Big Ten a three-way title tie
Anthony Cowan Jr. had 20 points and eight assists in his final home game at Maryland, and the ninth-ranked Terrapins beat No. 25 Michigan 83-70 on Sunday to earn a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.
Eric Ayala scored 19 points, Jalen Smith had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Aaron Wiggins added 15 points for the Terrapins (24-7, 14-6). Cowan, a senior guard, went seven for 11 from the floor and hit six free throws in the final minute.
Maryland shared the conference title with No. 24 Wisconsin and No. 16 Michigan State, which beat No. 19 Ohio State later Sunday.
The Terrapins held a twogame lead with five games to go, but lost three of four before defeating the Wolverines to finish 16-1 at home.
“Would we have liked to have won it outright? Absolutely, but we’re still champs,” said Maryland coach Mark Turgeon.
Reserve sophomore guard David DeJulius scored a career-high 20 points for Michigan (19-12, 1010). The Wolverines closed their first regular season under rookie coach Juwan Howard by dropping three of four.
at No. 16 Michigan State 80, No. 19 Ohio State 69: Senior guard Cassius Winston scored 27 points and Michigan State beat Ohio State to win a share of its third straight Big Ten championship.
The Spartans (22-9, 14-6 Big Ten) will be the secondseeded team at the Big Ten Tournament behind Wisconsin.
“It means the world to have my whole family come and see me in my last home game and to go out like that,” said Winston.
The Buckeyes (21-10, 11-9) had won four straight and six of their previous seven games.
Rocket Watts scored 19 points, Xavier Tillman had 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals while Aaron Henry added 12 points for the Spartans.
Ohio State’s leading scorer, Kaleb Wesson, was held to eight points.
at No. 23 Illinois 78, No. 18 Iowa 76: Ayo Dosunmu scored 17 points and Illinois held off Iowa to secure the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Conference tournament. Andres Feliz scored 14 points, Kofi Cockburn had 12 and Kipper Nichols added 10 for Illinois (21-10, 12-8). Luka Garza scored a game-high 28 points for Iowa (20-11, 11-9), which finished in a four-way tie for fifth in the Big Ten and will be the No. 5 seed in the tournament. Joe Toussaint scored 14 and Connor McCaffery added 10.
at No. 21 Houston 64, Memphis 57: Fabian White Jr. had 18 points and 14 rebounds and Quentin Grimes added 17 points, including 15 in the second half, to lift Houston (23-8, 13-5 American Athletic Conference). Nate Hinton had 13 points for Houston, which shot 48% in the second half. The Cougars forced 17 turnovers by Memphis, which they turned into 18 points. Houston also had a 45-41 advantage in rebounding. Houston will finish at least in a tie for second in the AAC. Precious Achiuwa had 25 points and 15 rebounds for Memphis (21-10, 10-8).
at Winthrop 76, Hampton 68: Freshman DJ Burns scored 16 points, 12 of them in the second half, to lead second-seeded Winthrop (24-10, 15-3) over fifth-seeded Hampton in the Big South Conference title game. Winthrop is headed to its 11th NCAA tournament.
Bradley 80, Valparaiso 66: Guard Darrell Brown scored 21 points and Elijah Childs added 17 in St. Louis to lead fourth-seeded Bradley (23-11, 11-7) to its second consecutive Missouri Valley Conference tournament crown and its 10th NCAA tournament bid.
at Liberty 73, Lipscomb 57: Caleb Homesley and Elijah Cuffee each scored 16 points and Darius McGhee had 13 as Liberty claimed the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament title. The Flames (30-4, 13-3) set a school record for victories in a season.