Mayer nets career high in Illini win
Matthew Mayer scored 18 of his career-high 26 points in the second half to power Illinois to a 61-51 victory Saturday against Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin.
Mayer, who tied this career high with five three-pointers, scored 10 points in a 22-4 run that began midway through the second half. That erased the Badgers’ only lead in the half and put the Illini (15-6, 6-4) ahead by 17 points with four minutes left.
After the teams combined for the lowest-scoring first half in the Big Ten this season — Illinois led 20-16 at the break — the Illini got off to a quick start in the second half. Mayer scored eight of their first 12 points in the half to help them open a 12-point lead.
But Wisconsin (12-8, 4-6) came back with a 15-2 run, with Chucky Hepburn making two three-pointers and scoring on a drive to give the Badgers a one-point lead before Illinois’ decisive burst.
Jayden Epps added 13 points for the Illini, who have won six of their last seven games. Hepburn scored 15 points to lead Wisconsin, which shot only 33% and has lost six of its last seven.
Northwestern 81, Minnesota 61
Chase Audige scored 24 points, Boo Buie added 21 points and eight assists and the Wildcats (15-5, 6-3 Big Ten) won their third game in six days by drubbing the Golden Gophers (7-13, 1-9) at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Northwestern had beaten Wisconsin at home Monday and Nebraska on the road Wednesday.
The Wildcats, who matched their victory total from last season and moved into a tie for second place in the conference with Rutgers, led 45-28 at halftime after shooting 55% and scoring 14 points off 11 Minnesota turnovers.
Northwestern led by as many as 25 in the second half after a three-pointer by Audige with seven minutes left and finished the game shooting 52%. The Wildcats also committed only four turnovers to the Gophers’ 15.
Jason Battle scored 20 points to lead Minnesota, which lost its fifth game in a row. The Gophers played without leading scorer and rebounder Dawson Garcia for the second consecutive game. Garcia has a bone bruise in his right foot.
Marquette 89, DePaul 69
David Joplin scored a careerhigh 28 points, including eight three-pointers, and Tyler Kolek nearly had a triple-double with 24 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists as the No. 16 Golden Eagles (17-5, 9-2 Big East) pulled away in the second half to defeat the Blue Demons (9-13, 3-8) before a sellout crowd at Wintrust Arena.
Umoja Gibson scored 25 points, including five three-pointers, to lead DePaul, which trailed only 33-32 at the half but was outscored 56-37 after the break.
Notre Dame 76, Louisville 62
J.J. Starling led four players in double figures with 22 points, and the Irish (10-12, 2-9 ACC) built a 30-point lead early in the second half before coasting past the Cardinals (2-19, 0-10) in South Bend, Indiana.
Nate Laszewski added 17 points, Cormac Ryan 11 and Dane Goodwin 10 points and 10 rebounds for Notre Dame, which ended a four-game losing streak. Mike James scored 14 points to lead Louisville, which lost its 10th consecutive game.
Indiana 86, Ohio State 70
Jalen Hood-Schifino made six three-pointers on his way to 24 points, Trayce Jackson-Davis added 18 points and 10 rebounds and the Hoosiers (15-6, 6-4 Big Ten) extended their winning streak to five games with a victory against the Buckeyes (11-10, 3-7) in Bloomington, Indiana.
Maryland 82, Nebraska 63
Jahmir Young led five players in double figures with 18 points to go with seven assists and six steals, and the Terrapins (14-7, 5-5 Big Ten) shot 24-for-26 from the free-throw line and led by double figures for most of the second half in their victory against the Cornhuskers (10-12, 2-7) in College Park, Maryland.
Women’s three-point mark falls
Oklahoma guard Taylor Robertson broke the Division I women’s record for career three-pointers by making her 498th against Iowa State in Ames, Iowa. The previous mark had been set by Ohio State guard Kelsey Mitchell in 2014-18.