Boston College Loses, 78-72

West Virginia made sure Boston College’s appearance in the Big East tournament was brief.

Mike Gansey scored 21 points and West Virginia hung on to upset No. 7 Boston College, 78-72, in the quarterfinals Thursday at New York, ruining the Eagles’ bid for a final conference championship.

Center Kevin Pittsnogle had 17 points for the Mountaineers (20-9), who probably wrapped up at least an NCAA tournament at-large bid. Craig Smith scored 20 points for Boston College (24-4), which is moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference next season.

No. 19 Villanova 67, No. 22 Pittsburgh 58 -- Randy Foye scored 23 points and Villanova (22-6) won its eighth game in a row. Pittsburgh (20-8) shot a season-worst 35%.

No. 12 Connecticut 66, Georgetown 62 -- The Huskies (22-6) won despite making only one field goal over the final five minutes. Ashanti Cook had 17 points for Georgetown (17-12).

No. 16 Syracuse 81, Rutgers 57 -- Gerry McNamara scored 25 points to lead Syracuse (25-6). Rutgers finished the season at 10-19.

BIG TEN

Iowa 71, Purdue 52 -- Gene Keady’s career at Purdue came to a disappointing end, with the Hawkeyes (20-10) defeating the Boilermakers at Chicago. Keady walked off the floor to a standing ovation. Purdue finished 7-21.

Ohio State 72, Penn State 69 --Tony Stockman scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half as the Buckeyes (20-11) rallied to win. Geary Claxton had 20 points for the Nittany Lions (7-23).

Northwestern 58, Michigan 56 -- T.J. Parker keyed a 12-0 second-half run with eight points as the Wildcats (15-15) held off the Wolverines (13-18).

OTHER CONFERENCES

Big 12 -- Linas Kleiza scored 26 points to lead Missouri (16-15) to a 70-67 win over Nebraska (14-14) in the first round at Kansas City, Mo. ... Jeremiah Massey had 18 points and fueled a key surge in the second half for Kansas State (17-11) in a 68-62 win over Texas A&M; (19-9).... Rahshon Clark scored a career-high 20 points to lead Iowa State (18-10) to a 77-57 win over Baylor (9-19), which ended its season on a 14-game losing streak.... Colorado (14-15) overcame horrible first-half shooting to upset Texas (20-10), 81-69.

Conference USA -- Terrence Leather scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half and South Florida (14-15) upset No. 21 Cincinnati (24-7), 80-68, in the quarterfinals at Memphis.... Rodney Carney scored 20 points and Memphis (18-14) pulled off an 85-69 upset over No. 25 Charlotte (21-7).... Larry O’Bannon scored 18 points to lead Louisville (27-4) during an 85-61 victory over Texas Christian (19-13).... Demario Eddins made a three-point basket with 0.8 seconds left to give Alabama Birmingham (21-9) a 59-56 win over DePaul (19-10).

Atlantic Coast -- Shawan Robinson made six three-point baskets and scored 24 points, leading Clemson (16-14) past Maryland (16-12), 84-72, in the first round at Washington.... Ilian Evtimov had five three-point baskets in the first half and scored 18 points as North Carolina State (18-12) routed Florida State (12-19), 70-54.... J.R. Reynolds had 32 points for Virginia (14-14), which ended a five-game losing skid with a 66-65 win over Miami (16-12).

Atlantic 10 -- Pops Mensah-Bonsu scored 21 points for George Washington (20-7) in a 79-63 quarterfinal victory over Fordham (13-16) at Cincinnati.... Temple (16-12) improved to 3-1 during Coach John Chaney’s suspension and beat Dayton (18-11), 61-51.... Stanley Burrell and Justin Cage led a balanced Xavier (17-11) attack with 16 points apiece in an 83-70 win over La Salle (10-19).... Dave Mallon scored 17 points as Saint Joseph’s (18-10) beat Richmond (14-15), 63-51.

Mountain West -- Andrew Bogut scored 11 of his 21 points over the first 4 1/2 minutes and the guards for No. 15 Utah (26-4) took over from there, leading the Utes to a 62-49 win over Colorado State (11-17).... Led by 23 points from Danny Granger, New Mexico (24-6) ran away with an 85-71 win over Brigham Young (9-21).... Ricky Morgan made 14 straight free throws, lifting Nevada Las Vegas (16-12) to a 70-63 victory over Wyoming (15-13).... Brandon Heath scored 28 points helping San Diego State (11-17) knock off Air Force (18-12), 73-68.

Southeastern -- Shane Power scored 15 points and Mississippi State (22-9) defeated Georgia (8-20), 76-65, in a first-round game at Atlanta.... Tommie Eddie scored 17 points and Mississippi (14-16) held on for a 53-52 victory over South Carolina (15-13) when the officials overturned a tying three-pointer by the Gamecocks.... Scooter McFadgon scored 22 points and Tennessee (14-16) routed Arkansas (18-12), 65-46.... Toney Douglas scored 23 points and Auburn (14-16) held on for a 77-73 upset of Vanderbilt (18-13).

Western Athletic -- Jermaine Blackburn’s putback of Coby Karl’s missed free throw gave Boise State (15-17) a 73-72 victory over Nevada (24-6) in the quarterfinals at Reno, Nev. ... Ja’Vance Coleman scored seven of his 24 points in overtime to help Fresno State (16-13) come from behind to beat Louisiana Tech (14-15), 84-81.... Michael Harris scored 25 points to lead Rice (19-10) over Southern Methodist (14-14), 63-47.... Omar Thomas scored 21 points to help Texas El Paso (25-7) beat Hawaii (16-13), 80-62.

Southland -- Ricky Woods scored 19 points to lead Southeastern Louisiana (23-8) to a 71-62 victory over Sam Houston State (18-12) in the semifinals at Hammond, La. ... Clifton Lee scored 17 points as Northwestern State (21-11) beat Lamar (18-11), 90-75, at Natchitoches, La.