NEW YORK — Conference player of the year Otto Porter Jr. scored 18 points as top-seeded Georgetown advanced to the Big East tournament semifinals by pulling away, 62-43, from Cincinnati.
Porter made all 11 of his free throws to offset a 3-for-9 performance from the field.
Markel Starks had 14 points and reserve D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera added 13, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer that sparked a game-turning run for the Hoyas (25-5).
Georgetown, looking to land a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, squandered an early 16-point cushion and fell behind briefly in the second half before clamping down with its signature defense.
Cashmere Wright hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points for ninth-seeded Cincinnati (22-11).
No. 19 Syracuse 62, No. 17 Pitt 59: James Southerland had a second straight great effort from 3-point range and Michael Carter-Williams scored Syracuse’s last seven points as the 19th-ranked Orange held off Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.
Southerland had 20 points as he did in the second-round win over Seton Hall. The senior was 6 for 6 on 3s against Pittsburgh, a day after going 6 for 9 from beyond the arc against Seton Hall.
Carter-Williams had 11 points and seven assists for the fifth-seeded Orange (25-8), who will meet top-seeded Georgetown in the semifinals tonight.
No. 6 Michigan 83, Penn St. 66: Trey Burke scored 21 points to lead Michigan over Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, avenging a shocking loss to the Nittany Lions during the regular season.
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Nik Stauskas each added 15 points for the Wolverines (26-6).
No. 21 UCLA 80, Arizona St. 75: Shabazz Muhammad scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half, Travis Wear hit a jumper with 11 seconds left and UCLA rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat Arizona State in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament.
Muhammad scored 10 points during a 17-4 second-half run and Wear hit a long jumper to put the Bruins up 78-75 before Arizona State’s Jonathan Gilling missed a 3-point attempt from the corner.
No. 18 Arizona 79, Colorado 69: Nick Johnson scored 18 points and hit a contested shot with 34 seconds left, helping Arizona beat Colorado in the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals.
Arizona (25-6) led by 14 in the second half, but had trouble shaking the Buffaloes (21-11).
Johnson hit his shot between three defenders to put the Wildcats up four and followed teammate Mark Lyons’ two free throws by swatting Askia Booker’s 3-point attempt into Colorado’s bench.
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