NU wins, closes in on NCAA bid
Dererk Pardon scored on a layup at the buzzer off a long inbounds pass from Nathan Taphorn to give Northwestern a 67- 65 victory Wednesday against Michigan at Welsh- Ryan Arena.
After the Wolverines’ Zak Irvin missed a three- pointer in the closing seconds, the ball was knocked out of bounds and awarded to the Wildcats. After a timeout, Taphorn threw a baseballstyle pass the length of the court, hitting Pardon in stride for the winning shot.
‘‘ I saw the ball; I thought it was long,’’ Pardon said. ‘‘ As I caught it, I’m like, ‘ The rim is right there.’ ’’
As the buzzer sounded, the fans packing WelshRyan Arena poured onto the court. The victory was just what Northwestern ( 21- 9, 10- 7 Big Ten), which is trying to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history, needed after dropping five of its last seven games.
‘‘ I told them there was pressure for the first time,’’ Wildcats coach Chris Collins said. ‘‘ I said, ‘ Guys, there is pressure.’ Anything good in life involves handling pressure — and succeeding under pressure.’’
Vic Law scored 18 points and Bryant McIntosh 13 for Northwestern, which matched its highest Big Ten victory total since the 193233 team tied for the conference championship. Derrick Walton Jr. scored 15 points, Muhammad- Ali AbdurRahkman 13 and Irvin 12 for Michigan ( 19- 11, 9- 8), which lost for only the second time in its last seven games.
After Irvin tied the score at 65 with 1: 28 left, both teams missed some chances to take the lead before the Wildcats came out on top, thanks to the perfect pass from Taphorn to Pardon.
‘‘ The best moment ever at Welsh- Ryan Arena,’’ Law said.
Illinois 73, Michigan State 70
Malcolm Hill scored 22 points on senior night, and the Illini ( 18- 12, 8- 9) kept its long- shot NCAA tournament hopes alive by slipping past the Spartans ( 18- 12, 10- 7) in Big Ten action in Champaign.
Leron Black added 15 points and seven rebounds and Maverick Morgan 14 points and seven rebounds for Illinois, which has won four consecutive games to play itself back into contention for its first NCAA tournament berth since 2013.
Freshman phenom Miles Bridges scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Michigan State, but he was stripped by the Illini’s Te’Jon Lucas on his way to the basket with a chance to tie the score with less than 10 seconds left.
Notre Dame 82, Boston College 66
V. J. Beachem scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half, and Bonzie Colson turned in his 18th double- double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds to carry the Irish ( 23- 7, 12- 5) past the Eagles ( 9- 21, 2- 15) in Atlantic Coast Conference play in South Bend, Indiana.
Matt Farrell added 14 points and Steve Vasturia 10 for Notre Dame, which won its sixth consecutive game and has all but locked up a top- four finish in the ACC.
Ky Bowman had 19 points and Mo Jeffers 12 points and 12 rebounds for Boston College, which has lost 13 games in a row.