Big Ten Court Report: Dec. 1
(Video courtesy of Big Ten Network)
No. 1 Indiana 87, Coppin State 51: The Hoosiers (8-0) started the game 0 for 9 but quickly found their stroke, ending the first half on a 22-8 run over the final 9:29. GuardVictor Oladipo and F Will Sheehey paced Indiana with 14 points apiece, and Cody Zeller added nine points and seven rebounds. Coppin State (1-6) had never played a team ranked No. 1 before Saturday.
No. 3 Michigan 74, Bradley 66: Each time the Wolverines (7-0) looked like they were going to pull away, Bradley (5-2) crept back into the game with a timely 3-pointer or a transition bucket. Freshman Nik Stauskas led the Wolverines with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting and hit 4 of 5 shots from the 3-point line. Foul trouble limited the Braves in the second half, but Bradley continued to battle, cutting a 15-point Wolverine lead with just over five minutes remaining to just five with 25 seconds to go. Guard Trey Burke scored 16 points and had a team-high five assists.
No. 4 Ohio State 70, Northern Kentucky 43: The Buckeyes (5-1) started sluggishly, but a 23-11 run over the final 10:50 of the first half provided enough of a buffer. ForwardLaQuinton Ross scored a career-high 22 points off the Buckeyes' bench, doubling his previous best. Deshaun Thomas struggled to find any rhythm but it didn't matter because Ohio State's zone defense held Northern Kentucky (0-5) to 7 of 29 from the 3-point line.
Xavier 63, Purdue 57: The Musketeers (6-1) outscored the Boilermakers 37-28 in the second half and got 25 points from Semaj Christon to beat Purdue (3-4). The Boilermakers lost despite a 38-26 rebounding advantage and a double-double from G Terone Johnson (19 points, 10 rebounds).
No. 13 Michigan State 84, Nicholls State 39: After a hectic schedule that's seen the Spartans play five games since Nov. 18, Michigan State (6-2) was finally able to relax against the Colonels (1-3). The Spartans closed the first half on a 17-0 run, spurred by freshman GGary Harris and F Derrick Nix. Point guard Keith Appling led the Spartans with 13 points and six assists, and Michigan State forced 18 turnovers against Nicholls State, which was playing with just an eight-man rotation due to injury and illness.
Iowa 88, Texas A&M Corpus-Christi 59: The Hawkeyes (6-2) halted a two-game losing streak with the rout over the Islanders (1-5). Forward Melsahn Basabe scored 17 points off the bench and led the Hawkeyes with five rebounds as Iowa doubled the Islanders' rebounding 36-18. Stretch-forward Roy Devyn Marble had 15 points -- his eighth straight game with at least 10 points. Iowa never trailed.
Penn State 58, Pennsylvania 47: The Quakers (2-6) kept within single digits most of the second half, but the Nittany Lions (4-3) made 7-of-9 free throws down the stretch. Jermaine Marshall andD.J. Newbill combined for 31 points and seven assists to pace Penn State. Both players spent time as the primary point guard as the Nittany Lions continued to search for the best replacement for G Tim Frazier, who is out for the year with an ACL injury.
No. 21 Minnesota 87, North Florida 59: The Gophers (8-1) maintained at least a 10-point lead throughout the second half and continued their strong defensive play inside the post. Minnesota blocked a season-high 13 shots and tied a season-high with 15 steals. Rodney Williams Jr. led the Gophers with 14 points and eight rebounds, but it was their second-effort on missed chances that was the difference against North Florida (3-5). Despite making 1 of 13 from the 3-point line, the Gophers had 21 offensive rebounds, which they converted into 27 points.
Illinois-Chicago 50, Northwestern 44: The game teetered back-and-forth with four lead changes in the second half. But a 6-0 run in the final minute ultimately made the difference for the Flames (6-1). Guard Drew Crawford led Northwestern (6-2) with 18 points, but the Wildcats had 16 turnovers and shot 50 percent (10 of 20) from the free-throw line. It was the Wildcats' second straight loss after they lost by 20 to Maryland in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday.
Star of the night: Ross, Ohio State. In a game when the rest of the Buckeyes' shooters were struggling, Ross contributed across the board. He showed good range, hitting 3 of 6 3-point attempts and knocked down 8 of 12 shots overall. He also had eight rebounds. His previous career-high (11) came two games ago against UMKC.
Inside the box score -- 3 numbers worth a second look
0-17 -- The Boilermakers missed all 17 of their 3-point attempts against Xavier on Saturday, the first time they didn't have at least one 3-pointer since 1992.
30 -- As in the percentage the rest of Ohio State's shooters -- besides Ross -- shot in the win over Northern Kentucky. The Buckeyes shot a combined 15 of 49, but made 17 of their 20 free throws.
62 -- Wolverines freshman Stauskas' 3-point percentage this season after hitting 4 of 5 in Saturday's win. He's 18 of 29, the 11th-best 3-point percentage in the country.
Saturday's quote of the day:
Michigan's Burke on Stauskas' hot shooting: "I get on him when he does miss one," he said to the Detroit Free Press. "But that's not common. So I hit him every time we have numbers."
Dec. 2 game
California at Wisconsin, 4 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network)
For more Big Ten coverage, follow Mike Singer and Dave Carey @CBSSportsBigTen.
