DENVER—The Colorado Avalanche downplayed their dominance over the defending Stanley Cup champions this season.No sense giving the Blackhawks any sort of bulletin board material, just in case the two teams meet again in the Postseason.Semyon Varlamov stopped 37 shots for his 100th NHL win, helping the Avalanche beat the Blackhawks 3-2 on Wednesday night to take four of five in the season series.

”I don’t want to talk about sending messages,” Varlamov said. ”We are focusing on what we are doing and on the playoffs.”

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville wasn’t reading too much into the Avalanche’s advantage, either. After all, the Avs only outscored the Hawks 17-14.

”There are going to be certain teams your record isn’t going to be as good as you like,” Quenneville said. ”It looks like it’s a landslide against you, but every game has been different. Every game has been close.”

That’s because these two squads are almost mirror images. They’re fast, young and have quality goaltending.The Blackhawks has been that way for years. The Avalanche are just coming of age under first-year coach Patrick Roy. He doesn’t mind the comparisons to the Hawks, but thinks it might be a little premature because of ”what they’ve been able to accomplish. But we certainly look up to them.”

Brad Malone scored his first goal of the season, Matt Duchene extended his points to a career-high nine games with a goal and an assist, and Ryan O’Reilly scored what turned out to be the game-winner on a two-man advantage as the Avalanche jumped over the Blackhawks in the Central Division standings and into second place.

”We are happy to be in second place, but that’s not our goal,” Duchene said. ”We want to keep pushing and climb as high as we can.”

Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad scored for the Hawks. Antti Raanta made 26 saves filling in for Corey Crawford. It was the first time Raanta has been in net since Jan. 28.Varlamov became the fourth Russian-born goaltender to record 100 wins, joining Evgeni Nabokov (347), Nikolai Khabibulin (333) and Ilya Bryzgalov (213). This also was Varlamov’s 33rd win, second-most in the league behind Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury (34).The Avalanche had a 5-on-3 opportunity for 1:30 midway through the third period following an interference call on Andrew Shaw and a delay of game by Marcus Kruger after he sent the puck into the seats.O’Reilly capitalized when he grabbed a rebound near the net and knocked it in for a 3-1 advantage.The Hawks pulled Raanta with 2:32 remaining and scored seconds later when Saad knocked the puck past Varlamov.The Blackhawks momentarily put Raanta back on the ice, but summoned him to the bench with 1:37 left, leading to a wild finish.Saad sent a backhander just over the net with 25 seconds left and lined a shot into the chest of Varlamov with 4.9 seconds remaining. After that save, the crowd began chanting ”Varly! Varly!”

”Varly has been playing outstanding for us,” Roy said. ”He gives us a chance to win every night.”

Duchene staked Colorado to a 2-0 lead 19 seconds into the second period when he sent a wrist shot past Raanta. The Blackhawks sliced into the lead at 8:23 when Kane skated down the right side with defenseman Jan Hejda hanging all over him. Kane found just enough separation to lift backhanded shot over the shoulder of Varlamov for his 29th goal of the season.Colorado was without forwards P.A. Parenteau (right knee) and Paul Stastny (back). The team called up Paul Carey and Malone from the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League to add depth.Carey made his NHL debut and Malone instantly contributed as he scored late in the opening period. Cruising along the left boards, Malone sent a low liner at Raanta that went right through his legs.

”It was a good shot. It was a surprising shot,” Raanta said. ”That’s how hockey treats you. You have to let those goals go and just keep going and try to make more saves.”

NOTES—Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews said of Colorado’s recent success against his team: ”We just need to stop playing into their hands.” … Varlamov had an assist on Malone’s goal, his third of the season. … Varlamov was 4-0 in five games (four starts) against the Blackhawks, with a 1.59 goals-against average. … Varlamov was given the puck to commemorate his 100th win. ”It was important that I save the puck,” he said.

NEW YORK—In his first Big East tournament game, Billy Garrett Jr. showed off the poise and playmaking that made him the conference’s rookie of the year.The freshman point guard scored 17 points, including the clinching free throws, and DePaul surprised Georgetown 60-56 on Wednesday night for only its second victory at the Big East tournament.

”I’m proud of them, but we want to stay longer,” DePaul coach Oliver Purnell said. ”We’ve got absolutely nothing to lose.”

Forrest Robinson snapped a second-half tie with consecutive 3-pointers and had 14 points for the 10th-seeded Blue Demons (12-20), who finished in last place during the regular season. After ending a 14-game losing streak to the Hoyas, DePaul will play Thursday night in the quarterfinals against second-seeded Creighton, ranked No. 14 in the nation.D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored 21 points to pace the seventh-seeded Hoyas (17-14), who were hoping a run to the championship game at Madison Square Garden could still squeeze them into the NCAA tournament after an up-and-down season.Those dreams were dashed with Georgetown’s first loss to DePaul since January 1994.

”This is disappointing to us, but you’ve got to give a whole heck of a lot of credit to Oliver and his team and his staff. They played a very good game,” Hoyas coach John Thompson III said. ”They were poised when they had to be poised, and they made the plays when they had to make the plays.”

Markel Starks added 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting for the Hoyas, who dropped five of their final seven games following a four-game winning streak that included a victory over then-No. 7 Michigan State.Besides its solid backcourt tandem of Smith-Rivera and Starks, a first-team all-Big East selection, Georgetown got only 18 points combined from the other seven players who saw action. Smith-Rivera was 10 for 10 at the foul line but 5 for 14 from the field for the Hoyas, who went 5 of 17 (29.4 percent) from 3-point range.Brandon Young had 13 points for the Blue Demons, who had lost 12 of 13 and were blown out at home by Butler 79-46 in their regular-season finale last Thursday.

”Obviously, that was a heck of a win for our ballclub, but I think our guys earned it every step of the way with their approach,” Purnell said. ”The last several days in practice, after the Butler game where we probably played as bad as we could, these guys came in with a proper attitude and really worked at it.”

DePaul’s only other win in eight Big East tournament games came against Cincinnati as a No. 16 seed in 2009. Of course, the conference has a much different look following the departures of past powers such as Syracuse, Connecticut, Pittsburgh and Louisville before this season.It also was the first Big East tournament victory in four tries for Purnell.Young, a senior guard, upped his career total to 1,877 points and passed Hall of Fame big man George Mikan (1,870) for fourth on the school’s all-time list.Starks hit a tying 3 with 8:52 left and motioned confidently toward DePaul’s bench that it should temper its excitement. But the Blue Demons, it turned out, had reason to feel good.Robinson connected from long range to snap a 45-all tie with 5:55 to go. Starks missed a 3 at the other end and Robinson drained another deep one before Garrett barely beat the shot clock with a tough basket in the lane to give DePaul an eight-point cushion.Georgetown cut it to 55-52 on two free throws by Smith-Rivera after Young fouled out with a minute to go. DePaul’s Durrell McDonald put up a desperation 3 to beat the shot clock, then alertly grabbed his own rebound when it bounced long off the front rim.Garrett, who picked up his Big East rookie of the year trophy at a news conference earlier in the day, then hit all four of his free throws in the final 22 seconds to seal it.

”In shootaround and practice, Coach preached free throws. He said every one counts and it’s going to come down to free throws, and it did,” said Garrett, the son of DePaul assistant Billy Garrett. ”So we listened to that, and we paid attention to it in practice, and we worked on it. When it came down the stretch, it really did come to free throws, and we were able to knock them down.”

Robinson went 4 of 5 from behind the 3-point line. The junior forward matched his career high for points, set Feb. 19 at Xavier.DePaul’s previous win over Georgetown was 78-51 at home on Jan. 22, 1994. Purnell improved to 1-6 against the Hoyas.

CLEVELAND—Karrington Ward scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Eastern Michigan defeated Northern Illinois 53-48 in a Mid-American Conference tournament quarterfinal game Wednesday.The victory over seventh-seeded Northern Illinois sends the No. 6 seed Eagles (20-13) into a Thursday semifinal game with No. 3 seed Buffalo (19-9), winner of the MAC East.NIU had a 35-24 advantage at the break, but the Huskies stalled after halftime, scoring just nine points in the first 14 minutes of the second period and opening the door to a 13-3 Eastern Michigan run that put the Eagles on top, 44-42, with 7:57 to play. Glenn Bryant made a tip-shot with 1:18 remaining and Ward and Daylen Harrison combined for 4 of 4 from the line in the final seconds to keep the Eagles on top.Jordan Threloff and Aaric Armstead had nine points each for the Huskies (15-17).

GREENSBORO—Coron Williams scored a season-high 25 points and Wake Forest beat Notre Dame 81-69 on Wednesday in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.Devin Thomas added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Williams hit four 3-pointers for the 12th-seeded Demon Deacons (17-15).They shot a season-best 61 percent, built a 33-23 rebounding advantage and earned their first ACC tournament win since 2007 – when the late Skip Prosser was their coach.Wake Forest will play fifth-seeded Pittsburgh (23-8) on Thursday in the second round.Pat Connaughton scored 19 points for the 13th-seeded Fighting Irish (15-17), who lost their ACC tournament debut. The league newcomers shot 40 percent and had won at least one game in their previous five Big East tournaments.Zach Auguste added 14 points, Eric Atkins had 13 and Garrick Sherman finished with 12 for the Irish, who briefly made things tense in the final moments when Atkins spun in a 3-pointer to make it 68-62 with 2:10 left.Wake Forest guard Codi Miller-McIntyre then missed the front end of a one-and-one with 1:55 to play, but teammate Arnaud William Adala Moto grabbed the offensive rebound – one of two missed free throws he rebounded in the final 2 minutes – and Williams then hit two free throws with 1:52 to go.Senior Travis McKie and Adala Moto each hit two foul shots, the last of which pushed the lead back to double figures at 74-64 with 1:22 remaining.Notre Dame didn’t get closer than eight the rest of the way.

This was one the Bulls were never in.Manu Ginobili scored 22 points and Tony Parker had 20 as the league-leading San Antonio Spurs beat the Bulls 104-96 on Tuesday night.Kawhi Leonard added 16 for San Antonio, which won its seventh straight and 10th in its last 11. The Spurs (47-16) maintained their hold on the NBA’s best record, staying ahead of Oklahoma City and Indiana, who both started play Tuesday a half-game behind the Spurs.San Antonio jumped out to a big lead early, taking a 61-33 advantage into halftime, including 18 from Parker. That helped them improve to 24-6 on the road, the NBA’s best mark away from home.The Bulls host Houston Thursday night.

DEKALB—Jordan Threloff split a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left in overtime for the games’ final point as seventh-seeded Northern Illinois beat No. 10 seed Bowling Green 54-51 in the first round of the Mid-American Conference tournament on Monday.Jehvon Clarke’s game-tying 3-point attempt was off the mark.Clarke’s trey to end regulation was Bowling Green’s only field goal in the final 4 minutes of the second half. Aaric Armstead made the first of two free throws with 25 seconds left to set up Clarke’s make.Threloff had 13 points and nine rebounds for Northern Illinios (15-16). Armstead finished with 12 points and had four of NIU’ 17 steals.Clarke had 15 points for Bowling Green (12-20) and Richaun Holmes and Cameron Black had 10 apiece. Holmes had 14 rebounds and Black added nine.Northern Illinois plays No. 6 Eastern Michigan on Wednesday in the second round.

Joakim Noah and Jimmy Butler understand it.The real victory for the Bulls will come when they’re knocking the Miami Heat out of the playoffs, not during the regular season — no matter how charged the atmosphere is.Even so, they’ll take this.Noah had 20 points and 12 rebounds, D.J. Augustin scored 22 and the Bulls beat the Miami Heat 95-88 in overtime Sunday after Butler blocked LeBron James at the end of regulation.

“I want what they have — a championship,” Noah said. “One day, we’re going to have to get through those guys.”

The Heat have owned them when it counts in recent seasons.With a healthy Derrick Rose and the No. 1 seed in 2011, the Bulls fell to Miami in the Eastern Conference finals. Last year, with Rose out, the Heat knocked off the Bulls in the second round on the way to their second straight championship.

“It’s still a good win,” Butler said. “It gives us confidence we can beat them. But … in the playoffs, like Thibs said, we can’t go around them; you’re going to have to go through them.”

Dwyane Wade scored 25 for Miami, but with James struggling again, the Heat dropped their third straight to match their longest losing streak of the season.James scored 17 points on 8-of-23 shooting and couldn’t come through after Miami blew a 12-point lead down the stretch. With a chance to win it at the end of regulation, he got stripped by Butler on a layup attempt.In overtime, it was all Bulls who outscored Miami 9-2, starting with Augustin’s 3 just under a minute in. Butler added a jumper from the wing, Noah scored on a putback and Butler hit two free throws to make it 95-86 with 1:33 left before James made a layup.Noah also had seven assists and five blocks with his dad — tennis great Yannick Noah — looking on.Butler added 16 points and 11 rebounds while containing James.Wade tried to carry the load for Miami, particularly in the early going. Chris Bosh scored 15, but James had another rough afternoon. The four-time MVP is 23 for 59 in the three games since his career-high and franchise-record 61-point effort against Charlotte last week.James also went without a mask from the start to protect his broken nose, after ditching it during the previous game. He said it was simply uncomfortable, so he decided to play without it even though he was not cleared to do so.The Bulls got back into it after the Heat led by 12 late in the third quarter.Augustin’s 3-pointer and Butler’s steal and two free throws put the Bulls ahead 75-74 midway through the fourth.It was 82-82 with just over two minutes left when Noah blocked a layup by James. Taj Gibson raced the other way for a thunderous dunk while getting fouled by Mario Chalmers, drawing a roar from the crowd.James tied it again on a layup with 1:10 left. Wade then stole the ball from Butler and hit two free throws after getting fouled inside by Noah to give Miami an 86-84 lead with 29.2 seconds remaining. But Kirk Hinrich quickly scooped in a runner to knot it at 86 with 20.1 seconds left.After a timeout, James took the inbounds pass and got stripped driving for a layup along the right side by Butler to send this one to overtime.

“I dropped the ball. It’s like a double entendre,” James said. “I actually dropped the ball, but I dropped the ball on my team. I had it. That’s a great play. I give a lot of credit to Jimmy. He got his hand on the ball, but I had the lane. I had the layup.”

NOTES—Things got a bit heated between James and Butler late in the first half. They got tangled going for a loose ball near the Heat basket after James tried to corral a long pass. As they hit the court, Butler’s foot hit James’ nose, and James appeared to push him. Both players got technicals. “Two competitors were down there,” Butler said. “Whatever happened, happened. But I don’t back down.” James brushed it off, saying, “Just two competitors going at it, one trying not to give an edge.” … The Bulls and Heat split the season series at 2-2.

BUFFALO—First, Patrick Kane gave his family and friends something to cheer about by scoring a highlight-reel goal in a rare trip home to Buffalo on Sunday night.Then, Kane stuck around an hour after the Blackhawks’ 2-1 victory against the Sabres, by posing for pictures and signing autographs in the stands.As homecomings go, Kane’s was nearly complete except that his beloved grandfather Donald Kane was not around to see it after passing away last month.

“No matter what, you’re going to miss him,” Kane said, following only his fourth NHL game at Buffalo. “But life goes on, and I think more importantly, I have a lot of family here at the game that came and supported me.”

Coach Joel Quenneville saw a jump during a performance in which Kane snapped a five-game goal drought that began after his grandfather’s death.

“I thought Kane was special,” Quenneville said. “He was a threat and had the puck on his stick tonight; very dangerous and nice to see him play well here at home.”

Kane opened the scoring 3:12 in, by capping a breath-taking rush. Bursting past defenseman Christian Ehrhoff, Kane snapped a shot through the legs of defenseman Chad Ruhwedel that beat goalie Jhonas Enroth over the left shoulder.Kane nearly made it 2-1 with 8 minutes left in the second period, when he got in alone behind the Sabres’ defense only to have his backhander stopped by Enroth. He also scored into an empty net, but a second after the final horn sounded.Captain Jonathan Toews secured the victory by scoring the go-ahead goal 1:34 into the third period.Corey Crawford stopped 20 shots, and the Blackhawks (38-13-14) snapped a two-game road skid.Drew Stafford scored for the league-worst Sabres (19-37-8), who had a three-game home winning streak snapped.Stafford capped a nifty three-way passing play to tie the game midway through the first period. Tyler Ennis started it by finding trailing forward Cory Conacher driving up the left wing. Conacher drew Crawford from out of the net and slipped a pass into the crease where Stafford jammed it in after his first chance was blocked by Brent Seabrook.The assist for Ennis made up for a goal he had disallowed a few minutes earlier, when he was called for hooking Crawford.

“I didn’t think it was a penalty, and frustrated that I had the goal taken away,” Ennis said. “But I don’t think that was the turning point.”

The difference was the Sabres’ ongoing difficulties on offense, which has managed a league-low 122 goals.Buffalo’s power play went 0-for-5 on Sunday, and is 0-for-10 over its past four games.Enroth stopped 29 shots and had little chance on either of the two goals he gave up.With the game tied at 1 and the Sabres mounting a threat in the Hawks end to open the third period, Toews answered by capping a 3-on-2 rush the other way. Andrew Shaw crossed Buffalo’s blue line and found Brandon Saad breaking up the right wing. Saad drew Enroth his way before steering a pass through the crease to Toews, who then snapped it in the open side.It was Toews’ 25th goal of the season and sixth in four games.Toews has shown little sign of a post-Olympic hangover after he helped Canada win a gold medal at Sochi.

“I think he’s returned from the Olympics in great shape, very confident,” Quenneville said. “He just seems to have the knack, has good pace with it, has the puck a lot as well. And when he’s around the net, he’s getting rewarded.”

The Blackhawks extended their winning streak to five games against the Sabres. And with 90 points, they jumped into third place in the Western Conference standings, a point ahead of idle San Jose.

NOTES—Kane was the last Hawks player off the ice following pregame warmups and got a big cheer after flipping a puck into a large crowd of Blackhawks jersey-wearing fans behind the team’s bench. … Sabres C Conacher made his debut with Buffalo since being claimed Wednesday, a day after being waived by Ottawa. Conacher played college at Buffalo’s Canisius and is from nearby Burlington, Ontario. … The Sabres suspended D Rostislav Klesla for failing to report to the team’s AHL affiliate in Rochester. Acquired in a trade with Washington on Wednesday, Klesla told Canadian broadcaster TSN that he intended to not finish the NHL season, and instead planned to continue his career in Europe.

WEST LAFAYETTE—Drew Crawford had 27 points and seven rebounds and Alex Olah added 14 points and seven rebounds to lead Northwestern to a 74-65 victory over Purdue on Sunday in the regular season finale for both teams.The Wildcats (13-18, 6-12 Big Ten), who snapped a league-worst seven-game skid, closed out the first half on a 6-2 run to take a 28-21 lead at halftime. Northwestern went on a 9-2 run midway through the second half capped off with a 3-pointer by Sanjay Lumpkin with 11:17 remaining for a 45-32 lead.Rapheal Davis had 13 points and nine rebounds and A.J. Hammons added 13 points for the Boilermakers (15-16, 5-13), who have lost six straight.The two teams, who sit at the bottom of the league standings, fought for better seeding in the league tournament in Indianapolis starting Thursday.But it’s been a touch stretch for Northwestern and Purdue and the long losing streaks haven’t helped. Four of Purdue’s six losses came to top 20 teams. The Wildcats dropped two games to ranked opponents in the final stretch of the regular season.The Wildcats finally pulled away midway through the second half.Crawford scored to give Northwestern a 36-27 lead before Hammons was fouled on a basket and converted the 3-point play to make it 36-30 with 14:07 remaining.Olah scored, Nikola Cerina grabbed a steal from Davis and Crawford made a free throw before Lumpkin’s 3 to put the Wildcats ahead by 12.The Boilermakers honored four seniors on senior day. Terone Johnson, Travis Carroll, Errick Peck, and Sterling Carter were recognized after the game.Terone Johnson and Carroll have each spent the last four seasons with the Boilermakers. Carter transferred from Seattle University and Peck moved in from Cornell after last season.Purdue went on a run late in the game.Kale Abrahamson, who finished with seven points and five rebounds, scored to give the Wildcats a 56-41 lead before Kendall Stephens hit a 3-pointer to spark a 10-2 run.Terone Johnson scored a free throw and a lay-up and Hammons hit a jumper and two free throws to make it 58-51 with 4:29 remaining. Tre Demps and Abrahamson each scored a free throw before Davis made a 3 to make it 60-54 with 2:44 left.The Boilermakers shot just 19 percent in the first half and the Wildcats took a 22-16 lead when Olah hit a 3-pointer.Carroll missed a 3, but grabbed the rebound and Peck hit a 3-pointer to make it 22-19 before the Wildcats closed out the first half on a 6-2 run.Olah scored before Stephens made two free throws for Purdue to make it 24-21.Crawford made a pair of free throws before Dave Sobolewski blocked a 3-point attempt by Stephens and Demps scored on a fast-break lay-up to give the Wildcats a 28-21 halftime lead.

IOWA CITY—Illinois didn’t have any timeouts to draw up a final play so senior Jon Ekey just waited on the wing.His patience was paid off.Ekey hit a deep, contested 3-pointer in the final second to lift Illinois to a 66-63 victory over No. 24 Iowa on Saturday night.

“It felt good,” Ekey said of the release. “They switched it. They guarded it well.”

Rayvonte Rice scored 15 points to lead the Illini (18-13, 7-11 Big Ten), who notched consecutive road wins against ranked opponents for the first time since 2005.Iowa’s Roy Devyn Marble — the Big Ten’s leading scorer — was held to eight points on 3-of-11 shooting. The struggling Hawkeyes (20-11, 9-9) have lost five of their last six games.A foul on Iowa’s Mike Gesell with 13.8 seconds remaining reset the shot clock and gave Illinois the final shot.On the final play, Illinois’ Tracy Abram dribbled down the final seconds at top of the key. Abram first looked to Rice, but when he was covered the ball kicked out to Ekey, who drained the 30-foot game-winner over the outstretched arm of 6-foot-9 Aaron White with a half-second on the game clock. Iowa’s desperation heave from the baseline was picked off.

“We’re playing the best we’ve played all year on both ends,” Illinois coach John Groce said. “You want to have momentum and you want to be playing well.”

Ekey, who finished with 12 points, hit another big 3-pointer with 3:03 left to give the Illini a 63-59 lead.The Hawkeyes misfired on their next few trips. Gesell missed a 3-pointer, Adam Woodbury threw away the ball and White mishandled a pass.Illinois split the season series with Iowa despite 13 turnovers that led to 23 points for the Hawkeyes. The Illini were coming off a home loss to No. 12 Michigan on Tuesday, but had beaten then No. 18 Michigan State in East Lansing on March 1.Iowa is 15-4 this season when making at least five 3-pointers.Marble — the only player in the Big Ten to score in double figures in every game before Saturday — had scored at least 20 points in each of the last five games.Illinois snapped the Hawkeyes’ 30-game home winning streak against unranked opponents.Illinois trailed most of the second half before Joseph Bertrand’s jumper gave the Illini a 55-54 lead with 8:37 left.The Hawkeyes tied it up twice after that, but never regained the lead.Illinois’ Nnanna Egwu had 14 points and six rebounds.White led Iowa with 12 points and eight rebounds, and Woodbury added 11 points.Iowa dug out of an early deficit with a 17-1 run in the first half.Illinois opened the game with a 20-6 lead after scoring on eight of its first 10 possessions against the Hawkeyes’ zone. Then McCaffery shifted to a smaller, quicker lineup and the Hawkeyes turned up the defensive intensity with tight man-to-man pressure.Illinois went nearly eight minutes without a field goal as Iowa took a 23-21 lead.Almost all of that first-half spurt came without Marble, who picked up an early second foul and played only nine minutes in the first half.The Hawkeyes honored seniors Marble, Melsahn Basabe, Zach McCabe and Darius Stokes on the floor before the game.McCabe set a school record by playing in his 134th game.