BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Ron Harper Jr. scored 19 points and hit a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to give Rutgers a 66-63 victory over Indiana. Geo Baker made a 3 to give the Scarlet Knights a 57-56 lead with 2:34 remaining, and they stretched the advantage to five points with 19.2 seconds remaining. Parker Stewart drilled a 3 for Indiana that tied it at 63 with 10 seconds to go before Harper sealed it. Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half to lead Indiana (18-11, 9-10). Rutgers (17-12, 11-8 Big Ten) has won five straight in the series.
UNDATED (AP) — The extraordinary height of Purdue’s Zach Edey makes it difficult for anyone to stop him when he gets the ball near the basket. That likely will continue to be the case whenever the 7-foot-4 sophomore from Toronto enters the pro ranks. But that doesn’t make Edey a sure-fire NBA prospect. Edey still must show he can defend at the NBA level. It’s the same question facing Illinois star Kofi Cockburn. Neither is regarded as a likely first-round pick – or even an early second-round selection – because of concerns about how their defense would translate to the NBA.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — John Butler had 16 points, eight rebounds and four blocks — all career highs — to lead Florida State to a 74-70 win over Notre Dame on Wednesday night. RayQuan Evans, Anthony Polite and Tanor Ngom scored 12 points each for the Seminoles with Evans adding seven rebounds and five assists. Blake Wesley scored 21 points, Paul Atkinson Jr. had 17 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double this season and Prentiss Hubb added 10 points for Notre Dame.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Aaliyah Nye scored 17 points, Kendall Bostic notched her sixth double-double of the season and 14th-seeded Illinois snapped an 11-game losing streak with a 75-66 win over 11th-seeded Wisconsin in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. Illinois is the first 14th seed to advance to the second round since Purdue in 2015. The Illini, whose only other conference win came in a regular-season split with Wisconsin, will take on sixth-seeded Nebraska Thursday. Bostic had 12 points, 16 rebounds and six assists as all five Fighting Illini starters scored in double figures. Katie Nelson scored 27 points with eight assists to lead Wisconsin.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Osh Brown had 18 points and 13 rebounds, Shug Dickson had 14 points, seven rebounds and a career-high nine assists, and No. 13 seed Rutgers beat 12th-seeded Penn State 75-50 in the opener of the Big Ten Conference tournament. Rutgers plays No. 5 seed Indiana on Thursday after its largest winning margin in a Big Ten tournament game, topping 15 in 2019. Rutgers held the Big Ten’s second-leading scorer, Makenna Marisa, to just 15 points after entering averaging 22.5. She was 5 for 19 from the field, missing three 3-pointers. Penn State made just five second-half field goals. Tyia Singleton added 10 points and seven rebounds for Rutgers, which outrebounded Penn State 54-32.
