Wisconsin beats Michigan State; Ohio State, Illinois, Purdue also advance

CHICAGO (AP) -Alando Tucker stepped back and hit the 3-pointer from the top of the key, then let his tongue dangle and thumped his chest as he backpedaled back down the court.

Tucker scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half, and No. 3 Wisconsin beat Michigan State 70-57 in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals on Friday.

The conference player of the year, Tucker managed just three free throws in the first half but made up for it in the second by hitting four 3-pointers.

"I knew at that point in time I had to step up," Tucker said. "We made some good calls, some good reads, and that's the way the ball drops sometimes. I never try to force the issue, but everything seemed to fall in place."

And because of that, Wisconsin (28-4) has a spot in Saturday's semifinal against Illinois - a 58-54 winner over Indiana in overtime. Top-ranked Ohio State will meet Purdue.

The Buckeyes beat Michigan 72-62, and Purdue advanced past Iowa 74-55.

Goran Suton led Michigan State (22-11) with 14 points and eight rebounds, but Spartans leading scorer Drew Neitzel struggled. He was scoreless in the first half and finished with 10 points - eight below his average - on 3-for-13 shooting thanks to tough pressure by Michael Flowers.

Up 15 at halftime, Wisconsin saw Michigan State pull within 45-40 midway through the half. Tucker and Neitzel traded 3-pointers, and Tucker connected again from the top of the key to make it 51-43 with 8:15 left in the game.

Wisconsin was back in control. And Tucker showed how happy he was.

"You look at all my games, I'm emotional," he said. "It's the same thing if one of my teammates makes a play - I'm excited. It's just fun this whole atmosphere, March Madness; it's either win or go home."

On Friday, the Badgers moved on to the conference semifinals. Time will tell where Michigan State is headed.

The NCAA?

The NIT?