Hoyas Dominate Pitt...Ducks Cruise To Pac-Ten Crown...Runnin' Rebels Are In

NEW YORK (AP) 9th-ranked Georgetown is Big East champion for the first time since 1989. The Hoyas opened an early 15-point lead and crushed 13th-ranked Pittsburgh 65-42 at Madison Square Garden. Jeff

Saturday, March 10th 2007, 2:47 pm

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) 9th-ranked Georgetown is Big East champion for the first time since 1989. The Hoyas opened an early 15-point lead and crushed 13th-ranked Pittsburgh 65-42 at Madison Square Garden. Jeff Green scored 21 points. The junior was named most outstanding player in the Big East tourney. It's the seventh time the Hoyas have won the Big East.

LOS ANGELES (AP) Bryce Taylor scored a career-high 32 points on perfect 11-11 shooting and 16th-ranked Oregon routed Southern California 81-57 to win the Pac-10 tournament title. Taylor was 7-7 from 3-point range.

The Ducks head into the NCAA tournament on a six-game winning streak. They haven't been there since 2003, the last time they won the conference tourney.

Taylor was taken out with 6:30 minutes left and the Ducks ahead by 40 points.

LAS VEGAS (AP) _ The UNLV Runnin' Rebels raced into their first NCAA tournament in seven years. The Rebels rallied from an early 13-point deficit to beat 23rd-ranked BYU 78-70 in the Mountain West championship.

Michael Umeh scored 18 points and Wink Adams 15 as the Rebels overcame an early double-digit deficit against the top-seeded Cougars, who got 34 points from Keena Young.

Lon Kruger became the fifth coach to take four teams to the NCAAs.

In other college hoops freshman star Greg Oden scored 17 points and pulled down a tournament-record 19 rebounds to lead top-ranked Ohio State to a 63-52 victory over Purdue in the Big-10 semifinals. The 29-3 Buckeyes will take on the winner of Saturday's second game at Chicago's United Center, where 3rd-ranked Wisconsin is taking on Illinois.

#2 Kansas advanced to the Big-12 title tilt by holding off Kansas State 67-61. Mario Chalmers scored 16 points to lead the way for the 29-4 Jayhawks, who will 15th-ranked Texas in the conference finale. Kevin Durant had 26 points and hit the decisive trey in the Longhorns' 69-64 win over Oklahoma State.

Memphis captured its second straight Conference USA crown. The 5th-ranked Tigers extended the nation's longest winning streak to 22 games with a 71-59 victory over Houston in the title game. It may have earned 30-game-winner Memphis a #2 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

Brandon Wright scored 20 points as #8 North Carolina moved a step closer to its first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title in nine years with a 71-56 victory over Boston College. The 27-6 Tar Heels will face either 3rd-seeded Virginia Tech or 10th-seeded North Carolina State in Sunday's championship game.

6th-ranked Florida is one win away from a three-peat at the Southeastern Conference tournament. Corey Brewer scored 22 points and Lee Humphrey added 17 in the Gators' 80-59 romp over Mississippi in the conference semifinals in Atlanta. Florida will play Arkansas for the crown. The 21-12 Razorbacks may have played their way into the NCAA tournament with an 81-72 victory over Mississippi State.

#16 Oregon and Southern California will play for the Pac-10 championship in Los Angeles.

The Mountain West title game will involve a pair of ranked teams, with 23rd-ranked BYU at a distinct disadvantage, having to play 25th-ranked UNLV on the Runnin' Rebels court in Las Vegas.

9th-ranked Georgetown is in the Big East championship game for the first time in eleven seasons. The Hoyas go against 13th-ranked Pittsburgh Saturday night.

Albany captured the America East Conference berth in the NCAA men's basketball tournament Saturday afternoon. The Great Danes defeated Vermont 60-59 in the championship game.

Carl Elliott scored 17 points to help George Washington to a 78-69 win over Rhode Island in the Atlantic 10 tournament championship and its third staright NCAA bid.

Brian Greene's buzzer-beating layup lifted Florida A&M to a 58-56 win over Delaware State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship.

Trey Johnson scored 33 points to lead Jackson State to an 81-71 win over Mississippi Valley State in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.

Miami of Ohio edged Akron 53-52 to win the Mid-American Conference automatic bid. Doug Penno banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Red Hawks.

New Mexico State beat Utah State 72-70 win the Western Athletic Conference automatic bid.