Slumping Illini fall to Wildcats
Demps scores 17 in second half to lift NU
Tre Demps and Scottie Lindsey each scored 18 points and hit four three pointers, and Northwestern beat Illinois 58-56 in a matchup between struggling teams Saturday night in Evanston.
Demps, who scored all but one of his points in the second half, nailed threes on four consecutive possessions to turn a four-point deficit into a five-point lead late in the second half. And NU (17-9, 5-8) hung on to win for just the second time in eight games. Illinois (11-14, 3-9) lost for the ninth time in 12 games.
Alex Olah added 10 points and seven rebounds, and the Wildcats came away with the win despite hitting 9 of 26 three-pointers.
Kendrick Nunn led Illinois with 13 points. Jalen Coleman-Lands and Maverick Morgan added 12 apiece while Malcolm Hill — the Big Ten’s second-leading scorer — finished with seven points and 13 rebounds.
Demps’ three-point binge in the second half turned a 46-42 deficit into a 54-49 advantage for Northwestern with 5:35 remaining.
He also had the purple-clad fans roaring when he broke for a layup to make it 58-53 with aminute left after Lindsey blocked Morgan down low.
Nunn immediately answered with a three for Illinois to make it a two-point game, and the Illini had a chance to tie or take the lead after Demps missed from long range with 12 seconds remaining.
Hill hit a pull-up jumper, but the basket was waved off due to a foul by Northwestern’s Bryant McIntosh before the shot with 2.7 seconds left.
Nunn then inbounded the ball along the baseline to Hill, who got tripped up as time expired.
“He’s got to stay on his feet,” Illinois coach Groce said. “I’m not picking on him. I love him. I’ve got to work with him a little bit more. I’ll take responsibility. It’s my responsibility and his responsibility to make sure we get one up on the rim. It might not go in. They don’t all go in, but we’ve got to get one up on the rim. That’s the bottom line.”
Wisconsin70, No. 2Maryland 57
Vitto Brown scored a careerhigh 21 points, Bronson Koenig had 16 and Nigel Hayes added 14 for the visiting Badgers (16-9, 8-4), who have won seven straight. The loss ended the Terrapins’ 27-game home winning streak.
After using a 28-5 run to go up 35-19, Wisconsin let the lead dwindle to six points with 10:48 remaining before pushing back. A 3-pointer by Koenig and a layup by Brown made it 53-41, and the Terrapins (22-4, 10-3) never threatened again.
Michigan 61, No. 18 Purdue 56
Derrick Walton and Zak Irvin (22 points) scored the game’s final 11 points to rally the host Wolverines (19-7, 9-4), who had missed 18 of their previous 20 shots and trailed 56-50 before Irvin connected on a three-pointer with 2:43 remaining.
Caris LeVert returned for Michigan after missing 11 games with a lower left leg injury.
Caleb Swanigan led Purdue (206, 8-5) with 14 points.
Ohio State 79, Rutgers 69
Keita Bates-Diop tied a careerhigh with 24 points and had a career-high 14 rebounds for the visiting Buckeyes (16-10, 8-5). Jae’Sean Tate added 22 points on 9-for-11 shooting and 13 rebounds for Ohio State, marking the sixth time it has had two players with double-dou- bles. Kam Williams added 19 points.
Corey Sanders had 23 points for the Scarlet Knights (6-19, 0-12), who have lost 26 consecutive Big Ten games.
Nebraska 70, Penn State 54
Andrew White III had career highs with 35 points and six threepointers for the host Cornhuskers (14-12, 6-7). Nebraska led 32-31 at halftime and opened the second half on a 17-2 run.
Brandon Taylor had 14 points to lead the Nittany Lions (12-13, 3-9).