Wildcats thumped by Gophers Ohio State 79, Maryland 72
Add another loss to Northwestern’s forgettable season.
Minnesota came into Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday and walked away with an easy 83-57 victory. The Gophers led 44-28 at halftime, then opened the second half with an 11-6 run and never looked back.
“I’m certainly disappointed in how we played,” said Northwestern coach Chris Collins, whose team is the youngest in the Big Ten. “Our staff takes full responsibility for it. I have to do a better job of having our guys ready. It’s that point of the season where you need to be ready to play and compete at a high level, and you’re not going to be able to be competitive if you give up 83 points.”
The Wildcats (6-20, 1-15), who were led by Pete Nance (11 points) and Ryan Young (10), shot 38.7 percent from the field, including 16.7 percent from three-point range, and were outrebounded 48-29.
Daniel Oturu had 22 points and 12 rebounds and Marcus Carr added 18 points for the Golden Gophers (13-13, 7-9), who snapped a three-game losing streak.
“The season’s not over,” Minnesota coach Richard Pitino said. ‘‘It’s been pronounced over for some reason, but it’s not over.”
Luther Muhammad scored 22 points, and the No. 25 Buckeyes ended the visiting No. 7 Terps’ nine-game winning streak.
Ohio State (18-9, 8-8 Big Ten) is 4-0 when facing a top-10 team this season.
Maryland (22-5, 12-4), which was led by Aaron Wiggins’ 20 points, still leads the conference, two games ahead of Penn State, Iowa, Michigan State and Wisconsin, which all are 10-6. Illinois is 9-6 ahead of its game Monday against visiting Nebraska.
Indiana 68, Penn State 60
Al Durham scored 14 points and Trayce Jackson-Davis had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Hoosiers (18-9, 8-8 Big Ten), who took a 19-point lead in the first half and held on against the No. 9 Nittany Lions (20-7, 10-6).
Notre Dame 87, Miami 71
John Mooney (19 points, 12 rebounds) got his nation-leading 22nd double-double and Prentiss Hubb (15 and 10) had his second to lead the Irish (17-10, 8-8 ACC) past the visiting Hurricanes (14-13, 6-11). T.J. Gibbs added 19 points for Notre Dame.