NEW YORK — With Michigan’s stars saddled with foul trouble, and the shots just not falling, the 15th-ranked Wolverines got a lift from their senior sixth man to survive their Big Ten Tournament opener.
Duncan Robinson made Michigan’s only field goal in overtime, a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:15 left, and the Wolverines overcame an assortment of issues to beat Iowa 77-71 on Thursday to move on to the quarterfinals. Lima Senior graduate Xavier Simpson had 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal for Michigan.
The fifth-seeded Wolverines (25-7) face fourth-seeded Nebraska on Friday at Madison Square Garden.
The Wolverines made just enough free throws to hold off the Hawkeyes (14-19), who got a basket from Luka Garza on their first overtime possession and not another one.
Penn State 65, Northwestern 57
NEW YORK — With the game on the line and quite possibly a trip to the NCAA Tournament, Tony Carr didn’t hesitate to put Penn State on his back.
Carr scored 25 points and hit two 3-pointers and set up another in the final minutes as the seventh-seeded Nittany Lions (20-12) made a late rush to hold off Northwestern (15-17) in the second round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament/
Penn State broke its school record for a Big Ten Tournament game by hitting 13 three-pointers in snapping a three-game losing streak and setting up a quarterfinal game on Friday against No. 13 and second-seeded Ohio State.
Wisconsin 59, Maryland 54
NEW YORK — Brevin Pritzl broke a tie with a foul-line jumper with 28 seconds left and Khalil Iverson secured the win with a steal in the waning seconds, leading Wisconsin (15-17) past Maryland (19-13) in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Brad Davison and Iverson each made two free throws in the final nine seconds for the Badgers, who advanced to the quarterfinals against top-seeded Michigan State.
Rutgers 76, Indiana 69
NEW YORK — Corey Sanders scored 28 points and last-place Rutgers upset Indiana 76-69 Thursday night to advance to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, the Scarlet Knights most notable accomplishment in four seasons since joining the conference.
The 14th-seeded Scarlet Knights (15-18) face third seed and No. 8 Purdue at Madison Square Garden in the final game of Friday’s quarterfinal quadruple-header.
The Hoosiers (16-15) started the game on a 17-3 run, but were manhandled for the most part by Rutgers over the final 30 minutes.
