ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Andre Curbelo scored 11 of his 17 points in the first half, and No. 4 Illinois dismantled No. 2 Michigan with a smothering defensive performance, routing the Wolverines 76-53 on Tuesday night.

Playing again without injured star Ayo Dosunmu, the Illini (19-6, 15-4) kept Michigan from clinching the Big Ten title and boosted their own chances at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Trent Frazier led Illinois with 22 points, and Kofi Cockburn added 12.

Eli Brooks scored 11 points and was the only player in double figures for Michigan. The Wolverines (18-2, 13-2) looked physically overwhelmed for much of the night, unable to create good shots against the Illinois defense and unable to keep the Illini off the boards. It was an eye-opening blowout – especially since Michigan has rolled to similar margins of victory against other good teams this season.

(3) BAYLOR 94, (6) WEST VIRGINIA 89: Jared Butler scored 25 points before fouling out, Davion Mitchell hit the go-ahead basket in overtime and visiting Baylor (19-1, 11-1 Big 12) beat West Virginia (17-7, 10-5) to clinch its first Big 12 regular season championship.

Baylor bounced back in a big way from its only loss of the season at No. 13 Kansas on Saturday. Baylor struggled in its two previous games coming off a nearly three-week layoff because of COVID-19 issues in the program.

(5) ALABAMA 70, AUBURN 58: Jaden Shackelford scored 23 points, made five 3-pointers and helped host Alabama (20-6, 15-2 Southeastern Conference) quash a second-half threat in beating Auburn (12-14, 6-11).

Shackelford helped the Crimson Tide score 10 straight points after the Tigers pulled to within five late.

(12) ARKANSAS 101, SOUTH CAROLINA 73: Moses Moody tied his career high with 28 points and visiting Arkansas (20-5, 12-4 SEC) won its 10th straight in the Southeastern Conference by beating South Carolina (6-13, 4-11).

The Razorbacks did it with the long ball, hitting 15 3-pointers to continue their longest league win streak to match the 1994 national champions, who won their last 10 SEC regular-season games that year.

Moody had four 3-pointers as Arkansas reached 20 victories for a second straight year under Coach Eric Musselman.

(15) TEXAS 81, IOWA STATE 67: Kai Jones came off the bench to score a season-high 17 points and lead four Texas players in double figures, and the visiting Longhorns (15-7, 9-6 Big 12) pulled away from Iowa State (2-19, 0-16) early.

Texas led for all but 22 seconds, beating the Cyclones for the eighth time in 10 meetings.

(18) TEXAS TECH 68, TCU 49: Kyler Edwards scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half to help host Texas Tech take control (16-8, 8-7 Big 12) in beating TCU (12-11, 5-9).

CREIGHTON: Coach Greg McDermott apologized for urging his players to “stay on the plantation” in a postgame locker room talk following a loss over the weekend.

In a statement posted on Twitter, McDermott said he used a “terribly inappropriate analogy in making a point about staying together as a team despite the loss.”

McDermott, who is white, acknowledged saying: “Guys, we got to stick together. We need both feet in. I need everybody to stay on the plantation. I can’t have anybody leave the plantation.”

The comments came after the 14th-ranked Bluejays’ 77-69 loss to Xavier in Cincinnati. McDermott said he immediately recognized he had made an “egregious mistake” and addressed with his team his use of a term evocative of slavery and the antebellum South.

Creighton has a racially diverse roster that includes several Black players.

“I have never used that analogy and it is not indicative of who I am as a person or as a coach,” McDermott said in his post. “I am deeply sorry. I have apologized to our student-athletes and to our staff.”

The coach added that he apologized directly to Creighton’s president, the Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, and Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen.

Creighton assistant coach Terrence Rencher, who is Black, tweeted that he was “deeply hurt” by McDermott’s words.

“While my relationship with Coach has been positive and I have never witnessed any racist energy from him,” Rencher said, “what he said was wrong and insensitive. `Plantation’ has a dark and hurtful history in my community and cannot be overlooked. Right now my focus is on the players and supporting them in any way that they need my support.”

Rencher added, “The players have decided that they want to continue to chase their goals on the court this season with Coach McDermott and I support their wishes and will continue to pour my heart into coaching them and helping them deal with larger issues.”

Creighton spokesman Rob Anderson declined to comment on whether players or staff complained to administrators about the remark or why the apology was made public.

In a statement, the university called McDermott’s language “deplorable” and said it was inconsistent with the private Jesuit school’s values and commitment to creating a welcoming environment.

“While an apology is a start, and while we believe this was out of character for coach McDermott, in no way does it diminish the fact that his remark was hurtful to many and has absolutely no place in the Creighton community,” the statement said. “We have offered our full and unconditional support to those affected by his words.”

Hendrickson and Rasmussen met with players in person on Monday in Cincinnati and both have also spoken with McDermott to “unequivocally” condemn his language, the statement said.

The school said any disciplinary action would remain confidential.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

(15) SOUTH FLORIDA 65, CENTRAL FLORIDA 62: Elisa Pinzan scored 18 points with eight assists, Bethy Mununga had 11 points and 13 rebounds, and host South Florida (15-2, 12-1) beat Central Florida (13-3, 11-2) for its first American Athletic Conference regular-season title.

Pinzan hit a 3-pointer for a 58-48 lead with 1:59 remaining and she made her next four free throws for another 10-point lead with 57 seconds left.

(24) RUTGERS 74, PENN STATE 56: Arella Guirantes scored 21 points with seven assists, Tekia Mack had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and host Rutgers (13-3, 9-3 Big Ten) beat Penn State (9-13, 6-12).

Rutgers has won eight conference games in a row for the first time since the 2004-05 season – including holding seven straight opponents under 60 points.

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