Big Ten Roundup: Illinois, Wisconsin Share League Title on Bizzare Final Day
Updated 11:38 p.m. ET
MADISON, Wis. — The mismatch, at least on paper, seemed overwhelming. Wisconsin was set to clinch an outright Big Ten title on Sunday, but last-place Nebraska had other ideas.
The Cornhuskers, who had won just one of their first 17 Big Ten games, won their third straight on Sunday, holding the undermanned Badgers without a field goal in the final five minutes to win 74-73. It was a stunning conclusion for Wisconsin, which was 15-1 in games decided by six points or less this season.
The Badgers, who were 13-point favorites, simply needed a win to clinch its first outright title since 2015, but now, at 15-5 in the league, will share the title with Illinois after they beat Iowa on Sunday night. (Summary below)
Wisconsin was forced to play most of the second half without star Johnny Davis, who suffered a lower body injury on a hard foul by Nebraska's Trey McGowens, who was assessed a Flagrant-2 foul and ejected for a blow to the head that took Davis to the floor awkwardly. He did not return to the game.
Nebraska has beaten Penn State and No. 23 Ohio State in the past week, too. They are the first 20-loss team to beat ranked teams back-to-back in more than 50 years. Guard Alonzo Verge Jr. led the Cornhuskers with 26 points.
Wisconsin had a final possession to win the game. Guard Brad Davison was double-teamed, so he passed to a wide open Chucky Hepburn, who had just hit the game-winner against Purdue on Tuesday. But this shot hit the back of the rim and bounced off. Davison led Wisconsin win 20 points. Hepburn had just eight points on 2-of-9 shooting, and was 0-for-4 from three-point range.
Wisconsin will be the No. 2 seed in this week's Big Ten Tournament, and won't play until Friday. "I'm ready to go to Indy. Whether we're a 1 or a 2-seed, doesn't matter to me,'' Wisconsin's Davison said after the game. "Losing stings.''
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said he feels good about Davis' status for the Big Ten Tournament. "I'm optimistic that he's gonna be fine,'' Gard said.
Illinois 74, Iowa 72
Taking advantage of the stunning Wisconsin loss, Illinois won its first regular season Big Ten title since 2005 on Sunday night, rallying past Iowa 74-72 at a sold-out State Farm Center in Champaign.
Illinois (22-8, 15-5 in the Big Ten) was forced to erase a 15-point deficit to do it, too, and did just that to knock off the Hawkeyes, who might have been the hottest team in the Big Ten coming into the game.
"This as not an easy win, this was not an easy season. We dealt with a lot," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. "It's just crazy. I'm so happy for this team. We never got rattled, We just hung in. We withstood it. Damn it, we're Big Ten champions. I don't care how you win a championship. It's pretty special."
Illinois scratched out of that 15-point hole thanks to several threes from Alfonso Plummer and went ahead for good at the 7:03 mark and never looked back. He finished with 15 points, and center Kofi Cockburn led the way with 21. Iowa was led by forward Keegan Murray, who had 22 points.
Senior guard Jordan Bohannon, the Hawkeyes' second-leading scorer, was saddled with foul trouble and didn't score at all in 14 minutes of action.
Iowa (22-9, 12-8) will be the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
Rutgers 59, Penn State 58
Senior Ron Harper Jr. scored 15 points and hit a go-ahead free throw with 1:41 to play as Rutgers beat Penn State 59-58 on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights blew a 15-point lead, but made enough plays down the stretch to seal. the win.
The Scarlet Knights (18-12, 12-8 in the Big Ten) finished with a 14-3 record at Jersey Mike's Arena this season, and the win was probably enough to get them a second straight bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell believes they've done enough to earn a bid now.
"I just look at this league, and I know how we're playing," Pikiell said. "Not only can we be in that thing, we can win some games, too. This is a really good basketball team."
Penn State guard Sam Sessoms made a three-pointer with 11 seconds to go to cut the lead to 59-58. And after Rutgers' Paul Mulcahy threw away the ensuing inbounds pass, Sessoms got another chance, but his contested three-pointer in the final seconds came up short.
"It was a whole lot of relief," Harper said of the final miss. Rutgers got the No. 4 seed — and a double bye —thanks to the Iowa and Ohio State losses and gets a double-bye into Friday's quarterfinals. It's the highest seed Rutgers has ever had in the conference tournament.
Michigan 75, Ohio State 69
Despite playing without star center Hunter Dickinson, Michigan upset Ohio State 75-69 in Columbus on Sunday, and the win was probably enough to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Michigan point guard DeVante' Jones scored 21 points and had nine assists to pace the second-half rally,
Ohio State has struggled down the stretch, losing their fourth game against an unranked team in their last seven outings. The Buckeyes were led by Malaki Branham with 18 points and forward E.J. Liddell, who had his eighth double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds for Ohio State (19-10, 12-8 in the Big Ten).
The Buckeyes fell to the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament with the loss. Michigan will be the No. 8 seed and play No. 9 seed Indiana.
Michigan's Brandon Johns blocks a shot during the Wolverines' upset win at Ohio State on Sunday. (USA TODAY Sports)
Michigan State 77, Maryland 67
Michigan State held off a second-half Maryland rally and won 77-67 on Sunday in East Lansing, clinching the No. 7 seed in next week's Big Ten Tournament.
The Spartans got a big game out of Malik Hall, and the forward scored 17 points off the bench. Tyson Walker had 13, Marcus Bingham Jr. had 12 — including three three-pointers — and Gabe Brown had 10. Michigan State finished the regular season with a 20-11 record, and were 11-9 in Big Ten play.
Maryland guard Eric Ayala led the late rally. He scored 19 points on the day, and hit five three-pointers.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo won his 663rd game, breaking his tie with Indiana's Bob Knight for the most wins as a coach at a Big Ten school.
The two teams will meet again on Thursday in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan State is the No. 7 seed, and Maryland is seeded 10th. The winner will get Wisconsin.
Northwestern 75, Minnesota 62
Pete Nance hit three early three-pointers and scored 19 points and had 12 rebouds, leading Northwestern to a 75-62 win over Minnesota in the Wildcats' final home game of the year in Evanston. Robbie Beran added 15, and Boo Buie had 10 for the Wildcats, who finished with a 14-15 overall record, and 7-13 in the Big Ten.
Northwestern led by 20 points at halftime but had to hold off a Minnesota rally. The Gophers got to within eight late in the second half, but then missed their next four shots to slow the rally.
Northwestern will be the No. 12 seed in the Big Ten tournament and will have to play Nebraska on Wednesday night in the opening round. Minnesota (13-16, 4-16) drops to the No. 14 seed and will play Penn State on Wednesday night.
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