ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard has been suspended the final five games of the regular season and fined $40,000 for hitting a Wisconsin assistant in the head, triggering a postgame melee. The Big Ten Conference also suspended three players one game for the altercation following the 15th-ranked Badgers’ 77-63 win on Sunday: Michigan’s Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams II, and Jahcobi Neath of Wisconsin. Wisconsin coach Greg Gard was fined $10,000 for violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy, but was not suspended. Howard is expected to be back for the Big Ten tournament, which begins March 9 in Indianapolis.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Malaki Branham scored 27 points and No. 22 Ohio State rallied to beat Indiana 80-69 in overtime. Indiana led by four with 2:47 to go in regulation, but E.J. Liddell forced a steal with 1:11 remaining and slammed home the tying dunk with six seconds left. The Hoosiers jumped ahead by two early in overtime, but Jamari Wheeler hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:58 left as Ohio State took the lead for good. Liddell had 16 points and Eugene Brown III scored 10. The Buckeyes led by 10 with 12:06 remaining in the second half, but the Hoosiers used an 18-4 run to grab a 59-55 lead with 5:09 left. Xavier Johnson led Indiana with 16 points, going 10 of 10 from the free-throw line.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Monika Czinano scored 31 points and had 10 rebounds, and Caitlin Clark added 29 points, as No. 21 Iowa defeated No. 10 Indiana 88-82 on Monday night. It was the second time in three days the Hawkeyes (18-7, 12-4 Big Ten) defeated the Hoosiers (19-6, 11-4). Czinano, third in the nation in field-goal percentage, was 13 of 17 from the field. She had nine points in Iowa’s 11-0 fourth-quarter run that gave the Hawkeyes a 76-70 lead. Clark, the nation’s leading scorer at 26.8 points per game, was 9 of 20 from the field, but went 9 of 9 in free throws. She also had eight rebounds and eight assists.
UNDATED (AP) — Gonzaga is the unanimous No. 1 in the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll. The Zags aren’t likely to budge the way they’re dominating the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga remained at No. 1 for the second straight week, receiving all 61 votes from a media panel. Arizona moved up a spot to No. 2 for its highest ranking in four years, with Auburn, Purdue and Kansas rounding out the top five. Gonzaga is winning its WCC games by an average of 27 points. Saint Mary’s gave the WCC two ranked teams and No. 25 Iowa moved into the poll for the first time this season.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Fatts Russell scored eight of his 18 points at the free-throw line with less than a minute to play and Maryland held off Penn State 67-61. Maryland (13-14, 5-11 Big Ten Conference) didn’t have a basket in the last 6:20 of the game and didn’t score until Russell made the first of two free throws with 53 seconds remaining to put the Terps up 60-53. Sam Sessoms and Myles Dread both made 3-pointers to twice get Penn State (11-13, 6-10) within four points, but Russell sank 7 of 8 free throws in the final 40 seconds to preserve the win. Russell is 25 points shy of 2,000 for his career. Sessoms scored 17 to pace Penn State.
UNDATED (AP) — LSU has moved into the top 10 of The Associated Press women’s basketball poll for the first time in 13 years. Coach Kim Mulkey’s Tigers climbed three places to No. 8. LSU has 23 victories, its most since the 2011-12 season. Mulkey won three national titles in 21 years as Baylor’s coach and this is her first season with LSU. South Carolina remained the unanimous No. 1 team in the poll. The Gamecocks were followed by Stanford, North Carolina State, Louisville and Baylor. Michigan, Connecticut, Iowa State and Indiana round out the top 10. The Hoosiers fell five spots after losing twice.
UNDATED (AP) — North Carolina’s hopes for an NCAA Tournament berth became even more tenuous after a loss to Pittsburgh. The Tar Heels bounced back nicely with a win over Virginia Tech for their first Quadrant 1 win in eight tries. North Carolina got an added boost with Michigan’s climb up the NET rankings. The Wolverines moved up to No. 29 in the most recent rankings, giving the Tar Heels two Quad 1 wins in their bid to reach the NCAA Tournament in coach Hubert Davis’ first season. Whether it stays that way is up in the air after Michigan lost to No. 15 Wisconsin on Sunday.
