Nick Martinelli scored a game-high 28 points and freshman Jake West added 18 to match a career high as Northwestern advanced to the third round of the Big Ten tournament with a 74-61 victory over Indiana on Wednesday night in Chicago.
Tre Singleton scored eight points and Jayden Reid added six assists for the 15th-seeded Wildcats (15-18), who collected their seventh consecutive win over the 10th-seeded Hoosiers and their second in 16 days.
Martinelli, the Big Ten’s leading scorer during the regular season at 22.8 points per game, went 10 of 18 from the floor and reached the 20-point mark for the 25th time.
Northwestern earned its second tournament victory in two days and moved on to face seventh-seeded and No. 18-ranked Purdue (23-8) on Thursday. The Boilermakers edged the Wildcats 70-66 on March 4 in Evanston, Ill.
Iowa 75, Maryland 64
The Hawkeyes exploded in the second half, capitalizing on turnovers and the tandem of Bennett Stirtz and Cooper Koch to advance to the third round of the Big Ten tournament with a win over the Terrapins.
Koch wasn’t bothered by a bloody nose, as the freshman forward scored team-best and career-high 19 points, and Stirtz added 17 after a quiet first half. Stirtz also had eight assists and six rebounds. Iowa (21-11) ended a three-game losing streak while Maryland (12-21) had 16 turnovers and missed 14 of its 21 3-point tries.
Isaiah Watts had four 3s and finished with 12 points and Darius Adams scored a team-high 14 for the 17th-seeded Terrapins, who saw Iowa take control with a 21-0 run starting at the 17:16 mark of the second half that buried Maryland in a 51-34 hole.
Washington 83, USC 79 (OT)
Zoom Diallo scored 22 points and added 11 assists and seven rebounds as the Huskies overcame a 13-point deficit in the second half to defeat the Trojans in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Quimari Peterson and Wesley Yates III scored 15 points apiece and Hannes Steinbach had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the 12th-seeded Huskies (16-16), who will meet No. 5 seed Wisconsin (22-9) on Thursday.
Kam Woods led the 13th-seeded Trojans (18-14) with 24 points and seven assists. Jacob Cofie added 14 points and nine rebounds, Jordan Marsh had 13 points and Ryan Cornish and Ezra Ausar scored 10 apiece as USC lost its eighth straight game.
Rutgers 72, Minnesota 67
Tariq Francis scored 29 points and shot 5-for-7 from 3-point range as the 14th-seeded Scarlet Knights finished strong for a win over the 11th-seeded Golden Gophers in the Big Ten tournament’s second round.
Jamichael Davis finished with 13 points and six assists for Rutgers (14-18), which advances to face sixth-seeded UCLA in the quarterfinals Thursday night. Emmanuel Ogbole scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots as the Scarlet Knights avenged a 19-point loss against the Golden Gophers on Feb. 21.
Cade Tyson scored 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting to lead Minnesota (15-17). Bobby Durkin finished with 15 points and made four 3-pointers, and Grayson Grove chipped in 10 points.
–Field Level Media
