LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Alonzo Verge Jr. scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half and Nebraska picked up its first Big Ten Conference win of the season with a 78-65 victory over Minnesota. Freshman Bryce McGowens had seven points and older brother Trey McGowens scored six with four assists to guide the Cornhuskers to a 32-21 lead at halftime. Minnesota shot just 37% in the first half and missed all nine of its 3-point tries. Verge took over in the second half, knocking down 7 of 8 shots after intermission to help Nebraska (7-17, 1-12) snap a 10-game losing streak. Jamison Battle sank 5 of 9 from 3-point range and scored 21 points — all in the second half — to pace Minnesota (11-10, 2-10), which has lost five straight.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Angel Reese had 19 points and nine rebounds, Chloe Bibby scored 16 points, and No. 15 Maryland beat Wisconsin 70-43 for its sixth straight win. Bibby scored eight points in the first quarter to help Maryland build a 22-8 lead after closing on an 11-0 run. Reese scored six points in Maryland’s 11-0 run at the start of the second quarter for a 23-point lead. The Terps led by 20-plus points over the final 17 minutes. Shyanne Sellers added 12 points for Maryland. Brooke Schramek led Wisconsin with 16 points.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Ali Patberg scored a season-high 26 points to lead No. 7 Indiana to a 93-61 win over Illinois. The Hoosiers hit six of their first seven shots, and Patberg opened the game on a tear, hitting a jumper and a layup early. She nailed a second-chance 3 with 2:30 to go in the opening quarter as the Hoosiers raced out to a 24-6 lead. Patberg went 4 of 6 in the second quarter, scoring 12 points to power the Hoosiers (17-3, 9-1 Big Ten) to a 54-24 halftime advantage. Adalia McKenzie led Illinois (6-13, 1-7) with 14 points off the bench while Jayla Oden added 13 points.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Caitlin Clark scored 32 points and No. 25 Iowa scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to pull out an 88-78 win over Minnesota. Monika Czinano scored six of her 23 points in that run, which included a three-point play by Clark, to help the Hawkeyes open a 73-61 lead after entering the final quarter with a 62-61 advantage. Deja Winters had a career-high 30 points for the Golden Gophers. Iowa opened a 13-point lead on a Kylie Feuerbach 3-pointer in the middle of the second quarter but Sara Scalia scored eight straight, including consecutive 3-pointers, to help Minnesota get within 42-37 at the half.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Brian Williams is taking over as Maryland’s defensive coordinator. Williams has been on the staff for all three of Michael Locksley’s seasons as head coach. He was outside linebackers coach in 2019, defensive line coach in 2020 and became co-defensive coordinator in 2021. Maryland said Wednesday he’ll continue coaching the defensive line. Maryland also announced that Lance Thompson and Wes Neighbors were added to the staff. Thompson will serve as inside linebackers coach, and Neighbors will coach safeties.
UNDATED (AP) — An advocacy group for college athletes has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. The goal is to give employee status to college athletes. That would give them the right to competitive pay, collective bargaining and other benefits. The National College Players Association filed the unfair labor practice charges against the NCAA, Pac-12, UCLA and the University of Southern California as single and joint employers of Bowl Subdivision football players and Division I men’s and women’s basketball players. The move comes after the NLRB’s general counsel wrote in a memo she views college athletes to be employees.
