No. 9 Wisconsin def. No. 8 Maryland, 59-54
Game one of round two of the Big Ten Tournament saw Wisconsin grind out a hard-fought win against Maryland. Ethan Happ led the Badgers with 14 points and seven rebounds. Brad Davison added 13 points including some crucial buckets late in the second half.
Sophomore guard Brevin Pritzl made the go-ahead jumper to give Wisconsin a late 55-53 lead. Kevin Huerter had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with 9.2 seconds left in regulation but went one-for-two at the line. The Badgers sealed the game at the free throw line (20-for-24) in the end to advance to the second round for a matchup with Michigan State.
Wisconsin shot under 40% from the field
Under 20% from three
-20 in points in the paint
But finished +12 from the FT line (20-24)
+13 in points off turnovers
Nine steals #B1GTourney— Basketball Society (@BBallSociety_) March 1, 2018
No. 5 Michigan def. No. 12 Iowa, 77-71
Game two had Michigan advance past Iowa in the only game of the day that went into overtime. Charles Matthews led the Wolverines with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Michigan was plagued by the three-ball for most of the game. Duncan Robinson hit their first three-pointer at the 9:32 mark in the second half. The Wolverines shot 3-for-19 from behind the arc for the game but scored 48 points (+14) in the paint.
Michigan held Iowa scoreless in the first six minutes of the second half, sparking an 11-0 run that would help them seize control of the game.
Free throws almost plagued Michigan down the stretch. The Wolverines missed 14 of their 32 attempts in the game. Abdur-Rahkman missed the front end of a one-and-one late which gave Iowa’s Jordan Bohannon, who was quiet for most of the game, a window to knock down a game-tying go-ahead three-pointer with 16 seconds left in regulation. Michigan would outscore Iowa 10-4 in overtime to advance for a matchup with Nebraska.
No. 7 Penn State def. No. 10 Northwestern, 65-57
First Team All-Big Ten guard Carr scored eight of Penn State’s first 15 points. He scored 15 of his 25 points in the first half, where the contest was evenly matched at 30-apiece at the break.
The Nittany Lions set a program record in the Big Ten Tournament with 13 made threes. They were +24 from behind the arc, where Northwestern shot 5-of-19. Those 13 threes from Penn State all came from three players — Tony Carr, Shep Garner, and Josh Reaves. They combined for 13-of-28 shooting from three, as only one other Penn State player even attempted a three-point shot. The Nittany Lions’ advantage behind the arc became the key difference maker.
Penn State will meet no. 2 seeded Ohio State on Friday evening.
No. 14 Rutgers def. No. 6 Indiana, 76-69
It was a 17-3 start for Indiana in the first eight minutes of the game, but the emphatic response from the Scarlet Knights became the story of the night. Rutgers cut Indiana’s lead down to three with 3:07 left in the first half after a steal and monster slam by Corey Sanders, changing the entire energy for the rest of the game.
Corey Sanders has dominated this game for Rutgers.
His top highlight was this monster dunk after a takeaway in the first half.#B1GTourney pic.twitter.com/Vxgni0lA1r
— Basketball Society (@BBallSociety_) March 2, 2018
Rutgers closed the first half on a 17-2 run over the last 5:29, collapsing on Indiana and forcing a flurry of turnovers that would create transition baskets and infectious momentum. After battling back, the Scarlet Knights held a 29-28 lead at the break.
Indiana tied the game back up at 46-46 with a little over eight minutes left in regulation. But the Scarlet Knights kept getting timely and fearless offense from Deshawn Freeman (15 points) and 6’7 sophomore forward Eugene Omoruyi.
Rutgers pushed their lead to six with 5:11 remaining after a corner three by Geo Baker. They would never let the Hoosiers back to a tie, keeping the lead for the rest of the game as Corey Sanders punctuated the final minutes with timely buckets and a couple of crowd-rattling dunks.
Is it too early to talk about Corey Sanders and the All-#B1GTourney team?
The @RutgersMBB star has no shortage of jaw-droppers.#BTNStandout x @Discover pic.twitter.com/ci9cKhTpMk
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 2, 2018
With the win, the Scarlet Knights become the first no. 14 seed in Big Ten Tournament history to advance to the quarterfinals.
Rutgers will meet no. 3 seed Purdue on Friday night.
