Northwestern upsets No. 1 Purdue in Evanston
Michigan State, Iowa pick up league wins on Sunday
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — As Northwestern struggled through the past couple seasons, Boo Buie and Chase Audige learned some tough lessons — on poise, and finishing strong, and competing.
That’s how they got to Sunday, and one historic victory for the Wildcats.
Buie scored 26 points and Audige had 15, leading Northwestern to a 64-58 win over Zach Edey and No. 1 Purdue.
“We put in so much work together and we’ve been through so many ups and downs,” Buie said. “It’s finally starting to show what the real us is.”
Led by its experienced backcourt and supported by a rowdy student section behind each basket, Northwestern (18-7, 9-5 Big Ten) added a signature win to its bid for the school’s second NCAA Tournament appearance. The Wildcats got their first win in 19 games against the No. 1 team in the AP poll.
Northwestern’s 18 wins are the most for the school since it went 24-12 during the 2016-17 season, losing to Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA tourney. It went 32-55 in the previous three years before finding its stride against this season.
“We had a bunch of guys that stayed the course and stayed loyal to the program and fought,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said, “and we had a great offseason.
“When you have a day like this, you know it can be emotional because you know there’s a lot of hard work by a lot of people to make this happen.”
Purdue (23-3, 12-3) had won 11 in a row against Northwestern, but the Boilermakers stumbled down the stretch. They shot just 28.6% (6 for 21) and committed 13 of their 16 turnovers in the second half.
MICHIGAN STATE 62, OHIO STATE 41: Joey Hauser scored 23 points to help Michigan State beat Ohio State on Sunday, handing the Buckeyes their sixth straight defeat.
Hauser sank 8 of 13 shots from the floor, including 6 of 9 from beyond the arc, and grabbed eight rebounds for the Spartans (16-9, 8-6 Big Ten Conference). Tyson Walker added 10 points and Jaden Akins finished with eight points and nine boards.
Sean McNeil led the Buckeyes (11-14, 3-11) with 10 points off the bench. Bruce Thornton had nine points and five rebounds.
Hauser scored nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range, Michigan State held Ohio State to 19% shooting in the first half and the Spartans led 27-14. The Buckeyes made just 5 of 26 shots, including 3 of 15 from beyond the arc, and 1 of 2 free throws. The Spartans shot 40% — 3 of 11 from distance — and didn’t attempt a foul shot.
Michigan State shot 46% overall and hit 7 of 22 from distance. Carson Cooper shot and made the only free throw attempted by the Spartans in the game.
Ohio State made only 17 of 60 shots (28%), including 6 of 29 from distance (21%), and didn’t attempt a free throw in the second half. The Buckeyes totaled just five assists
IOWA 68, MINNESOTA 56: Kris Murray had 28 points, 14 rebounds, three steals and two blocks to help Iowa beat Minnesota on Sunday and hand the Golden Gophers their eighth consecutive loss.
Filip Rebraca added 16 points and eight rebounds for Iowa (16-9, 8-6 Big Ten).
The Hawkeyes, who had their threegame win streak snapped by an 87-83 loss at No. 1 Purdue last time out, never trailed against Minnesota.
Tony Perkins hit a jumper to open the scoring, then followed with a threepoint play to spark an 18-6 opening run that included six points by Rebraca. The Gophers cut their deficit to two points on three occasions — the last coming when Joshua Ola-Joseph hit a 3-pointer that made it 39-37 with 16:53 — but got no closer.
Minnesota (7-16, 1-12) has lost nine of its last 10 games.
WICHITA STATE 91, SMU 89: Kenny Pohto totaled 28 points, Craig Porter Jr. scored 22 and Jaykwon Walton added 20 as Wichita State rallied to beat SMU in double overtime on Sunday.
Pohto sank 13 of 15 shots from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds for Wichita State. Porter hit 9 of 13 shots, adding six assists, four boards and three blocks. Walton made 6 of 11 shots with two 3-pointers. Zhuric Phelps paced SMU with 26 points and five assists. Efe Odigie added 21 points. Williamson finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Zach Nutall contributed 15 points and seven rebounds.