Purdue holds on to beat Northwestern on road
With a regular-season Big Ten Conference championship already locked up, Purdue wanted to send a few more positive notes to the NCAA tournament selection committee.
Vincent Edwards scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half and Caleb Swanigan added 20 points and 14 rebounds to help the No. 16 Boilermakers beat Northwestern, 69-65, on Sunday at Evanston, Ill.
Purdue (25-6, 14-4 Big Ten) clinched the outright regular-season conference title last week, but had to hold on in the final seconds to fend off Northwestern (2110, 10-8). Bryant McIntosh had 25 points and six assists for the Wildcats.
“A lot of people wanted to downplay that we didn’t have a lot to play for. But anytime you get a chance to play an NCAA tournament team on the road and get that kind of victory, it is going to help your NCAA resume,” Purdue Coach Matt Painter said.
A Swanigan dunk gave Purdue a 59-50 lead with seven minutes remaining, but the Wildcats answered with a 7-0 run. Sanjay Lumpkin’s putback got Northwestern to within 60-59 with 3 minutes 14 seconds left. But with the Wildcats trailing 66-63, Nathan Taphorn shot an airball on a three with 15 seconds left and Purdue closed the game out.
at No. 22 Wisconsin 66, Minnesota 49: Senior guard Bronson Koenig scored 17 points in his final home game and helped give the Badgers’ offense a secondhalf boost. Wisconsin (23-8, 12-6) secured the second seed in the Big Ten tournament and got a confidence boost after losing five of its previous six games.
Nate Mason had 17 points for Minnesota (23-8, 11-7). The Golden Gophers had won eight straight.
Koenig hit five threes in the second half, including baskets on three straight possessions with less than three minutes left.
No. 18 Cincinnati 67, at Connecticut 47: Gary Clark had 17 points and 14 rebounds, leading the Bearcats (27-4, 16-2 American Athletic Conference) past the short-handed Huskies (14-16, 9-9). Cincinnati held a 44-32 rebounding advantage, including 17 on the offensive end.