Cory Montgomery contributed 13 points with 10 boards for the Huskers (30-0), who will play the winner between Texas and Texas A&M in Saturday's semifinals.

Kari Kincaid and Jalana Childs each scored 10 points for Kansas State (14-18).

The Broncos' season came to an end Thursday with an 84-60 loss to Utah State in the opening round of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament to finish 15-17 and 5-11 in league play.

"We appreciate everything that Coach Graham and his staff have contributed to Boise State the past eight years," Boise State director of athletics Gene Bleymaier said. "We felt that in the best interest of the program we needed to make a change." Graham took over as head coach prior to the 2002-03 season and guided BSU to a 142-112 record in eight seasons at the helm. He was just three years removed from a share of the conference championship, a trip to the NCAA Tournament and being named WAC Coach of the Year in 2007-08 when the Broncos set a school record for wins with 25.

"This is out of character for Dorell, we feel he's a good person and that he will learn from this mistake," said Heat president Pat Riley.

The Miami Herald reported Wright was arrested in South Beach and was stopped early Thursday morning at 3:37 a.m.

Patrick Patterson recorded 20 points and Eric Bledsoe added 10 for the Wildcats (30-2), who own 25 SEC Tournament titles and have an astounding 112-22 record in tournament play.

Kentucky will entertain the winner of Friday's quarterfinal between Ole Miss and Tennessee.

During Thursday's loss to the Magic, Rose was driving the lane late in the first quarter and ran into Orlando center Dwight Howard.

The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year fell hard to the floor and clutched his hand and back before making his way to the free throw line. He made 1-of-2 from the stripe before exiting the game for good.

Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith each chipped in 15 points for the top-seeded Blue Devils (27-5), who are trying for a record 18th ACC Tournament title and second in a row.

Duke currently shares the mark of 17 tourney crowns with North Carolina, which has suffered through a miserable season and was eliminated in the first round by Georgia Tech on Thursday night.

Turner's 40-foot shot gave him 18 points on the afternoon, while David Lighty and William Buford both finished with 15 points for the top-seeded Buckeyes (25-7), who kept their hopes for a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament alive.

Ohio State will play the winner of the Wisconsin/Illinois game scheduled for later Friday.

Lavoy Allen registered his 13th double-double of the season with 14 points and 15 rebounds for the top-seeded Owls (27-5), who are aiming to become just the second program in A-10 history to string together three straight conference tournament titles.

Micheal Eric added 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Temple will match up against the winner of the Saint Louis-Rhode Island quarterfinal set for Friday afternoon.

Conventional wisdom says college hoops is the "coach's game" while the pros is for the players. For the most part, I agree with that. The real stars of college basketball are the mentors calling timeout after timeout to extend a 13-point game with the hopes some athletic director at a bigger school is so impressed, he gets offered a deal to flee from the same teenagers he recruited a year ago with the promise he would always be there for them. On the other hand, the NBA is all about Kobe, LeBron, CP3 and Dwayne Wade.

Give the worst coach LeBron and he's going to beat every Larry Brown that comes down the pike.

Karl missed the opening game of the trip on Wednesday, a 110-102 win over Minnesota and will not join the team for Friday's game against New Orleans. He will also skip Saturday's contest at Memphis and next Monday's visit to Houston.

The Nuggets said Karl is still adjusting to the feeding tube that was inserted into his stomach during a surgical procedure on Monday.

The Blazers, who currently lead Memphis by four games for the eighth and final postseason spot in the Western Conference, will also be shooting for their second win over the Kings this week. Portland topped Sacramento, 88-81, in the Rose Garden on Tuesday behind Brandon Roy's 19 points.

Most recently the Blazers downed Golden State on Thursday, when Roy scored 41 points and had eight rebounds and Portland locked down the Warriors in the fourth quarter and rallied for a 110-105 victory.

Although only 1 1/2 games separate these clubs in the East standings, the Heat and Bulls have been going in opposite directions as of late. Miami posted its fourth win in its last five outings with Wednesday's 108-97 verdict over the Los Angeles Clippers, while Chicago's current losing streak reached a season- worst six games in last night's 111-82 defeat at Orlando.

The Bulls' slide has dropped them into ninth place in the conference race, with the Heat tied with Toronto and Charlotte for the final three postseason berths at the moment.

The Pistons fell to 1-1 on a three-game homestand Wednesday, when Deron Williams paced a balanced attack with 18 points and 12 assists as the Utah Jazz trounced Detroit, 115-104.

Charlie Villanueva paced the Pistons' attack with 19 points and Richard Hamilton put up 16 in the defeat, Detroit's seventh in eight games. Will Bynum had 14 points, Jonas Jerebko scored 13 and Tayshaun Prince and Ben Gordon each had 11.

The defending NBA champion Lakers are once again atop the Western Conference and a comfortable seven games ahead of the Suns in the Pacific with just 17 games to go before the postseason.

After being blown out twice in Los Angeles earlier this season, the Suns responded with an impressive 118-103 win over the Lakers in Phoenix on December 28 and will now try and even the season series with another triumph tonight.

The Jazz won their fourth straight contest and improved to 2-0 on a four-game road trip Wednesday in Auburn Hills, when Deron Williams paced a balanced attack with 18 points and 12 assists as Utah trounced the Detroit Pistons, 115-104.

Mehmet Okur and Paul Millsap each added 18 points for Utah, which secured its fifth consecutive winning season with its 42nd win and its 21st winning campaign in 22 seasons under head coach Jerry Sloan.

Charlotte has never reached the playoffs or had a winning season since entering the NBA in 2004-05, but a current stretch of four straight victories has put the club at 32-31 and into a tie with Toronto and Miami for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Three of those wins have come at home, where the Bobcats have amassed an excellent 23-8 record this season.

The team's latest win occurred on the road, however, a 102-87 triumph over sagging Philadelphia on Wednesday. Charlotte built a comfortable 62-44 lead at intermission and was up by as much as 29 points in the second half.

Boston followed up a two-point setback at red-hot Milwaukee on Tuesday with a forgettable home loss to Memphis the following night. The 111-91 defeat to the Grizzlies matched a 108-88 loss to powerhouse Cleveland as the Celtics' most lopsided of the season.

Memphis rolled to a 27-12 lead after one quarter and quickly extended the margin to 20 points early in the second. The Grizzlies kept pouring it on and took a commanding 55-33 advantage into halftime.

James sat out Cleveland's game at Milwaukee on Saturday as well as Monday's home matchup with San Antonio due to a mildly sprained right ankle. Although the team could have used the superstar in its 92-85 loss to the red-hot Bucks, the Cavaliers were able to come through with a 97-95 decision over the Spurs and become the league's first club to 50 wins this season.

Mo Williams helped offset James' absence with a 17-point, eight-rebound, eight-assist effort, while Antawn Jamison also scored 17 points before exiting in the third quarter with a stiff left knee.

San Antonio has won 10 straight and 15 of the past 16 meetings with the Timberwolves, who have lost five in a row as the host in this series. Minnesota's last win over the Spurs was a 103-101 overtime triumph back on January 3, 2007 in the Twin Cities.

The Spurs have won five of their last six games overall, including Wednesday's 97-87 triumph versus the New York Knicks in the Alamo City. Manu Ginobili scored a game-high 28 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists to lead the way. Ginobili has scored in double figures 10 times and has posted 20-plus points on six different occasions in 11 games since the All-Star break, averaging 20.9 ppg in that period.

Memphis has won two in a row and four of five games, and is four games behind Portland for the eighth and final postseason spot in the West. It will also welcome the Nuggets and Bulls to Tennessee and sports a 19-14 mark as the host this season. Memphis is 9-1 at home this season against opponents with losing records.

In a 111-91 victory at Boston on Wednesday, Rudy Gay had 28 points and O.J. Mayo posted 17 to help the Grizzlies extend their franchise-record road winning streak to seven games.

The Thunder made it four straight wins as the host with Wednesday's 98-83 victory over the New Orleans Hornets in the opener of the homestand. Young star Kevin Durant, the NBA's second-leading scorer at 29.6 ppg, pumped in 29 points and his sidekick Russell Westbrook recorded a near-triple double with 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.

"This was a good win, we had an interesting start...but I thought the last 42 minutes our defense was about as good as it could possibly be," Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said after his team improved to a season-best 15 games above .500 (39-24).

Denver has won four in row and sits just one game ahead of Utah in the division. The Jazz have also won four straight and will play Milwaukee Friday night at the Bradley Center.

The Nuggets are one game behind Dallas for the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference and opened the trek with Wednesday's 110-102 triumph at Minnesota thanks to 25 points from Chauncey Billups. It was the 19th time in the past 28 games in which Billups has scored 20-plus points. He is averaging 22.9 ppg over that stretch.

This is the 213th all-time meeting between these two longtime rivals in a series that dates back to 1902, with Lafayette holding a 138-74 overall advantage. These two teams split a pair of meetings this season, each winning on its own floor.

The top-seeded Mountain Hawks have run through the tournament field after capturing their first-ever outright Patriot League regular-season title with a 10-4 league mark. Lehigh, which blew out Army in the quarterfinals (64-45) and American in the semifinals (79-57) has tied the school record for wins in a season with 21. Lehigh though, has won just one Patriot League Tournament title in 2004.

With wins in nine of their final 10 games, the Blue Devils finished 13-3 within the conference and grabbed a share of the program's 12th ACC regular- season crown. Duke won the tie-breaker with Maryland and received the No.1 seed in the ACC Tournament for the 17th time in school history. As the top seed, the Blue Devils are 34-8 all-time, including wins in 14 of their last 15 games, and they have won eight championships. Overall, Duke is tied with North Carolina with 17 titles in this event, and the Blue Devils are the defending champions after topping Florida State in the finals last season.

Virginia meanwhile, has won th

The Miners, who are ranked for the first time since 1992, continued their magical run with a 76-54 trouncing of ninth-seeded UCF in the quarterfinals last night. It marked the 15th win in a row for UTEP, which its coming off its first outright regular-season title since 1987. The Miners are now 4-4 all- time in the C-USA Tournament and are making their second semifinals appearance in the last three years.

As for the Hurricane, it finished outside of the top four during the regular season, so it did not receive a bye unlike UTEP. After rallying past 12th- seeded Rice in the first round, Tulsa upended fourth-seeded Marshall, 80-64, in the quarterf