Purdue tops Illini; NU gets 2 seed
Illinois rallied from a 24-point deficit early in the second half to tie the score with 1:17 left but couldn’t complete the comeback and lost to No. 5 Purdue 76-71 on Sunday in the regular-season finale for both teams in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Matthew Mayer led the Illini (20-11, 11-9 Big Ten) with 16 points and tied the score at 67 on a free throw with 1:17 to play before the Boilermakers (26-5, 15-5) closed the game with a 9-4 spurt.
Terrence Shannon Jr. added 13 points, Sencire Harris 11 and Luke Goode 10 for Illinois, which trailed 47-26 at the half before outscoring Purdue 45-29 after the break. The Illini are the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten tournament and will open play against Penn State on Thursday at the United Center.
‘‘It’s kind of been our story,’’ Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. ‘‘It’s a challenging first half. We gave them live-ball turnovers; we didn’t execute. Our inability to execute on the offensive side early has been problematic.’’
Brandon Newman scored 19 points, Zach Edey 17 — including the tiebreaking basket with 56 seconds left — and Braden Smith 15 for Purdue, which became the first team to win the Big Ten regular-season title by three games since Michigan in 2013-14.
Northwestern 65, Rutgers 53
Brooks Barnhizer led four players in double figures with 16 points, and the Wildcats (21-10, 12-8 Big Ten) wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament this week at the United Center by pulling away in the second half to defeat the Scarlet Knights (18-13, 10-10) in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Boo Buie added 14 points, Ty Berry 12 and Andrew Nicholson 10 for Northwestern, which earned a double-bye and won’t have to play until the quarterfinals Friday.
Drake 77, Bradley 51
Tucker DeVries scored 22 points, and the Bulldogs (27-7) shot 56% from the field en route to routing the Braves (25-9) in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament in St. Louis.
Ja’Shon Henry was the only player in double figures with 10 points for Bradley, which shot 34.5%, trailed by 20 points at halftime and had its 12-game winning streak snapped.
Indiana 75, Michigan 73
Trayce Jackson-Davis had 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists in his final home game, and the No. 15 Hoosiers (21-10, 12-8 Big Ten) forced a steal on the final possession to
seal an overtime victory against the Wolverines (17-14, 11-9) in Bloomington, Indiana.
Hunter Dickinson had 24 points and 14 rebounds for Michigan, which lost in overtime
for the second consecutive game.
Penn State 65, Maryland 64
Camren Wynter made a layup with less
than a second left, and the Nittany Lions (19-12, 10-10 Big Ten) used a 17-5 burst in the last five minutes to rally past the No. 21 Terrapins (20-11, 11-9) in State College, Pennsylvania.
Penn State trailed by 16 points late in the first half and by 13 at halftime before shooting 17-for-29 after the break.
Nebraska 81, Iowa 77
Sam Griesel led four players in double figures with 16 points, and the Cornhuskers (16-15, 9-11 Big Ten) shot 60% in the second half in a victory against the Hawkeyes (19-12, 11-9) in Iowa City. Nebraska has won five of its last six games.