Illini swatted in double OT
Penn State secured its first first- round bye in the Big Ten tournament with an 8679 double- overtime win over visiting Illinois on Sunday.
Shep Garner scored 22 points and Brandon Taylor added 21 and 11 rebounds for the Nittany Lions ( 16- 15, 7- 11 Big Ten), who snapped a two- game losing streak and set a mark for their most conference wins under head coach Patrick Chambers.
Malcolm Hill scored 24 of his 39 points in the second half and added 13 rebounds for the Illini ( 13- 18, 5- 13). Khalid Lewis added 10 points for the Illini, who outscored Penn State 22- 12 over the final 8: 49 of regulation.
Garner tied it 67- 67 with a layup that drew a foul with 14 seconds left in regulation. He missed the potential goahead free throw but made up for it in the first overtime with a go- ahead three in the waning seconds. Illinois forced a second overtime with two Hill free throws.
But Penn State dominated the glass, pulling down seven rebounds to Illinois’ four in the final period. Peyton Banks nailed a threepointer to give Penn State the lead for good in the second overtime.
NU65, Nebraska 54
Alex Olah scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Wildcats ( 20- 11, 8- 10) in their regularseason finale in Evanston. Tre Demps added 17 points for NU, which secured the ninth seed and a first- round bye in next week’s Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.
Purdue 91, Wisconsin 80
Caleb Swanigan scored a career- high 27 points and sophomore P. J. Thompson also set a career best with 22 in West Lafayette, Indiana.
A. J. Hammons added 16 points and Vince Edwards had 11 for the Boilermakers ( 24- 7, 12- 6), who forced a four- way tie for third place in the Big Ten with Maryland, Iowa and Wisconsin.
Indiana 80, Maryland 62
Yogi Ferrell had 17 points in his final home game, while Troy Williams matched his career high with 23 points to lead No. 12 Indiana past No. 14 Maryland in Indianapolis. With the win, the Big Ten champion Hoosiers ( 25- 6, 15- 3) finished 17- 0 at home and completed their first perfect season at Assembly Hall since 2006- 07.