LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s celebrated hiring of Fred Hoiberg has not yet sparked a turnaround in the long-suffering basketball program. Hoiberg is in his third season in Lincoln and is 20-54 overall and 5-38 in the Big Ten. His .270 winning percentage is the lowest through any Nebraska coach’s first 74 games. Hoiberg said several factors have slowed his progress. Among them are the late start he got recruiting his first team, a long COVID-19 pause last season and illness and a key injury this season. The Huskers play at Rutgers on Saturday.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan defensive back Daxton Hill is entering the NFL draft and skipping his senior season. The All-Big Ten player made the announcement on his Instagram account Thursday night. He started for the second-ranked Wolverines in their loss to No. 3 Georgia in the Orange Bowl last Saturday night. Hill’s status for was uncertain because he did not join the team until just a few days before the game. Coach Jim Harbaugh said that Michigan’s second-leading tackler had not been with the team throughout the week of preparation for the College Football Playoff semifinal, but declined to give any other details.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Trayce Jackson-Davis had 27 points and 12 rebounds, and Indiana used stifling defense down the stretch to pull away for a 67-51 victory over No. 13 Ohio State. Jackson-Davis made 11 of 17 from the field for the Hoosiers, who went on a 13-0 run while holding Ohio State without a field goal for more than five minutes. Malaki Branham led the Buckeyes with 13 points and E.J. Liddell scored 11. Ohio State was held to 30.8% shooting and committed 15 turnovers, including five in the last 6:41. The Hoosiers held a 41-33 rebounding edge.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Kofi Cockburn scored 23 points and tied a career-high 18 rebounds and Illinois rallied after squandering an early lead to beat Maryland 76-64. The Illini sprinted to a 21-7 lead with Cockburn scoring a third of those points. His last basket of the first half put Illinois up 14 with 10:50 before the break, but 16 seconds later he picked up his second foul and went to the bench. Maryland took advantage and erupted with a 23-7 outburst and took its first lead (30-28) on Donta Scott’s 3 with 2:30 before halftime. Scott scored 17 points.
UNDATED (AP) — The NCAA has updated its pandemic-related protocols for winter sports athletes and teams to follow updated CDC guidelines. The biggest recommendation is a booster for those who are beyond two months of receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, five months of receiving the Pfizer or six months of receiving the Moderna vaccine. The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball committees also issued a joint statement encouraging schools to adhere to conference policies when scheduling replacement games or rescheduling postponed games and that coach and player absences would be taken into account when teams are evaluated for inclusion in the national tournaments.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Diamond Miller scored a season-high 24 points, Ashley Owusu added 20, and No. 10 Maryland never trailed as it routed Penn State 106-78. The Terrapins bounced back from Sunday’s 70-63 overtime loss at Indiana and won their 31st consecutive home game. Makenna Marisa scored 24 of her 29 points in the second half for Penn State. The Nittany Lions hadn’t played since Dec. 18 because of a COVID-19 pause. They were also without forward Ali Brigham, their second-leading scorer.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Veronica Burton scored 25 points and led Northwestern during an 11-3 run in the final minutes as the Wildcats beat No. 22 Iowa 77-69. It was the sixth-straight win for Northwestern (10-3, 2-0 Big Ten), which hadn’t played in nearly three weeks since having its game against Oregon canceled and two Big Ten games postponed. It was its third win in a row against Iowa (7-4, 1-1). Melannie Daley added 22 points for Northwestern. Iowa’s leading scorer Caitlin Clark, averaging 24.1 points, had 30 against the Wildcats. Monika Czinano had 20 points and McKenna Warnock 14.
