COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — No. 3 Ohio State is heading to the Big Ten championship game Dec. 19 against No. 15 Northwestern. Big Ten athletic directors and administrators have voted to drop the six-game minimum requirement for teams to be eligible for the game. Ohio State finished the regular season with only five games after Michigan had to pull out of Saturday’s showdown because of COVID-19 issues. The Buckeyes are hoping for a league title to help burnish their resume for a playoff berth.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Scottie Barnes banked in a runner with with two seconds left in overtime to give No. 20 Florida State a 69-67 victory over Indiana on Wednesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge for its 25th straight home victory. The freshman had nine points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals for the Seminoles. Florida State has won 40 straight nonconference home games, and 10 overtime games in a row. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 25 points and 17 rebounds for Indiana. The Hoosiers did not make a basket from the floor in the final 4:38 of overtime.
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Xavier Johnson scored 21 points and fed Justin Champagnie for the game-winning basket with 5.6-seconds to play and Pittsburgh rallied to defeat Northwestern 71-70 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. After Boo Buie missed a pair of free throws with 16.3 seconds left, Johnson took the ball up court and penetrated along the left side of the lane, dumping the ball underneath to Champagnie when the double-team came. That was the only lead of the game for the Panthers and Northwestern never got a good look at a winning basket. Champagnie scored 20 points and corralled a career-high 20 rebounds for Pitt. Buie led Northwestern with 14 points.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Jose Alvarado scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half and led Georgia Tech to a 75-64 victory over Nebraska in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It was the second straight win for the Yellow Jackets (2-2), who beat Kentucky 79-62 after home losses to Georgia State and Mercer. Alvarado picked up his fourth foul with 18:25 remaining but returned about four minutes later with the Yellow Jackets trailing 43-39. Alvarado scored 15 points, including three consecutive 3-pointers during a 30-14 stretch, that gave Georgia Tech a 69-57 lead with 2:09 to play. Kobe Webster made six 3-pointers and finished with 20 points for Nebraska (3-2).
UNDATED (AP) — Mel Tucker has a penchant for long video conferences with reporters, full of extensive, methodical answers. The new Michigan State coach says his verbose approach as an attempt to help the media get to know him. It could also be read as an attempt to help his new fan base learn more about its coach. In a season of empty seats and video conference calls, it hasn’t necessarily been easy for Tucker to build a bond with Michigan State fans at large — but they should have a decent sense by now of how he operates.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Brad Davison scored 23 points, and No. 13 Wisconsin beat Rhode Island 73-62 in a nonconference game added to the schedule two days ago. Wisconsin originally was slated to host No. 25 Louisville on Wednesday as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, but the Cardinals canceled their second consecutive game following a positive COVID-19 test within the program. Rhode Island was added as a replacement on Monday.
UNDATED (AP) — The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12, Southeastern Conference, American Athletic Conference and Sun Belt championship game matchups are locked in, leaving no drama this weekend in those leagues. The ACC even went ahead and gave No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 4 Clemson the week off ahead of the Dec. 19 showdown. What’s left to be decided? Spots in the Pac-12, Mountain West, C-USA and MAC title games.
