PSU upsets Northwestern, reaches Big 10 semifinals
CHICAGO » Seth Lundy scored 16 points, Jalen Pickett had 15 points and nine rebounds and No. 10 seed Penn State beat second-seeded Northwestern 67-65 in overtime on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
It was Penn State’s second overtime win over Northwestern in nine days after a 6865 win on March 1.
Penn State became the second doubledigit seed to make the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament this season — joining No. 13 Ohio State — after just two had done it in the preview 25 tournaments. The Nittany Lions advanced to their first semifinals since 2018.
Lundy was trapped in the corner and appeared to be tied up, but Penn State was able to call a timeout with 13.7 left in overtime. The Nittany Lions successfully inbounded it and Lundy worked off some time before getting fouled. Lundy made 1 of 2 free throws for a three-point lead and Penn State elected to foul before Northwestern (21-11) could get a shot off.
Boo Buie went to the line at 4.7 and made the first of two free throws. He missed the second and the loose ball landed in the hands of Chase Audige, who rushed a shot from 3-point range that rolled off the rim at the buzzer.
Andrew Funk added 14 points for Penn State (21-12) and Kanye Clary added 11.
(1) HOUSTON 60, EAST CAROLINA 46 » Marcus Sasser scored 30 points and Houston (30-2) got its 30th win of the season with a victory over East Carolina (161-17) in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference
Tournament.
(4) ALABAMA 72, MISSISSIPPI STATE 49 » Brandon Miller had 18 points and nine rebounds and Alabama (27-5) never trailed in a quarterfinal victory over Mississippi State (21-12) in the SEC Tournament.
(5) PURDUE 70, RUTGERS 65 » Mason Gillis had 20 points on 7-for-8 shooting, and Purdue (27-5) held off Rutgers (19-14) in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
(21) DUKE 85, (14) MIAMI 78 » Kyle Filipowski had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Jeremy Roach hit a huge 3-pointer at the 1:32 mark and Duke (25-8) held off Miami (25-7) in the ACC Tournament semifinals.
Isaiah Wong, aBonner-Prendergast AllDelco, had 22 points to lead the top-seeded Hurricanes, who suffered an immediate blow by losing forward Norchad Omier to an ankle injury just 66 seconds into the game.
(25) MISSOURI 79, (17) TENNESSEE 71 » Nick Honor hit a 3-pointer with 1:45 left to put Missouri (24-8) ahead to stay, and the Tigers beat Tennesssee (23-10) to reach the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since joining the league.
(3) KANSAS 71, IOWA STATE 58 » Jalen Wilson had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Gradey Dick made a couple of crucial baskets during a second-half run that gave Kansas control, and the Jayhawks (27-6) went on to beat Iowa State (19-13) to reach the Big 12 Tournament title game.
(6) MARQUETTE 70, (11) UCONN 68 » Tyler Kolek and David Joplin each scored 17 points, and Marquette (27-6) moved into the Big East championship game for the first time by
holding off UConn (25-8).
St. John’s fires Anderson
NEW YORK » St. John’s fired men’s basketball coach Mike Anderson, one day after his fourth season in charge ended with an overtime loss to No. 6 Marquette in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.
The decision comes just two years after Anderson was the Big East coach of the year.
But the Red Storm never made the NCAA Tournament under Anderson. They went 1815 during a rocky 2022-23 season.
Pastner fired after 7 seasons
ATLANTA » Josh Pastner was fired as Georgia Tech’s coach, two seasons after he guided the Yellow Jackets to a surprising ACC Tournament title.
Pastner was dumped after seven seasons at the school in midtown Atlanta, his fate sealed by a second straight losing season.