RJ Luis Jr. scored all but two of his 29 points after halftime and No. 6 St. John’s made 14 straight shots from the field in the second half to beat Creighton 82-66 Saturday night for its first Big East Tournament title in 25 years.

Zuby Ejiofor added 20 points and Kadary Richmond had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the top-seeded Red Storm (30-4), who reached 30 wins for the third time in program history before a roaring hometown crowd at sold-out Madison Square Garden.

They earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for their first trip since 2019, making 72-year-old Hall of Famer Rick Pitino the first coach to take six schools to the Big Dance. The others were Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona.

“For all the St. John’s fans, this is for you!” Pitino proclaimed during a postgame interview on the court. “St. John’s is New York’s team!”

Houston ramps up ‘D’ to beat Arizona: Milos Uzan poured in 25 points, Emanuel Sharpe added 17 and second-ranked Houston turned up its trademark defense in the final minute to hold on for a 72-64 victory over Arizona in the Big 12 Tournament title game Saturday night.

Colorado State hits record 12 3s to beat Boise State in MWC championship: Nique Clifford scored 24 points and No. 2 seed Colorado State made a Mountain West championship Tournament-record 12 3s and beat fifth-seeded Boise State 69-56 on Saturday night for its first title since 2003.

Evans, Timberlake power Bryant to America East Tournament title: Barry Evans scored 19 points, Earl Timberlake added 17 and top-seeded Bryant cruised to the America East championship, defeating No. 3-seed Maine 77-59 on Saturday.

Ings hits go-ahead free throw, and Norfolk State claims MEAC crown: Christian Ings scored 16 points, including the go-ahead free throw with eight seconds left, and top-seeded Norfolk State held off a wild rally by No. 2-seed South Carolina State for a 66-65 victory in the MEAC Tournament title game on Saturday.

Tennessee able to hold off Auburn: Zakai Zeigler scored 20 points as No. 8 Tennessee held off regular-season champion and third-ranked Auburn 70-65 on Saturday to reach the SEC Tournament tile game for the first time since 2022.

Clayton scores 22 as Florida beats Alabama: Walter Clayton Jr. scored 22 points, and No. 4 Florida pulled away from No. 5 Alabama for a 104-82 victory in the SEC Tournament semis on Saturday.

Flagg will be available for March Madness: Top-ranked Duke and the Atlantic Coast Conference have informed the NCAA Tournament selection committee that freshman Cooper Flagg will be available for March Madness, NCAA senior vice president for basketball Dan Gavitt said Saturday.

Haggerty leads Memphis: PJ Haggerty scored 18 points as No. 16 Memphis beat Tulane 78-77 on Saturday to advance to the AAC Tournament title game.