NCAA Conference Tournaments 2015: Predictions, Results for Wednesday's Top Games

Wednesday's action has now come to a conclusion at NCAA Conference Tournaments across the country. Several upsets and tight contests took place, with a few surprise teams surviving.

In all, 20 games were decided across eight Power Conferences, with real-time summaries updated live at the conclusion of each game.

Read on to find recaps for all of the enthralling matchups.

ACC Tournament

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

Results

Miami 59, Virginia Tech 49

In what we'll call an offensively challenged game, Miami came away with a crucial win to help solidify its NCAA resume.

The Hurricanes limited Virginia Tech to just 19 points in the first half to end a streak of three straight halves with 40 or more points from the Hokies. Miami was also the last team to keep VT to less than 20 in a half on Saturday.

Following the win, the Hurricanes will face Notre Dame in the nightcap of Thursday's slate. Jerian Grant scored 23 points in their first matchup to give the Irish a win over the Canes back in January.

— Updated by R. Cory Smith

NC State 81, Pittsburgh 70

Anthony "Cat" Barber paced the Wolfpack in a decisive win over Pittsburgh. Barber finished the a career-high 34 points and five assists in a coming out party on the conference stage in Greensboro.

The point guard lived up to his name by attacking the basket and being cat-quick in transition. The only player in the same stratosphere as Barber was Trevor Lacey, who tacked on another 21 points and five  assists.

Pittsburgh had three players score in double digits with Cameron Wright, Jamel Artis and Michael Young, but the Panthers never led in the contest. NC State now moves on to face a Duke team that it beat, 87-75, earlier in the season.

— Updated by R. Cory Smith

North Carolina 81, Boston College 63

True to their reputation as one of the country's top-rebounding schools, the North Carolina Tar Heels beat the Boston College Eagles 42-22 on the boards on their way to an 81-63 win in the second game of the day in Greensboro.

Top shooters for North Carolina were two juniors: 6'9" forward Brice Johnson and 6'1" guard Marcus Paige, each with 17 points.

—Updated by Carol Schram

Florida State 76, Clemson 73

Despite a late surge from a determined Clemson team, an outstanding performance from freshman Xavier Rathan-Mayes was enough to give the Florida State Seminoles a nail-biting 76-73 win over the Clemson Tigers in the second round of the ACC Tournament.

Shooting 11-for-19 from the field and 5-of-9 from behind the arc, Rathan-Mayes exploded for 30 points to lead Florida State.

As one of the lowest-scoring teams in the NCAA, Clemson had trouble keeping pace with their opponents until the late stages of the second half. In the final 2:17, the Tigers cut a 13-point Seminoles lead to as little as two points before settling for the loss.

Rod Hall was Clemson's top scorer with 25 points but missed a crucial layup to tie the game with 13 seconds to go. Jaron Blossomgame went 4-for-7 from the field and added six free throws for 14 points.

— Updated by Carol Schram

Atlantic 10 Tournament

Jason DeCrow/Associated Press

Results

Duquesne 61, Saint Louis 55

In a game that went back and forth late, Duquesne pulled out a huge first round win over Saint Louis thanks to clutch free throws from Derrick Colter. Shots simply weren't falling for Saint Louis late, as the Billikens didn't hit a shot in the final three minutes and 43 seconds of the game.

The Billikens were paced by Mike Crawford and Marcus Bartley, who combined to score 28 points. That would not be enough to match Micah Mason, who did it all for Duquesne with 19 points, nine rebounds and finishing 3-of-5 from three-point range.

Duquesne advances to take on George Washington in the second round on Thursday. The Dukes and Colonials split the season series, with Duquesne decisively winning the last meeting on Feb. 11.

—Updated by R. Cory Smith

Fordham 71 - George Mason 65

Fordham continued its winning ways against George Mason, upping its record to 5-0 with a 71-65 win at Barclays Center on the first day of the Atlantic 10 tournament.

Fordham's freshman star Eric Paschall had missed two games coming into the tournament with an injury and contributed only a single point, but his fellow freshman Christian Sengfelder stepped up with a 27-point performance, leading the way on 10-of-13 shooting.

On the other side of the ledger, Isaiah Jackson and Marquise Moore were the top scorers for George Mason with 18 points each.

Fordham now moves on to play VCU on Thursday.

—Updated by Carol Schram

Big Ten Tournament

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

Results

Minnesota 80, Rutgers 68

Minnesota easily dispatched Rutgers thanks to standout performances from Joey King and Maurice Walker. Four Golden Gophers finished in double digits in scoring, but Walker's double-double and King going 6-of-9 from behind the arc were crucial.

The season came to a merciful end for Rutgers, whose lone shining moment was a shocking defeat over Wisconsin. Kadeem Jack finished his junior campaign with an 18-point performance, but it wasn't enough to end the now 15-game losing streak to close out the year.

Minnesota takes on Ohio State on Thursday to continue a run through the Big Ten tournament. The only way the Gophers can get into the Big Dance is to win it all, but they are now just four wins away.

— Updated by R. Cory Smith

Penn State 68 - Nebraska 65

Strong shooting from the free-throw line and a standout performance from Terran Petteway kept it close but in the end, the Nebraska Cornhuskers lost a heartbreaker to Penn State by a score of 68-65 at the United Center in Chicago.

Cornhuskers junior forward Petteway led all players with 29 points, including 11-for-13 shooting from the foul line, but Big 10 scoring leader D.J. Newbill replied with 26 points of his own for Penn State, backed up by 19 points from Shep Garner.

A desperation buzzer-beater attempt by Shavon Shields to tie the game failed to drop in the game's final seconds, leaving Nebraska to pick up the pieces after its ninth straight loss.

—Update by Carol Schram

Big 12 Tournament

Michael Thomas/Associated Press

Results

Texas 65, Texas Tech 53

It was a game Texas needed to win, and the Longhorns did so in convincing fashion. Sitting on the bubble heading into the Big 12 tournament, Texas could ill afford to lose a game to lowly Texas Tech.

Cameron Ridley made sure that didn't happen, leading the Longhorns with 14 points to go along with eight rebounds. Texas also hit its free throws, going 11-of-14 compared to the Red Raiders finishing 4-of-10 on Wednesday night.

The Longhorns have a true test lying ahead in the next round against Iowa State. If they can somehow knock off the No. 2 seed, Texas just might find its way off the bubble and into the NCAA bracket.

—Updated by R. Cory Smith

TCU 67 - Kansas State 65

In just their third year in the Big 12, ninth-seed TCU survived a late push to defeat eighth-seed Kansas State by a score of 67-65 to win their first-ever conference tournament game.

The Horned Frogs were led by sophomore Chris Washburn and senior Kyan Anderson, who both potted 16 points, as well as a 15-point performance from Trey Zeigler.

TCU will face a serious challenge in their next game, meeting up with No. 1 Kansas on Thursday.

—Updated by Carol Schram

Big East Tournament

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Results

Creighton 78, DePaul 63

James Milliken made the most of his opportunity on the Big East stage with a huge performance to help Creighton throttle DePaul. The senior tied his most points in a conference game with 22 thanks to going 3-of-6 from behind the arc.

Devin Brooks also came off the bench to register 12 points, including several meaningful free throws down the stretch to maintain a healthy lead.

The Bluejays reward for the first-round win? A matchup with No. 2 seed Georgetown. The Hoyas come in with wins in five of their last six games and swept the Jays by an average margin of 21 points in the two contests.

— Updated by R. Cory Smith

Marquette 78, Seton Hall 56

In a matchup of two teams who were looking to build momentum before taking on Villanova, Marquette manhandled Seton Hall in Madison Square Garden. The Golden Eagles got a strong performance from Matt Carlino, who finished with 26 points and six rebounds.

Marquette finished 13-of-22 from three-point range as a team, led by Carlino going 8-of-12 from behind the arc. The victory seals a date with top-seeded Villanova, who is looking to earn a No. 1 seed with a long run in the Big East. Not exactly a great reward for the Golden Eagles.

— Updated by R. Cory Smith

Mountain West Tournament

Otto Kitsinger/Associated Press

Results

UNLV 60 - Nevada 43

Red-hot shooting from 6'11" sophomore Christian Wood led the UNLV Runnin' Rebels to a decisive 60-43 win over rival Nevada on their home court at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Averaging 15.3 points this season, Wood exploded for 28 points on Wednesday, going 9-for-13 from the field and adding another 10 points from the charity stripe. Nevada was undone by turnovers—giving up the ball 19 times in the game compared to just six times for their opponents.

Wood's performance more than made up for the absence of injured UNLV leading scorer Rashad Vaughn.

—Updated by Carol Schram

Air Force 68 - New Mexico 61

With just a 2-15 all-time record in the Mountain West tournament, Air Force stunned three-time defending champions New Mexico by a score of 68-61 in the tournament's opening game in Las Vegas.

Sophomore guard Zach Kocur led the way with 20 points for the Falcons. 

Free throws were the difference in the game. Air Force went 12-for-16 while New Mexico shot just 13-for-22.

Air Force moves on to play No. 1 Boise State on Thursday.

—Updated by Carol Schram

Pac-12 Tournament

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Results

Stanford 71, Washington 69

Chasson Randle wasn't going out like that. The Stanford senior hit a three-pointer with two seconds remaining to lift the Cardinal over Washington in the first round. Randle was just 3-of-11 on the game with 10 points, but he hit the shot that mattered most.

Much like USC making history earlier in the day, Washington made it into the record books—for all the wrong reasons. The Huskies were unable to make a single free throw on three attempts, becoming the first team to do so in the tourney, per Doug Haller of AZCentral.com.

Center Stefan Nastic was Stanford's leading scorer with 21 points inside. The Cardinal will need some more magic from Randle and production from Nastic to get past Utah after losing by 16 points to the Utes in mid-February.

—Updated by R. Cory Smith

Colorado 78, Oregon State 71

Oregon State hung around with the underdog Colorado for the entire first half, but the Buffaloes ran away in the second. Askia Booker ignited the Buffs all game with 20 points—14 of which came in the second half.

Josh Scott was also an integral part of the upset for Colorado with 16 points and 14 rebounds, good for his sixth double-double this season. The Buffs out-rebounded the Beavers 37-23 to create myriad offensive opportunities.

Heading into a tough matchup with No. 2 seed Oregon, Scott will need to remain dominant in the paint to end the Ducks' five-game winning streak.

—Updated by R. Cory Smith

USC 67, Arizona State 64

A 27-point performance from Elijah Stewart anchored a come-from-behind win for the USC Trojans over fifth-ranked Arizona State on Wednesday at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The victory marked the first time a No. 12 seed has ever won in the Pac-12 tournament, via the conference's Twitter account.

The Sun Devils took an early lead and outmuscled the Trojans on the offensive boards, but USC started a 10-0 run with 3:55 to go in the second half to grab its first lead since the early stages of the first half—one that wouldn't be relinquished.

With the win, USC improves its perfect record against Arizona State in the Pac-12 tournament to 3-0.

—Updated by Carol Schram

California 84, Washington State 59

Though Cal lost five of its last six games coming into the tournament, there was no doubt which was the better team after a decisive 84-59 victory over Washington State in the first game of the Pac-12 tournament.

Led by David Kravish's 25 points, California dominated in every statistical category.

The Golden Bears now move on to play top-seeded Arizona on Thursday.

—Updated by Carol Schram

SEC Tournament

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

Results

South Carolina 63, Missouri 54

South Carolina controlled the entire matchup against Missouri in the opening round of the SEC tournament. The Gamecocks were led by Sindarius Thornwell, who went off for 18 points and six assists.

Frank Martin's team will look to continue its run against a stout Ole Miss program that hopes to make a strong run in the conference tournament. In their lone matchup this season, the Rebels easily tamed the Tigers, 65-49, back in January.

—Updated by R. Cory Smith

Auburn 74, Mississippi State 68

Auburn's Antoine Mason returned to action after his legendary basketball star father Anthony Mason's recent passing. Antoine contributed four points as the Tigers knocked out Mississippi State with a 74-68 win in the first game of the SEC tournament.

Leading scorers for Auburn were K.C. Ross-Miller with 21 points, including back-to-back three-pointers and K.T. Harrell with 19.

Auburn's next game in the draw will be against Texas A&M.

—Updated by Carol Schram