Friday's college basketball: No. 9 Buckeyes beat No. 21 Purdue in OT, make Big Ten semis
Indianapolis — Seth Towns is a natural when it comes to staying poised.
So when Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann needed an extra body to fill a key role Friday, he gave the Harvard transfer an opportunity.
Towns took full advantage of it, scoring a season-high 12 points in 11 minutes and making the tiebreaking free throw to start overtime as the ninth-ranked Buckeyes beat No. 21 Purdue 87-78 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
Towns scored six points in OT, including a crucial 3-pointer with 2:53 left.
“Seth and I had a conversation last night and I just felt like he was going to play well tonight," Holtmann said after earning his 200th career victory. “I just felt very confident in his mindset where his head was. It’s a great, great credit to him.”
The Buckeyes (20-8) may need their graduate transfer to come up big in Saturday's semifinal matchup against No. 4 Michigan, their longtime rival and the Big Ten regular-season champs, especially if Kyle Young is out.
Young matched his career with 18 points in the first half but most of the second half after taking an inadvertent elbow to the head.
Young tried to play but eventually came out and did not return. Ohio State also finished the game without all-conference forward E.J. Liddell, who fouled out after scoring 17 points, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out five assists.
Duane Washington Jr. led Ohio State with 20 points.
For the Buckeyes, it was another harrowing close call. Just 24 hours after Minnesota cut a 14-point lead to one in the final 3 1/2 minutes of Thursday's tourney opener, they blew an 18-point halftime lead.
Towns rescued them.
“Seth is always under control and calm," Liddell said, cracking a smile. “I feel like Seth is always the level-headed one and he made the big plays, the big shots."
It was a big moment, too. Ohio State had lost both of the other games against the Boilermakers (18-9) and the victory sends them to their first semifinal appearance since 2014.
Trevion Williams finished with 26 points, 14 rebounds and five assists as Purdue's five-game winning streak ended. Jaden Ivey added 19 points.
“It was on us," Boilermakers forward Mason Gillis said when asked about the momentum shift in overtime. “We missed a free throw box out, they get a layup, a runner and a 3 (from Towns) and that’s it right there.”
One day after snapping a four-game losing streak, the Buckeyes won another game in less than impressive fashion. Yes, they need to develop a stronger knockout punch to make a deep NCAA Tournament run. What they do have, however, is grit and depth.
One of the Big Ten's hottest teams was doomed by a miserable first half in Indy. It's only the second loss the Boilermakers have suffered inside Indiana this season. But now they'll get some extra rest before resuming next week in one of the three Indiana cities hosting tourney action this sesaon.
More Big Ten tournament
►No. 3 Illinois 90, Rutgers 68: Ayo Dosunmu scored 23 points and No. 3 Illinois easily beat Rutgers in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
The junior guard was too quick in creating open looks off the dribble, often provided chances for teammates. Dosunmu shot 8 for 11 from the field, 7 of 9 from the line and added six assists and five rebounds.
Illinois (21-6) has won 12 of its last 13 games and avenged a regular-season loss to Rutgers (15-11) to advance to Saturday’s semifinals against the winner of No. 5 Iowa and Wisconsin.
When the second-seeded Illini weren’t hitting shots, they were forcing the action with drives to the rim and getting fouled. Illinois made 21 of 31 free throws. Seventh-seeded Rutgers converted 16 of 22.
Center Kofi Cockburn threw around his 7-foot, 285-pound frame, and had four emphatic dunks. He finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Illinois dominated the boards 44-19, including 17-3 in offensive rebounds.
Rutgers reduced a 19-point halftime deficit to 13 early in the second half, but got no closer.
Ron Harper Jr. scored 21 points and Jacob Young had 13 for the Scarlet Knights.
The Illini scored the first nine points. Rutgers closed within four points before Illinois pulled away. Cockburn punctuated the early effort with a one-handed dunk off an offensive rebound for a 45-26 lead in the final minute of the first half.
The Scarlet Knights were ranked as high as 11th during the regular season, but injuries took a toll. A modestly successful season after 20 wins the year before was a letdown without an NCAA Tournament bid. Perhaps the NIT will provide a chance to keep playing.
The last time the Illini were as high as a second seed was in 2009, when they were also a No. 2. A tourney title could legitimize the team as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Sixteen conference wins in the regular season were the most in team history.
►No. 5 Iowa 62, Wisconsin 57: Luka Garza scored 24 points, Joe Wieskamp made two key baskets late and No. 5 Iowa fended off Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
The third-seeded Hawkeyes (21-7) rallied from a six-point halftime deficit behind Garza. Their all-time leading scorer dominated inside, making 10 of 15 field goals and 4 of 5 free throws.
Iowa advanced to face third-ranked Illinois in Saturday’s semifinals.
The game was tied at 52 when Wieskamp maneuvered into the paint to take advantage of a size mismatch with close-range baskets on consecutive possessions, the latter for a 56-52 lead with 2:35 remaining. He finished with 10 points. Iowa had a 38-20 edge in points in the paint.
The sixth-seeded Badgers (17-12), who entered the tournament having lost five of six, never recovered. Wisconsin dropped another close game because it couldn’t make clutch shots.
D’Mitrik Trice led Wisconsin with 19 points, but with the Badgers trailing by four in the final minute, he was unable to get the ball inbounds in 5 seconds, sealing the outcome.
The Hawkeyes swept the season series from the Badgers, including a 77-73 win five days ago in Iowa City.
Wisconsin finished the first half with a 7-2 run to take a 32-26 lead, but Iowa responded with a 7-0 run early in the second half to trim the deficit to one. The teams traded the lead five times in the final 11 minutes.
The Badgers hoped to show something in this tournament to improve their chances of playing in the NCAA Tournament or NIT. Almost blowing an 18-point lead in a one-point win over Penn State on Thursday was the highlight of the weekend.
The Hawkeyes were assured of an NCAA Tournament berth when they arrived in Indianapolis and now have a chance to improve their seeding. Iowa’s 14 regular-season conference wins were its most since 1987.
Top 25
►No. 12 Oklahoma State 83, No. 2 Baylor 74: Cade Cunningham scored 25 points, Avery Anderson III added 20 and No. 12 Oklahoma State was nearly perfect from the foul line down the stretch in beating second-ranked Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
Rondel Walker also had 11 points for the No. 5 seed Cowboys (20-7), who will play No. 13 Texas for the title Saturday night.
The third-seeded Longhorns advanced earlier Friday when their semifinal against No. 11 Kansas was canceled because of a positive COVID-19 test that forced the Jayhawks to withdraw from the tournament. While the Cowboys have two Big 12 tourney titles to their credit, Texas has never won the event in six appearances in the finals.
MaCio Teague scored 17 points and Jared Butler had 16 for the top-seeded Bears (22-2), who had won 10 of their last 11 against the Cowboys after sweeping them in the regular season.
►No. 6 Alabama 85, Mississippi State 48: Jahvon Quinerly scored 14 points off the bench, Jaden Shackelford had 13 points and Alabama blew out Mississippi State in a Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinal.
The No. 6 Crimson Tide (22-6) will face Tennessee in Saturday’s semifinals.
Playing as the tournament’s top seed for the first time since 2002, the Crimson Tide followed a couple of small early runs before going on a 17-0 surge over five minutes for a 43-13 cushion just before halftime.
Iverson Molinar scored 18 points, Tolu Smith had 11 and Abdul Ado grabbed 11 rebounds for ninth-seeded Mississippi State (15-14).
►No. 7 Houston 77, Tulane 52: DeJon Jarreau had his first career triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, helping Houston beat Tulane in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
Quentin Grimes scored 15 points and Marcus Sasser added 14 as each connected on four 3-pointers to help the Cougars (22-3) recover from a cold-shooting first half from long range. Houston will play the UCF-Memphis winner in the semifinals Saturday night.
Kevin Cross scored 11 points for the 10th-seeded Green Wave (10-13), who stayed with a Top 10 team into the second half after beating seventh-seeded Tulsa 77-70 in the first round.
►No. 8 Arkansas 70, Missouri 64: Reserve JD Notae scored a season-high 27 points, and Arkansas overcame a 10-point deficit to beat Missouri and advance to the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals.
The second-seeded Razorbacks (22-5) won their 12th straight SEC game. They will play either LSU or Ole Miss in the semifinals Saturday, their fourth such berth since 2015.
Justin Smith scored 16 points before fouling out for Arkansas, and Davonte Davis added 11.
Xavier Pinson led Missouri (16-9) with 14 points. Dru Smith added 11 for the Tigers, who have never reached the SEC Tournament semifinals.
►No. 15 Florida State 69, North Carolina 66: Anthony Polite hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:06 left, and Florida State held off North Carolina in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
Balsa Koprivica had a career highs of 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the second-seeded Seminoles (16-5), who blew a 13-point lead, then rallied from five down midway through the second half to grind out a tough win that came down to the final seconds.
The Seminoles will face Georgia Tech in the championship game. The Yellow Jackets advanced when their semifinal against No. 16 Virginia was canceled because of COVID-19 issues in the Cavaliers program.
Caleb Love scored 13 points to lead the sixth-seeded Tar Heels (18-10).
►No. 17 Creighton 59, UConn 56: Marcus Zegarowski made two key baskets in a decisive nine-point run late in the second half and Creighton held UConn without a field goal over the final six minutes to beat the Huskies in the Big East Tournament semifinals.
The second-seeded Bluejays (20-7) will play eighth-seeded Georgetown in the championship game Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
Down 53-48 with 5:44 left in the second half, the Bluejays took over behind Zegarowski. The junior guard started a 9-0 run with a driving layup and capped it with a mid-range jumper that put Creighton up 57-53 with 2:35 left.
Zegarowski finished with 13 points and Damien Jefferson led Creighton with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
James Bouknight scored 14 to lead the third-seeded Huskies (15-7).
►No. 19 San Diego State 77, Nevada 70: Matt Mitchell had 24 points and eight rebounds to lead San Diego State past Nevada in the Mountain West Tournament semifinals.
The Aztecs (22-4) advanced to their fourth straight conference championship and seventh in eight years. San Diego State will make its 15th appearance in the Mountain West title game, where it will play either Utah State or Colorado State.
Jordan Schakel scored 15 points, Trey Pulliam added 13 and Lamont Butler chipped in with 10 for the Aztecs.
Grant Sherfield scored 25 points for Nevada (16-10). Warren Washington finished with 19 points, while Desmond Cambridge Jr. added 17 for the Wolf Pack.
Big Ten tournament
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
Wednesday, March 10
►Game 1: 13-Minnesota 51, 12-Northwestern 46
►Game 2: 11-Penn State 72,14-Nebraska 66
Thursday, March 11
►Game 3: 8-Maryland 68, 9-Michigan State 57
►Game 4: 5-Ohio State 79, 13-Minnesota 75
►Game 5: 7-Rutgers 61, 10-Indiana 50
►Game 6: 6-Wisconsin 75, 11-Penn State 74
Friday, March 12
►Game 7: 1-Michigan 79, 8-Maryland 66
►Game 8: 5-Ohio State 87, 4-Purdue 78, OT
►Game 9: 2-Illinois 90, 7-Rutgers 68
►Game 10: 3-Iowa 62, 6-Wisconsin 57
Saturday, March 13
►Game 11: 1-Michigan vs. 5-Ohio State, 1 p.m., CBS
►Game 12: 2-Illinois vs. 3-Iowa, 25 min. after GM 11, CBS
Sunday, March 14
►Championship game: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 3:30 p.m., CBS
Eastern Standard Time