COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

Jesse Bunkley scored 15 points and Brandon Bowdry added nine points and 15 rebounds to help Eastern Michigan hold off Ball State 51-48 Wednesday and move into the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament.

It was the Eagles' first MAC tournament victory since they won the championship in 1998.

Eastern Michigan (13-18) led by as many as 15 in the first half behind Bunkley's five 3-pointers, but committed 25 turnovers and nearly let Ball State steal a win.

Despite not scoring for the first six minutes of the second half, the Cardinals rallied behind Skip Mills and Anthony Newell, who finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Micah Rollin hit a free throw with 51 seconds left to cap a 7-0 run and pull Ball State (9-22) within 49-48.

West Virginia 92, Providence 79: West Virginia made a Big East tournament record 17 3-pointers and the seventh-seeded Mountaineers won in the opening round.

The victory kept alive West Virginia's chances of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament should it not win the conference title. Frank Young and Alex Ruoff each scored 21 points for the Mountaineers, who moved to the quarterfinals against second-seeded Louisville.

The Friars beat the Mountaineers 64-61 on Feb. 20, but West Virginia was just 9-for-41 from behind the arc in that game.

Cent. Connecticut 74, Sacred Heart 70: Hey Huskies, are you jealous?

Central Connecticut, which has played for years in the shadow of the mighty Connecticut Huskies, won the Northeast Conference tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

The Blue Devils (21-11) play in a 3,200-seat gym, dress only nine players, have just one player who was recruited by another major school -- and they'll be the only team from the Nutmeg state in the NCAA tournament this season.

UConn (17-14), which has won two national titles in the last eight years, continued its disappointing season earlier Wednesday by losing in the opening round of the Big East tournament. While UConn will miss the NCAAs for the first time since 2001, Central Connecticut is making its third appearance in seven years.

Women's basektball

No. 22 Wis.-Green Bay 81, Detroit 58: Amanda Popp scored a career-high 22 points and Rachel Porath added 17, all in the first half, to lead Wisconsin-Green Bay in a Horizon League tournament quarterfinal.

Porath went 6-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line in helping top-seeded Wisconsin-Green Bay (26-3) to a 42-24 halftime lead. Popp scored 14 of her points in the second half to put the game away for the Phoenix, who will host Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a semifinal Friday.

Crown Point grad Alex Webster played sparingly as Green Bay won its 23rd consecutive game, the second-longest winning streak in the nation behind Middle Tennessee State's 26.