INDIANAPOLIS — Nia Clouden scored 30 points, including seven in a pivotal 10-1 run, as Michigan State upset No. 9 Indiana 69-61 in the quarterfinals of the women’s Big Ten Tournament on Thursday night.
The junior guard hit two jumpers as well as a 3-pointer in about a two-minute span to propel the seventh-seeded Spartans to a 57-48 lead over the second-seeded Hoosiers in the final quarter.
Clouden had 12 points and five foul shots in the final quarter. She finished 8 of 17 from the floor and made 13 of 16 free throws.
The Spartans (15-7) avenged a regular-season loss to the Hoosiers (18-5), who had entered on a nine-game winning streak.
Grace Berger led the Hoosiers with 19 points before fouling out. Mackenzie Holmes of Gorham had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
(7) MARYLAND 83, NEBRASKA 73: Ashley Owusu had team highs of 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to lead Maryland over Nebraska in the quarterfinals of Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.
Owusu sank 10 of 11 free throws, including all seven in the final quarter to help the top-seeded Terrapins pull away. Diamond Miller and Chloe Bibby each 18 points and Mimi Collins added 17.
Sam Haiby led Nebraska with 24 points.
NORTHWESTERN 65, (13) MICHIGAN 49: Veronica Burton scored 25 points with 13 rebounds and six assists to lead Northwestern over Michigan in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament at Indianapolis.
The game was tied at 30-all at halftime but the Wildcats held the Wolverines to a season-low 19 second-half points in avenging a pair of regular-season losses, including a 63-58 defeat last Saturday.
(24) FLORIDA GULF COAST 87, JACKSONVILLE 62: Tishara Morehouse scored 28 points, Kierstan Bell had 22 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, and Florida Gulf Coast (24-2) won its 23rd straight, cruising past Jacksonville (4-17) in the quarterfinals of Atlantic Sun Conference tournament at Kennesaw, Georgia.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
DUKE: Duke arrived at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament hoping to make an unprecedented run to extend its long NCAA tournament streak.
Instead, the Blue Devils abruptly had to pull out of the tournament and end its season due to a positive COVID-19 test and the resulting quarantining and contact tracing.
The ACC announced that the Blue Devils’ quarterfinal game against No. 15 Florida State for Thursday night has been canceled. And Athletics Director Kevin White said Duke’s season is over, ending the Blue Devils’ streak of 24 consecutive NCAA appearances that began in 1996.
In a statement, White said the positive test for someone within the program came after Wednesday’s win against Louisville, the Blue Devils’ second win in as many days in Greensboro. Before this, there had been no positive tests all season for a player or coach, he said.
“Since last March when the pandemic started, we have listened to our medical experts and always put safety at the forefront of any determinations regarding competition,” White said. “As a result, this will end our 2020-21 season. We wish every team still playing college basketball good health and the very best during the next few weeks.”
The Blue Devils (13-11, 9-9 ACC) failed to live up to their lofty standards, but coach Mike Krzyzewski said he loved this young team and was honored to coach it.
“We have not asked more of any team in our history, and they deserve enormous credit for handling everything like the outstanding young men they are,” Krzyzewski said in a statement. “I feel deeply for our players, who have done a terrific job all season in taking care of each other and the team.
“I am extremely proud of their collective attitudes and effort, which could not have been stronger.”
With Duke withdrawing, the Seminoles advanced to the ACC Tournament semifinals to play the North Carolina-Virginia Tech winner.
(2) BAYLOR 74, KANSAS STATE 68: MaCio Teague scored 24 points, Davion Mitchell added 23 and Baylor (22-1) held on to beat Kansas State (9-20) in the Big 12 Tournament at Kansas City, Missouri.
The Wildcats, who lost their two regular-season games to Baylor by an average of 40 points, never allowed the high-powered Bears to slip away. The plucky bunch of kids kept answering baskets until the final minute. Freshman Nijel Pack’s sixth 3-pointer got them within 70-66 with just over a minute to go.
Mitchell missed at the other end, but Kansas State couldn’t capitalize when Mike McGuirl threw a wild pass that Pack batted into the air. The Bears came down with the loose ball and Jared Butler made a couple free throws to seal the win.
(9) OHIO STATE 79, MINNESOTA 75: Duane Washington Jr. and Justice Sueing each scored 16 points and Ohio State (19-8) fended off a late charge by Minnesota (14-15) in the Big Ten Tournament at Indianapolis.
The Buckeyes snapped a four-game losing streak and advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals.
Marcus Carr scored 24 points and Jamal Mashburn Jr. finished with 18 to lead Minnesota, which lost for the eighth time in nine games.
(11) KANSAS 69, (25) OKLAHOMA 62: Ochai Agbaji scored a career-high 26 points, Marcus Garrett added 17, and Kansas (20-8) held on after blowing most of a 20-point halftime lead to beat Oklahoma (15-10) in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament at Kansas City, Missouri.
Mitch Lightfoot added 11 points for the Jayhawks, who played without big man David McCormack and backup forward Tristan Enaruna, both of whom were caught up in COVID-19 protocols leading up to the tournament.
GEORGETOWN 72, (14) VILLANOVA 71: Dante Harris made two free throws with 4.7 seconds left to cap a perfect game from the line and the Hoyas upset Villanova in New York to reach the Big East Tournament semifinals.
The eighth-seeded Hoyas are in the conference semifinals for the first time since 2015. Harris led the way with 18 points and drew a foul on on Jeremiah Robinson-Earl driving to the basket with 4.7 seconds left and the Hoyas down one.
Harris rattled in the first and swished the second to make Georgetown 23 of 23 from the line, the first time a team has shot 100% on at least 20 attempts in the Big East Tournament.
With no timeouts left, Caleb Daniels rushed up court and got off a long 3-pointer in traffic for Villanova, but it missed badly. The top-seeded Wildcats (16-6), playing without injured star Collin Gillespie, had won three straight Big East Tournament titles.
(12) OKLAHOMA STATE 72, (10) WEST VIRGINIA 69: Avery Johnson III hit the go-ahead bucket for Oklahoma State with less than a minute to go, and Sean McNeil’s tying 3-pointer came a split-second after the final buzzer, allowing the Cowboys (19-7) to escape with a win over West Virginia (19-8) in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals in Kansas City, Missouri.
Anderson and Big 12 player of the year Cade Cunningham had 17 points apiece for the fifth-seeded Cowboys, who have won seven of their last eight games – including two against the Mountaineers – with the only loss to No. 2 Baylor.
Isaac Likekele and Bryce Williams each added 10 points to help the Cowboys reach the semifinal round, where they will face the top-seeded Bears or No. 9 seed Kansas State for a spot in Saturday’s championship game.
The Mountaineers drew up a play to get Taz Sherman an open 3 from the corner in the final seconds, but he misfired and the ball found its way to McNeil. He threw a pump fake to get a defender in the air, and the moment it took to do that cost him a chance at the winner – the buzzer had sounded by the time he released his own 3 and it splashed through the net.
Miles McBride and Sherman finished with 19 points apiece for West Virginia.
(16) VIRGINIA 72, SYRACUSE 69: Reece Beekman hit a 3-pointer as time expired to help Virginia edge Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament at Greensboro, North Carolina.
Beekman hadn’t hit a shot all day but buried a 3 from the right wing off a feed from Kihei Clark as the horn sounded. That sent Beekman sprinting immediately toward the other end of the court with his teammates pursuing him at full speed before finally gathering with him near the far baseline to celebrate. That shot helped the top-seeded Cavaliers (18-6) grind out a win after trailing by 11 in the first half while struggling to slow Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim.
Boeheim finished with a career-high 31 points for the eighth-seeded Orange (16-9), a day after he scored 27 points in Syracuse’s tournament opener. He nearly lifted the Orange to another win to help their NCAA tournament chances, scoring 11 of Syracuse’s last 13 points.
(17) CREIGHTON 87, BUTLER 56: With Coach Greg McDermott back on the bench after a one-game suspension, Creighton (19-7) cruised into the semifinals of the Big East Tournament with a win against Butler (10-15) at New York.
Creighton is in the semifinals for the third time since joining the conference in 2013 and first time since 2017.
(19) SAN DIEGO STATE 69, WYOMING 66: Terrell Gomez scored 20 points and San Diego State (21-4) beat Wyoming (14-11) to advance to the Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinals at Las Vegas.
The Cowboys had a chance to tie it at the buzzer, but Marcus Williams’ long 3-pointer missed badly.
WOMEN’S HOCKEY
UMAINE: Senior Loryn Porter was selected as one of the final three candidates for the first Women’s Hockey Goalie of the Year Award.
Porter finished the 2020-21 season with a 1.49 goals-against average, .954 save percentage and only 27 total goals allowed over 18 regular and postseason games, which were all played on the road. The save percentage was good enough for second in the nation, while her goals-against average comes in at sixth best.
The winner will be announced on Wednesday, the day before next week’s NCAA semifinal games are played.
FOOTBALL
KANSAS: Emmett Jones was picked as the interim football coach as the beleaguered school searches for a new athletic director and head football coach following a scandal-plagued week.
Jones is entering his third season with the Jayhawks, serving first as the wide receivers coach and most recently as the passing game coordinator. He also has coached at Texas Tech along with several high schools in Texas.
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