EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Gabe Brown scored 20 points, Marcus Bingham Jr. added 13 and No. 10 Michigan State rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit for a 73-67 victory over Northwestern. Max Christie had 11 points and Joey Hauser added 10 as the Spartans (12-2, 3-0 in the Big Ten) won their seventh straight. Pete Nance had 13 points before fouling out and Boo Buie and Chase Audige had 12 points apiece for Northwestern (8-3, 1-1).
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (AP) — Jalen Pickett scored 15 points and Myles Dread shot 4 of 5 — all from 3-point range — and finished with 12 points to help Penn State beat Indiana 61-58. Sam Sessoms scored all 10 of his points in the second half for Penn State (6-5, 2-1 Big Ten). Sessoms scored eight points as he and Dread each hit two 3-pointers in an 18-5 spurt that gave Penn State its biggest lead of the game at 51-41 midway through the second half and Indiana (10-3, 1-2)trailed the rest of the way. Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half for the Hoosiers. Phinisee and Jackson-Davis both missed good looks from 3-point range in the final 5 seconds.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Ali Patberg scored 18 points, Aleksa Gulbe and Mackenzie Holmes each had a double-double and No. 8 Indiana beat sixth-ranked Maryland 70-63 in overtime for its first victory in the 12-game series. Maryland missed all seven of its field-goal attempts in overtime, becoming the 13th opponent Indiana has held under 70 points this season. Gulbe had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Holmes added 15 points and 14 boards. Cardano-Hillary and Berger each scored nine points. Angel Reese had 22 points and 12 rebounds for Maryland.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Sophomore Caitlin Clark scored a career-high 44 points with eight assists, freshman Addison O’Grady recorded her first double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds and No. 21 Iowa beat Evansville 93-56. It was the most points scored by a player in a women’s basketball game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Clark also became the fastest Big Ten women’s basketball player to reach the 1,000-point milestone, doing so in her first 40 games. Ohio State star Kelsey Mitchell reached the mark in 41 games. Clark finished 18 of 26 from the floor, going 2 of 7 from 3-point range and 6 of 7 at the line to top her previous scoring high of 39 points against Nebraska on Feb. 11. Abby Feit had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Evansville.
UNDATED (AP) — Want more players to opt in to college football’s postseason? Turn more bowl games into playoff games. AP College Football Writer Ralph Russo says players opting out of bowl games became the underlying theme of New Year’s Day, which was a shame because the games themselves were entertaining — even with some missing All-Americans. Still, it was hard to watch thrilling Fiesta and Rose bowls without wondering how much better it would if these teams were playing with a chance to win a national championship. Players risk millions in future earnings to participate in these postseason games. A bigger playoff gives more of them a reward worthy of the risk.
