HOUSTON (AP) — No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Washington playing for the College Football Playoff national championship on Monday night is just about the perfect way to close the 2023 season. The matchup of unbeatens hits all the major themes of the past five months from conference realignment to the transfer portal — with Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh as the main character. Michael Penix Jr., the sixth-year quarterback who revived his career by transferring to Washington, and the Huskies will try to deliver the Pac-12 its first championship since 2004 in their last football game before joining Michigan in the Big Ten.
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Ty Berry scored 22 points, Boo Buie had his first career double-double and Northwestern beat Michigan State 88-74 to snap the Spartans’ five-game win streak. Berry made 7 of 11 from the field, 4 of 7 from 3-point range and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. Buie was just 6-of-15 shooting, 1 of 6 from 3-point range, but finished with 19 points and a career-high 10 assists with no turnovers. Berry hit a 3-pointer to give Northwestern the lead for good before Langborg capped a 13-4 spurt with a jumper that made it 31-26 with 6:32 left until halftime. Tyson Walker scored 27 points for Michigan State. Northwestern has won three in a row against the Spartan for the first time in more than 60 years.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Cam Christie scored 12 points, Elijah Hawkins and Dawson Garcia made big plays down the stretch and Minnesota upped its win streak to seven by ending a 10-game losing streak to Maryland with a 65-62 victory. Christie sank 5 of 12 shots with two 3-pointers for the Golden Gophers (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten), who have won three of their first four conference games for the first time since the 2016-17 season. Garcia totaled 11 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots. Hawkins finished with 10 points, nine assists and six steals. Joshua Ola-Joseph scored 10 on 5-for-9 shooting. Jahmir Young led the Terrapins (9-6, 1-3) with 20 points, adding eight rebounds.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ace Baldwin Jr. scored 25 points and Penn State scored 52 points in the second half to rally past Michigan 79-73 at the historic Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. After trailing by as many as 14 points and never taking the lead in the first half, the Nittany Lions outscored Michigan 27-12 over the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Nittany Lions went on to lead by 11 points and Baldwin’s six-point run helped them maintain a nine-point advantage heading to the final two minutes. Michigan got within four points twice in the final minute, but Penn State made 7 of 8 from the line to secure the victory.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Mackenzie Holmes had 22 points, Sydney Parrish hit six 3-pointers and scored 20, and Sara Scalia sank five 3s and scored 19 as No. 14 Indiana cruised past Nebraska 91-69 for its 12th straight victory. Holmes made 10 of 14 shots and grabbed six rebounds for the Hoosiers (13-1, 4-0 Big Ten Conference). Parrish sank 7 of 11 shots — 6 of 7 from beyond the arc. She also had six boards. Scalia hit 5 of 10 from distance, adding seven assists and six rebounds. Chloe Moore-McNeil pitched in with 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting. Alexis Markowski had 21 points for the Cornhuskers (11-4, 3-1) on 9-for-14 shooting.
HOUSTON (AP) — With NFL franchises apparently intrigued with Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh again, the question hanging over the College Football Playoff national championship game Monday night between the top-ranked Wolverines and No. 2 Washington is: Could this be his last as the coach of his alma mater? Harbaugh was having none of the speculation at media day. What makes the latest round of will-he-or-won’t-he with Harbaugh and the NFL unique is how it has reverberated all the way out to Seattle, where Washington has been working on a new contract for Kalen DeBoer since November.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Tyler Wahl scored 17 points to lead five Wisconsin players in double figures and the 21st-ranked Badgers beat Nebraska 88-72 on Saturday to snap the Cornhuskers’ five-game winning streak. Wisconsin has won four straight and 10 of 11. Chucky Hepburn had 13 points, Connor Essegian scored 12 and AJ Storr and John Blackwell scored 10 each as the Badgers never trailed. Keisei Tominaga had 17 points, Rienk Mast scored 16 and Brice Williams scored 10 for Nebraska.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Malik Reneau made 10 of 16 from the field and scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half, Xavier Johnson added 18 points and Indiana beat Ohio State 71-65. Reneau’s alley-oop dunk gave Indiana a 10-point lead with 3:34 left. Jamison Battle answered with a 3, Felix Okpara made two free throws and then layup, but missed a free throw before Battle grabbed the offensive rebound. Roddy Gayle Jr. made a layup to cap a 9-1 run that cut Ohio State’s deficit to 67-65 with 1:44 left but Reneau answered with a basket 29 seconds later and Johnson made 2 of 4 from the free-throw line the closing seconds to cap the scoring. Battle had 17 points and nine rebounds for Ohio State.
