Desmond Claude scored 22 of his game-high 28 points after halftime, helping No. 14 seed Southern California recover after coughing up a 15-point lead to oust No. 11 seed Rutgers from the Big Ten tournament’s opening round 97-89 in double overtime on Wednesday in Indianapolis.
Rutgers’ Jeremiah Williams missed two foul shots with 19 seconds left in regulation. Claude then went one-on-one to the basket, scoring what proved to be the overtime-forcing layup after Dylan Harper’s last-ditch fadeaway attempt on the other end airballed.
The Trojans (16-16), who play No. 6 seed Purdue on Thursday, started the second OT with a layup from Claude and a 3-pointer from Rashaun Agee, and Rutgers never caught up. USC got 24 points from Wesley Yates III plus 23 points and 11 rebounds from Agee.
Harper finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Rutgers (15-17). Ace Bailey wound up with 17 points before fouling out, and Lathan Sommerville and Tyson Acuff each contributed 16 points.
Northwestern 72, Minnesota 64
Nick Martinelli scored a game-high 28 points and Ty Berry added 14 to lift the Wildcats to a victory against the Golden Gophers.
Thirteenth-seeded Northwestern (17-15) advances to face fifth-seeded Wisconsin on Thursday afternoon.
The Wildcats shot 48.2 percent compared to 37.7 percent for the 12th-seeded Golden Gophers. Minnesota (15-17) lost its third straight game while struggling to support leading scorer Dawson Garcia, who scored 22 points.
Iowa 77, Ohio State 70
Payton Sandfort scored 17 points and Josh Dix added 16 to help 15th-seeded Hawkeyes pull away in the second half for a victory over the 10th-seeded Buckeyes.
Iowa (17-15) plays No. 7 seed Illinois on Thursday. Brock Harding had 15 points and Pryce Sandfort 10 for the Hawkeyes.
Bruce Thornton led the Buckeyes (17-15) with 24 points and nine assists, and Devin Royal added 17 points.
–Field Level Media
Comments