Wisconsin tops Maryland, stays tied with Purdue
Nigel Hayes was in vintage form, going strong to the hoop. Bronson Koenig returned from a leg injury to provide a jump-shooting boost off the bench.
No. 11 Wisconsin played like it was fighting to get into the NCAA Tournament, even if the Badgers are virtually guaranteed to be playing into mid-March.
Hayes scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half, and Ethan Happ had 20 points to beat No. 23 Maryland 71-60 in a choppy, foul-filled game on Sunday.
The Badgers (22-5, 11-3) overcame 27 points from Terrapins guard Melo Trimble to snap a two-game losing streak and stay in a tie atop the Big Ten standings with Purdue.
After consecutive losses to Northwestern and Michigan — two squads looking to pad their resumes just to get into the NCAAs — Wisconsin took the court with the mindset of a bubble team trying to prove a point.
“I would definitely say ‘Yes,’ that’s kind of why we dropped the last two,” Hayes said when asked if his team was playing with a sense of urgency.
Northwestern and Michigan “were fighting for their tournament lives, trying to build a resume,” Hayes said. “We finally have that sense of urgency on our own end.”
Koenig scored all nine of his points in the second half, giving the Badgers a lift with his jump shot after the senior missed a game with a nagging left calf injury. Wisconsin shot 51 percent in the second half.
Wisconsin pulled away from the Terrapins (22-5, 10-4) slowly, turning a sixpoint halftime deficit into a 12-point edge with 3 minutes to go.
Jordan Murphy had 16 points and 15 rebounds and Eric Curry scored all 12 of his points in the second half to lift Minnesota over Michigan for its fifth straight victory. Reggie Lynch added 11 points and eight rebounds while battling foul trouble for most of the night for the Golden Gophers (20-7, 8-6 Big Ten), who overcame a furious rally from Michigan (17-10, 7-7) to inch closer to an NCAA Tournament bid.
Ben Lammers scored 23 points, Tadric Jackson added 20 points and Georgia Tech held off a late charge by Syracuse. The Yellow Jackets (16-11, 7-7 ACC) improved to 6-1 at home in league play but had to do so with nearly half of sold-out McCamish Pavilion packed with loud Syracuse fans. Trying to rally from a 13-point deficit, the Orange (16-12, 8-7) had a chance to tie in the closing seconds, but Tyler Roberson, who played just 7 minutes, committed an offensive foul and Georgia Tech got three free throws from Josh Heath and Lammers to seal the victory. Michigan State starting guard Eron Harris will need season-ending surgery on his injured right knee, ending his college career. Harris, a 6-foot-3 transfer who played his first two seasons at West Virginia, was hurt in the second half of Michigan State’s 80-63 loss at No. 16 Purdue on Saturday. Harris had an MRI and the diagnosis was that surgery was required.
WOMEN
Tori Jankoska made five 3-pointers in setting a single-season school record and scored 28 points in leading Michigan State (18-9, 8-6 Big Ten) over No. 20 Michigan (21-7, 10-4) before a record sellout crowd of 12,707 who watched the in-state rivals in their only meeting this season.