Spartans snap slump, upset Boilermakers

Tom Izzo was choked up as he walked off the court, and the emotional display had nothing to do with matching Bob Knight’s record for the most wins by a men’s basketball coach at a Big Ten school.

Tyson Walker made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3 seconds left, helping Michigan State beat No. 4 Purdue 68-65 on Saturday and triggering tears from its Hall of Fame coach.

“We needed to win a game, and we needed to win a game the way we won,” Izzo said.

The slumping Spartans (19-9, 10-7) had lost three straight and five of six. The dramatic victory over the Boilermakers was win No. 662 for Izzo, equaling Knight’s total with the Hoosiers from 1972 to 2000. Izzo took over Michigan State’s program in 1995 and, after struggling early, he won the national championship in 2000 during one of eight Final Four appearances. He chose to stay at the school after having chances to coach elsewhere in college and the NBA.

“He could’ve went a lot of places, and he didn’t,” Purdue coach Matt Painter. “A lot people around here forget his first two seasons, but they stuck by him and he took off from there.”

„ JD Notae scored 30 points and Jaylin Williams had 4 of his 16 points in the final 1:22 as No. 18 Arkansas took down No. 6 Kentucky 75-73 on Saturday.

Auto racing:

Scott McLaughlin beat Team Penske teammate Will Power, one of the best qualifiers in series history, to win the pole Saturday for the season-opening race through the downtown streets of St. Petersburg.

NBA:

Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and Jayson Tatum added 26 points and 11 rebounds as the Celtics beat the Pistons 113-104 on Saturday.

Skiing:

Russian skiers are not welcome to compete in Norway because of “violations of international law and attacks on the Ukrainian people,” the Nordic country’s ski federation said Saturday.