense now, and that’s why we’re able to play him.”

Jacque Vaughn of Kansas made a three-point shot with 2.8 seconds to play in regulation, tying the score, 64-64, and sending the game into overtime.

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No. 19 Oklahoma State 74, No. 16 Oklahoma 58--Bryant Reeves broke out of a slump with 28 points and 12 rebounds, leading the Cowboys (22-9) over the Sooners (23-8) and into the Big Eight tournament final.

Ryan Minor, who beat Reeves in balloting for Big Eight player of the year, had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma before fouling out with 1:31 to play.

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT

No. 6 Connecticut 88, No. 24 Georgetown 81--Ray Allen scored 24 points to lead the Huskies (25-3) over the Hoyas (19-9) in the semifinals at New York.

Connecticut, the Big East regular-season champion for the second consecutive season, took control over the final 2 1/2 minutes to reach the tournament final for the first time since 1990.

No. 13 Villanova 90, Providence 75--Kerry Kittles scored 29 points to lead the Wildcats (24-7) over the Friars (16-12) and into the Big East tournament final for the first time since 1988.

SOUTHEASTERN TOURNAMENT

No. 3 Kentucky 86, Florida 72--Freshman Antoine Walker scored 11 of his 21 points in a seven-minute stretch of the first half that carried the Wildcats (24-4) over the Gators (17-12) in the semifinals at Atlanta.

No. 5 Arkansas 69, No. 20 Alabama 58--The defending national champion Razorbacks (27-5) took control during a 21-8 second-half run to overtake the Crimson Tide (22-9) and reach the SEC tournament final for the first time.

WESTERN ATHLETIC TOURNAMENT

No. 22 Utah 67, Hawaii 54--In a game that was preceded by a public apology from Rainbow forward John Molle of Irvine, who took the microphone to tell fans he was wrong for obscene gestures directed at them in games Thursday and Friday, Keith Van Horn scored 24 points and the defense of the Utes (27-5) shut down Hawaii (16-13) in the second half for the championship at Albuquerque.

GREAT MIDWEST

Cincinnati 67, St. Louis 65--LaZelle Durden’s three-point basket with 1.2 seconds to play beat St. Louis (22-7) at Milwaukee and lifted the Bearcats (21-11) to their fourth consecutive conference tournament title in the league’s final season.

METRO TOURNAMENT

Louisville 81, Tulane 80--Samaki Walker scored on a layup with a 42.3 seconds to play and Tick Rogers blocked Chris Cameron’s 35-foot shot as time expired in overtime as the Cardinals (18-13) edged Tulane (22-9) at Louisville.

Southern Mississippi 60, North Carolina Charlotte 56--Damien Smith hit a three-point shot and rebound basket in the final minutes to spark the Golden Eagles (17-11) to an upset of the tournament’s top-seeded team, Charlotte (19-8), and a berth in the finals.

OTHER TOURNAMENTS

Mid-American: Steve Payne scored 23 points and Marcus Norris 22 to lead Ball State (19-10) to a 77-70 victory over Eastern Michigan (20-9) at Toledo, Ohio, landing the Cardinals in the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in seven years.

Southland: Reggie Jackson scored 28 points to lead Nicholls State (24-5) to a 98-87 victory over Northeast Louisiana (14-18) at Shreveport, La., and into the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.

Southwest: Reserve Carl Simpson scored six points and Roderick Anderson made four vital free throws in overtime as Texas (22-6) earned an NCAA tournament bid with a 107-104 victory over Texas Tech (20-9) at Dallas.

Big Sky: Ruben Nembhard scored 24 points to lead Weber State (20-8) to an 84-62 victory over Montana (21-8) at Ogden, Utah., for the Wildcats’ fifth Big Sky tournament championship and 11th trip to the NCAA playoffs.

NON-TOURNAMENT

Illinois (19-11, 10-8) kept its NCAA tournament hopes alive with an 82-63 Big Ten Conference victory over Ohio State at Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State (6-22, 2-16) ended its worst season in 96 years of men’s basketball.