CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Da’Monte Williams made four 3-pointers on his way to a season-high 14 points, helping No. 20 Illinois hold off Penn State 60-55. The victory keeps the Illini in contention for a share of the conference title if they beat Iowa and Wisconsin loses to the Nebraska on Sunday. The Badgers have already clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title, and could win it outright by beating the Cornhuskers. Jalen Pickett had 18 points, seven assists and five rebounds to lead Penn State.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Keegan Murray scored 15 of his 23 points in the first half to help No. 24 Iowa build a big lead, and the streaking Hawkeyes went on to beat Michigan 82-71. The Hawkeyes led 47-30 at halftime and coasted to their fifth straight victory and eighth win in nine games. The Wolverines are the only team to beat Iowa since mid-February. Michigan had no shot to win the rematch because it simply could not slow down Iowa’s dynamic and balanced offense.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Malaki Branham scored 22 points and No. 23 Ohio State snapped a two-game losing streak with an 80-69 win over Michigan State. Branham scored 15 of his points in the second half and finished 9 of 16 from the floor. The Buckeyes made their first five shots in the opening 2:47 and sped to a 13-0 lead. Michigan State rallied and closed within two points with just over eight minutes left in the first half. Gabe Brown led Michigan State with 13 points and Marcus Bingham Jr. added 11.
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (AP) — Rick Pitino says he loves coaching at Iona and is committed to his players amid speculation he could be a candidate for the Maryland coaching job. Pitino said on Twitter that Maryland can be one of the nation’s best basketball programs and he hopes the Terrapins find the next Gary Williams. But he said it will not be him. Pitino won national titles coaching Kentucky and Louisville. He is in his second season at Iona. Maryland coach Mark Turgeon stepped down in early December. Assistant Danny Manning took over the program as interim coach.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Ali Patberg scored 19 points and Grace Berger had 17 to help No. 14 Indiana end a three-game losing streak with a 66-54 win over Rutgers in the second round of the Big Ten Conference tournament. MacKenzie Holmes had 11 points for the fifth-seeded Hoosiers, who reached 20 wins for the seventh straight season. Indiana faces the four seed, 11th-ranked Maryland, in the quarterfinals on Friday. Osh Brown and Sayawni Lassiter both had 12 points 13th-seeded Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights lost Shug Dickson, who had eight points, to an ankle injury on their opening possession of the second half.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Nina Clouden scored 23 points, including the clinching free throws with 2.5 seconds left, and Michigan State edged Purdue 73-69 in the second round of the Big Ten Conference tournament. Clouden, the leading free-throw shooter in the league, was 10 of 11 from the line but the miss was one of four the eighth-seeded Spartans missed in the last 31 seconds, keeping the ninth-seeded Boilermakers in the game. Michigan State plays top-seeded Ohio State in the quarterfinals. A Jeanae Terry 3-pointer and Abbey Ellis’ layup with five seconds to go put the pressure on Clouden, an 88% free throw shooter. Ellis and Madison Layden scored 17 points each for the Boilermakers.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Veronica Burton had 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Lauryn Satterwhite added 15 points and a late block and No. 7 seed Northwestern beat 10th-seeded Minnesota 65-60 in the second round of the Big Ten Conference tournament. Northwestern advances to play Caitlin Clark and 12th-ranked Iowa in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Wildcats beat the Big Ten co-champion Hawkeyes 77-69 on Jan. 6 and lost 72-67 in overtime at home on Jan. 28. Courtney Shaw had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Jillian Brown added 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists for Northwestern. Kadiatou Sissoko had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota (14-17), which won the only regular-season meeting with Northwestern after making 10 3-pointers.
