Spartans beat Illini, clinch share of Big Ten title
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Miles Bridges scored 19 points and second- ranked Michigan State beat Illinois 81- 61 on Tuesday night, clinching at least a share of the Big Ten championship.
The Spartans ( 27- 3, 15- 2) have won 11 straight and can claim the conference title outright if they win at Wisconsin on Sunday. They lead Ohio State ( 14- 3) by one game; Purdue is 13- 3.
The Fighting Illini ( 13- 16, 3- 13) trailed by just three points at halftime, but Michigan State opened the second half with a 12- 1 run to take control and went on to build 20- plus- point leads.
Leron Black had 20 points to lead Illinois.
James Palmer scored 15 points and Nebraska ( 21- 9, 12- 5) beat visiting Indiana ( 16- 13, 9- 8) in Big Ten play, as the Cornhuskers pursue an NCAA Tournament bid. Nebraska used a 10- 0 run midway through the second half to take control. Justin Smith and Robert Johnson had 16 points each to pace the Hoosiers, who hurt themselves with 19 turnovers. this season. The Bobcats hit 7 of 10 three- pointers in the first half and led 47- 39 at intermission, then expanded a 62- 60 lead with an 8- 0 run midway through the second half. Adonis De La Rosa had 13 points for the Golden Flashes. Nike Sibande scored 21 points, Isaiah ColemanLands added 17 points with fi ve three- pointers and host Miami ( 1414, 7- 8) beat MAC East leader Buffalo ( 20- 8, 12- 3). Sibande went 4 of 4 from the line in the fi nal minute. Jeremy Harris had 23 points with fi ve three- pointers for Buffalo. Both teams made 11 threes.
Jimond Ivey a fl oater in the lane and Lucas Smith added a free throw in the fi nal seconds as Akron ( 12- 15, 5- 10) knocked off host Bowling Green in the MAC. Daniel Utomi led the Zips with 29 points. Dylan Frye hit 5 of 7 three- pointers and had 24 points for the Falcons.
James Thompson IV and Elijah Minnie scored 23 points each and Paul Jackson had 18 points and 10 assists to help Eastern Michigan ( 17- 11, 8- 7) beat visiting Toledo ( 19- 9, 11- 4) in the MAC. Tre'Shaun Fletcher led the Rockets with 21 points.
Nate Axelrod scored 23 points, going 11 of 11 from the line, and had 10 assists and five rebounds to help Ohio Wesleyan ( 18- 8) survive visiting Wabash ( 12- 14) in a North Coast Athletic Conference tournament opener. Axelrod made two free throws with four seconds left to force overtime, and Jaret Gerber went 4 of 4 from the line in the final 11 seconds of OT to help OWU hold on. The third- seeded Bishops advance to play No. 2 Wooster ( 21- 5), a 70- 63 winner over DePauw, in a semifinal at Wittenberg on Friday. Harrison Hallstrom had 21 points and 18 rebounds for Wabash. Garrett Collier had 23 points and nine rebounds, and Denison ( 14- 11) pulled away from a 44- all tie midway through the second half to win an NCAC tournament opener at Hiram ( 15- 10). No. 5 Denison advances to play at topseeded Wittenberg in a semifinal on Friday. The Tigers ( 24- 2) defeated Oberlin 70- 54.
Joey Weingartner scored 15 points as Capital ( 12- 14) had its season come to an end with a loss at Ohio Northern ( 18- 8) in the opening round of the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament.