Bryce Alford had five three-pointers among his 23 points, Kevon Looney had 13 points and 13 rebounds, and UCLA defeated visiting USC 85-74 Wednesday night to win its third straight and lock up a first-round bye in next week’s Pac-12 tournament. UCLA (19-12, 11-7), which has lost only to Gonzaga in 17 home games this season, stands fourth in the conference and swept fifth-place Stanford (18-10, 9-7). Elgin Cook had 17 points and Dwayne Benjamin’s three-pointer with 3:48 to play put the visiting Ducks (23-8, 13-5 Pac-12) ahead for good against the Beavers (17-13, 8-10) in a second half with six lead changes. The Spartans (2-27, 0-17 Mountain West) fell behind the first-place Broncos (23-7, 13-4) for good in the opening minutes and will post the school’s worst post-World War I record with a loss in Saturday’s finale. Freshman Grayson Allen had a season-best 27 points, and the host Blue Devils (27-3, 14-3 ACC) routed the Demon Deacons (13-17, 5-12) for their 10th straight win. Demetrius Jackson scored 21 points and the visiting Irish (25-5, 13-4) hit their final seven shots to beat the Cardinals (23-7, 11-6) and clinch third in the ACC. D’Angelo Russell (28 points) keyed the Buckeyes (22-8, 11-6 Big Ten) over the host Nittany Lions (15-15, 3-14) as coach Thad Matta tied Fred Taylor atop the school’s coaching win list with 297. Ben Bentil scored a career-high 21 points and added 10 rebounds, and the visiting Friars (21-9, 11-6 Big East) rallied past the Pirates (16-13, 6-11).