EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Jaden Akins sank seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 23 points to help Michigan State coach Tom Izzo notch his 700th career victory with an 81-62 romp over Michigan. Izzo, who took the reins at Michigan State in 1995 for his first and only head coaching job, has 288 losses. He becomes the 38th men’s coach to accomplish the feat. Izzo was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016. Akins, a junior, made 8 of 13 shots for the Spartans (13-8, 5-5 Big Ten Conference), who beat the Wolverines (7-14, 2-8) for a sixth straight time at home. Jaelin Llewellyn scored 18 to lead the Wolverines, who have lost four in a row and nine of their last 10.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Marcus Domask and Terrence Shannon Jr. each had 23 points and Ty Rodgers had 13 as No. 14 Illinois beat Ohio State 87-75 on Tuesday night. held a 41-34 lead at the break after hitting 7 of 10 in the final 6:32 of the first half. Ohio State went scoreless in the final 2:16 of that span. Ohio State shot 6 of 10 in the final five minutes and went 50% on the night. Jamison Battle scored 21 points and Roddy Gayle Jr. had 20 for the Buckeyes.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Kel’el Ware scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and reserve Anthony Leal scored a career-high 13 points and Indiana withstood Iowa’s second-half rally and held on to beat the Hawkeyes 74-68 to end a three-game losing streak. former Mr. Basketball in high school from Bloomington, Indiana, Leal entered averaging 1.8 points per game and had only scored 14 points this season and just 16 points over the last two seasons. Payton Sandfort scored 26 points for Iowa. Gabe Cupps’ 3-pointer with 1:26 left gave IU the lead for good at 69-68 with 1:26 left.
ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — The Big Ten plans to stick with a 20-game conference schedule for men’s basketball and an 18-game schedule for women’s basketball when the league expands to 18 teams next year. The league also announced Tuesday that 15 of the 18 members will qualify for the Big Ten men’s and women’s basketball tournaments once Southern California, UCLA, Oregon and Washington arrive from the Pac-12. The Big Ten currently allows all 14 of its members to participate in the conference tournaments.
UNDATED (AP) — Caitlin Clark of Iowa is approaching the all-time scoring record in women’s basketball held by Kelsey Plum of 3,527 points. The Hawkeyes star has 3,389 points and is averaging 32.0 points a game this season. She is on pace to break Plum’s mark when Iowa plays against Michigan on Feb. 15. Her next game is at Northwestern on Wednesday.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Former Nebraska tight end Arik Gilbert pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors and was ordered to pay a fine and restitution in connection with a break-in at a liquor and vape shop in Lincoln last summer. Gilbert had been charged with burglary, but prosecutors amended it to trespassing and criminal mischief. Gilbert was fined $400 and ordered to pay $450 for damage he caused to SJ’s Liquor and Vape Shop. Gilbert, from Marietta, Georgia, was a five-star recruit who was the top-ranked tight end prospect and 2019 Gatorade National Player of the Year.
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — NFL teams might find slimmer pickings in the later rounds of the upcoming draft. Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy says his game’s targeted prospects projected for the last few rounds were “wiped out” in December. Players had the option to return and collect name, image and likeness money instead of going for an NFL paycheck. Some opted to return for a COVID year, and only 58 juniors declared for the draft, the fewest in 13 years. Nagy expects some NFL teams to trade up from their late-round picks or stockpile such picks for next year.
UNDATED (AP) — There are no shortage of high-profile games in men’s college basketball this week, and a whole bunch of them will take place on Saturday. Fourth-ranked Houston heads to No. 8 Kansas for their first meeting as Big 12 rivals. Seventh-ranked Duke heads to No. 3 North Carolina for the latest edition of their storied rivalry. Fifth-ranked Tennessee heads to Rupp Arena to face No. 10 Kentucky, and No. 12 Iowa State hits the road to face No. 18 Baylor. And if that’s not enough, second-ranked Purdue plays No. 6 Wisconsin on Sunday to help cap a big weekend in the Top 25.
