Rutgers pulls away in 2nd half vs. Michigan
CHICAGO – Cam Spencer and Derek Simpson scored 23 of their combined 31 points in the second half and Rutgers beat Michigan 62-50 on Thursday in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Spencer scored 18 points and Simpson 13 for the ninth-seeded Scarlet Knights (19-13), who rebounded to shoot 52% in the second half after a 29% first half. They will play top-seed Purdue in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Hunter Dickinson scored 24 points for eighth-seeded Michigan (17-15), which had just one second-half field goal until the final minute.
Trailing by three at halftime, Rutgers opened the second half on a 12-3 run and midway through scored 12 straight points to lead by 13 with just under six minutes remaining. The lead grew to 16 with two minutes to go.
The Wolverines, who shot 48% in the first half, had only four field goals in the second. The first two were 3-pointers by Dickinson – the second with 59 seconds left – that came 14 minutes apart. Michigan finished the second half 4 of 21 for 19%.
No. 2 UCLA 80, Colorado 69: Freshman Amari Bailey scored a season-high 26 points and No. 2 UCLA beat Colorado 80-69 Thursday in the Pac-12 Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
The Bruins (28-4) kept pushing for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with their 11th straight win. UCLA has won 25 of 27 games overall, and this was its first victory in Las Vegas in four games.
Colorado coach Tad Boyle was ejected with 54.4 seconds left after arguing a call. He had to be restrained by his assistants before leaving the floor.
No. 3 Kansas 78, West Virginia 61: Playing without ailing coach Bill Self on the sideline, third-ranked Kansas turned to big offensive performances from Jalen Wilson and Dajuan Harris Jr. along with some stingy defense to pull away from West Virginia 75-61 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
Wilson had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Harris had 13 points with
eight assists, as the top-seeded Jayhawks (26-6) began the defense of their tournament crown by knocking off the Mountaineers for the third time this season.
They will play fifth-seeded Iowa State, which beat Baylor earlier in the day, in Friday night’s semifinals.
No. 6 Marquette 72, St. John’s 70 (OT): Tyler Kolek scored all 19 of his points after halftime, including the tiebreaking free throws with 15.8 seconds left in overtime, and No. 6 Marquette rallied for a 72-70 victory over scrappy St. John’s in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday.
Iowa State 78, No. 10 Baylor 72: Gabe Kalscheur hit six 3-pointers and scored 24 points, helping Iowa State overcome a spectacular performance by Baylor forward Jalen Bridges and sending
the Cyclones to a 78-72 victory over the No. 10 Bears in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday.
No. 11 Connecticut 73, Providence 66: Jordan Hawkins scored 19 points and No. 11 Connecticut held off a furious second-half rally to beat Providence 7366 on Thursday in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.
The fourth-seeded Huskies (25-7) advanced to face top-seeded Marquette in Friday night’s semifinals at Madison Square Garden.
No. 14 Miami 74, Wake Forest 72: Jordan Miller had 18 points and nine rebounds for No. 14 Miami, which held off Wake Forest’s furious comeback for a 74-72 victory in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament on Thursday.
No. 21 Duke 96, Pittsburgh 69: Kyle
Filipowski overcame an early ankle injury to score 22 points, Tyrese Proctor added 11 points and 10 assists, and No. 21 Duke cruised to a 96-69 win over Pittsburgh on Thursday in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
Ohio State 73, Iowa 69: Bruce Thornton scored 17 points and Roddy Gayle Jr. had all nine of his points in the final six minutes to help give 13th-seeded Ohio State to a 73-69 win over fifthseeded Iowa in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday.
Mississippi State 69, Florida 68 (OT): Tolu Smith scored a career-high 28 points, including a go-ahead basket in overtime with 4.3 seconds left, and Mississippi State beat Florida 69-68 on Thursday in the second round of the SEC Tournament.