Loyola falls in decider for Valley title
AJ Green scored seven of his 32 points in overtime, including a go-ahead three-pointer with 4:18 left, and Northern Iowa clinched the Missouri Valley Conference regularseason title with a 102-96 victory Saturday against Loyola in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
The Ramblers (22-7, 13-5) were going for their fourth MVC regular-season crown in the last five seasons, but they fell just short and finished in a three-way tie for second place with Drake and Missouri State. Because of tiebreakers, Loyola will be the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament this week in St. Louis and will play No. 5 seed Bradley in the quarterfinals Friday.
Lucas Williamson scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Ramblers, but he missed a three-pointer at the end of regulation that would have won the game. Ryan Schwieger added 17 points, Braden Norris 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists and Connor Knight 11 points for Loyola, which lost despite shooting 50% from the field.
Noah Carter added 24 points and Bowen Born 20 for the Panthers (18-10, 14-4), who shot 52.6% and outscored the Ramblers 35-18 from the free-throw line.
UIC 71, Milwaukee 58
Michael Diggins led a balanced scoring attack with 16 points, and the Flames (13-15, 9-10) turned the ball over only five times in a Horizon League victory against the Panthers (10-21, 8-14) at Credit Union 1 Arena.
Damaria Franklin added 15 points, Kevin Johnson 13 and Jalen Warren 10 for UIC, which also got 10 rebounds from reserve Jace Carter en route to winning for the fourth time in its last five games.
The Flames held Milwaukee to 38.2% shooting to help them overcome their own shooting woes (34.3%).
Michigan State 68, Purdue 65
Tyson Walker made a tiebreaking threepointer with three seconds left to lift the Spartans (19-9, 10-7) to a Big Ten upset of the No. 4 Boilermakers (24-5, 13-5) in East Lansing, Michigan.
The result gave Michigan State coach Tom Izzo his 662nd victory, matching Bob Knight’s total at Indiana for the record by a coach at a Big Ten school. Izzo has coached the Spartans since 1995, guiding them to the NCAA championship in 2000.
Gabe Brown led four Michigan State players in double figures with 13 points. Zach Edey scored a career-high 25 points to lead Purdue.
Wisconsin 66, Rutgers 61
Johnny Davis scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, and the No. 13 Badgers (23-5, 14-4) took over sole possession of first place in the Big Ten by slipping past the Scarlet Knights (16-12, 10-8) in Piscataway, New Jersey. Wisconsin has a one-game lead over Purdue and a 1½-game lead over Illinois.
Geo Baker scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half to lead Rutgers, but he missed a tying three-pointer with four seconds left.
Notre Dame 90, Georgia Tech 56
Dane Goodwin led four players in double figures with 17 points, and the Irish (21-8, 14-4) shot 57.1% from the field on their way to an Atlantic Coast Conference rout of the Yellow Jackets (11-18, 4-14) in South Bend, Indiana.
Blake Wesley added 15 points, Prentiss Hubb 13 and Paul Atkinson Jr. 10 for Notre Dame, which held Georgia Tech to 34.4% shooting and remained a game behind Duke in the battle for first place in the ACC.
Nos. 1-6 lose on same day for first time
Saturday marked the first time in the 72-year history of the Associated Press’ Top 25 basketball poll that the top six teams in its weekly rankings — Gonzaga, Arizona, Auburn, Purdue, Kansas and Kentucky — lost on the same day.
Seven top-10 teams lost in all, including No. 9 Texas Tech, to set another singleday record.