Wisconsin upsets No. 3 Purdue in OT
MINNEAPOLIS – Max Klesmit made a runner in the lane with 4.8 seconds to play in overtime and Wisconsin beat Big Ten Tournament top-seed Purdue 76-75 on Saturday for a spot in the conference championship game.
Klesmit’s clutch shot followed his teammate Chucky Hepburn’s in regulation, when Hepburn made a layup as time expired to force overtime.
Hepburn finished with 22 points. AJ Storr had 20 points and Klesmit had 12 points, five assists and five rebounds for fifth-seeded Wisconsin (22-12).
Zach Edey led No. 3 Purdue (29-4) with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Edey surpassed Rick Mount’s school record of 2,323 career points (1967-1970) with about seven minutes remaining in the second half. He finished the game with 2,339 career points.
The reigning Big Ten player of the year was limited by foul trouble in the first half and missed a crucial free throw late in regulation, but he hit eight straight free throws in overtime and finished 14 for 19 from the line. The Boilermakers were trying to match Michigan State (1999, 2000) as the only Big Ten program to win both the outright regular season title and the conference tournament in consecutive years.
No. 12 Auburn 73, Mississippi State 66: Dylan Cardwell scored his only points on consecutive dunks in the final minutes as Auburn held off ninth-seeded Mississippi State in Nashville, Tennessee, to reach the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game.
With the SEC’S top three seeds losing their openers Friday for the first time in this tournament since 1983, that left a wide-open path for Auburn (26-7) to win the event for the first time since 2019. The Tigers are in the title game for the fifth time in program history.
Chad Baker-mazara led five Tigers in double figures with 14 points. Denver Jones and Jaylin Williams each added 13. Johni Broome and Tre Donaldson had 10 apiece.
Josh Hubbard scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half, trying to rally Mississippi State (21-13). The Bulldogs go home shy of the championship game continuing a drought that started after their last berth in 2010.
D.J. Jeffries had 12 points for Mississippi State, and Tolu Smith II had 10.
Mississippi State had pulled to within
57-56 on seven straight points when Cardwell got his only buckets of the game. His first dunk came with 4:40 left, then he dunked again with 4:08 remaining before running over in front of some Auburn fans to celebrate with a scream.
This was a chippy game, with double technicals handed out not once but twice. Auburn junior Johni Broome needed a trainer to treat his nose at one point early in the second half with the Tigers up 39-35.
Mississippi State led 31-29 before Williams beat the buzzer driving to the basket for a layup, tying it up at 31 going into halftime after Auburn trailed 12-4 early. Broome’s 3 in the opening minute of the second half put the Tigers ahead to stay.
Vermont 66, Umass Lowell 61: Shamir
Bogues scored 15 points and TJ Long scored 14 points and top-seeded Vermont beat No. 2 seed Umass Lowell to clinch its third straight America East title and secure a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Vermont (28-6) now has won six of the last eight AEC championships. Aaron Deloney scored 12 points and Nick Fiorillo 11 for Vermont. Cam Morris III scored 13 of his 17 points before intermission and grabbed 10 rebounds, Brayden O’conner scored 14 and Ayinde Hikim 11 for the Riverhawks.
Howard 70, Delaware State 67: Jordan Hairston scored 18 points and Bryce
Harris and Seth Towns each scored 16 points and Howard beat Delaware State in the Mid-eastern Athletic Conference Tournament championship to secure an NCAA Tournament bid. Marcus Dockery scored 15 points for fourth-seeded Howard (18-16), which is headed to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year for the first time in school history. Howard upset top-seeded Norfolk State on its way to the championship game. Jevin Muñiz scored 24 points and Martaz Robinson 16 for the sixth-seeded Hornets (15-18).