Big Ten Tournament roundup
Hoosiers help NCAA case by routing Penn St.; Gophers lose
Posted: Thursday March 13, 2003 3:05 PM
Updated: Friday March 14, 2003 12:46 AM
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Thursday's action
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CHICAGO (AP) -- A look at their past gave the Indiana Hoosiers
new hope for their future.
Inspired by a tape of their victory over Oklahoma in last year's
Final Four, the Hoosiers played their best game in months Thursday,
routing Penn State 77-49 in the first round of the Big Ten
tournament.
"It just reminded us to where we got last year," said senior
Tom Coverdale, who had 13 points. "I think it showed the younger
guys what it showed us, also. When we play team basketball like we
did tonight and we play defense like we did, we're a tough team to
beat."
Throw in the Hoosiers' desire for a little revenge, and Penn
State (7-21, 2-15 Big Ten) never stood a chance. Indiana (19-11,
9-8) now plays third-seeded Michigan in the second round Friday.
"I thought today was our best game in a long, long time,"
Indiana coach Mike Davis said.
Their most well-rounded, too. The Hoosiers shot 52 percent, had
a 37-28 rebounding edge and dished out 23 assists. Jeff Newton set
the tone with 23 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two blocks
and two steals.
George Leach added 11 points and four blocks, while Marshall
Strickland had 10 points and six assists.
"I wanted to show the players the difference between this
basketball team and the team last year," Davis said of why he
showed the video.
"The biggest difference was that last year we played really
good team basketball."
Everyone else was in such a groove it didn't even matter that
leading scorer Bracey Wright was scoreless for the first 30 minutes
of the game. Wright finished with seven points, well below his
average of 17.1.
"They had a game plan: Try to pound the ball inside, try to
milk Newton," said Deforrest Riley, who finished with 11 points,
one of only two Nittany Lions in double figures.
"They saw he was hot and they stuck with him. That's the only
reason why Bracey [didn't score]."
After losing to Maryland in the NCAA championship game last
year, the Hoosiers started this season with such promise. They
climbed as high as No. 6 in the country, and were among the early
favorites to win the Big Ten.
But Indiana stumbled badly in conference play, with no loss more
stunning than its 74-66 defeat at Penn State just five days ago. It
was only the second loss to Penn State in 22 meetings, and it
snapped the Hoosiers' 11-game winning streak over the Nittany
Lions.
The loss also put a damper on Indiana's NCAA hopes. With a .500
Big Ten record, the Hoosiers likely need a good run this week to
secure a bid.
"People are quick to forget what happened during the year if
you're the best team in March, and that's what we're trying to
do," Coverdale said. "Hopefully we can keep it going."
Still, it took the Hoosiers a little while to get going. The
Nittany Lions were a little sloppy in the first half and not
shooting particularly well, yet they were still able to hang around
past the midway mark.
But when Riley made a 3-pointer to tie the game at 17, Indiana
finally got serious. Coverdale led the way, making a pair of free
throws to start an 11-2 run and scoring seven points during the
spurt. The Hoosiers extended their lead to 32-21 on a reverse by
A.J. Moye and a slam by Leach.
And just in case the Nittany Lions had any ideas about mounting
a late comeback, Newton drilled a 3-pointer with less than two
seconds left to send Indiana into the half with a 36-24 lead.
"We wanted to really set the tone for the tournament with this
first game," Newton said.
Indiana turned up the pressure in the second half, swarming the
Nittany Lions and forcing them into bad shots and turnovers. And
whenever Penn State did make a shot, the Hoosiers answered with a
scoring burst.
When Riley hit a 3-pointer to cut Indiana's lead to 41-29 with
16:53 left, Coverdale scored on a fastbreak layup to start a 13-5
run that sealed the victory.
The Hoosiers capped the spurt with a 3-pointer from Coverdale
and a monster alley-oop by Leach off a Newton pass, giving them a
54-34 lead with 11:34 to play. Penn State never got closer than 18
again.
"I think that we're more excited about basketball and more
excited about this team than we have been all year," Coverdale
said. "I think we're closer as a team than we have been in a long
time, and I think it showed in the way we played."
Northwestern 76, Minnesota 64
CHICAGO (AP) -- Jitim Young scored 20 points and scrappy
Northwestern all but ended Minnesota's NCAA hopes Thursday, beating
the Gophers 76-64 in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.
Northwestern (12-16) advances to Friday's play against Illinois,
while disappointed Minnesota (16-12) probably awaits a call from
the NIT after ending its season with five straight losses.
T.J. Parker, the brother of San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker,
added 18 points as the 10th-seeded Wildcats battled the bigger
Gophers on the board, played solid inside defense and used patience
on offense to pull off the upset.
Rick Rickert and Michael Bauer scored 16 points apiece for
Minnesota, the No. 7 seed. But the 6-foot-11 Rickert shot just
6-of-17, including 2-of-10 in the first half.
Northwestern coach Bill Carmody returned to the bench after
missing the Wildcats' regular-season finale last Saturday. He spent
Friday night in an Evanston hospital after experiencing tightness
in his chest, but said all tests were negative.
Young, Davor Duvancic, Winston Blake and Parker hit 3-pointers
in the final five minutes of the first half as the Wildcats went on
a 12-4 spurt to take a 30-28 lead.
Then Northwestern took off to start the second half with a 13-3
run featuring a 3-pointer and two free throws by Young, four points
by Mohamed Hachad and a pair of turnaround jumpers by Aaron
Jennings. That made it 43-31.
Rickert led a mini-comeback with two jumpers and a 3-pointer to
cut the lead to six.
But when Rickert was called for an offensive foul -- his third
foul of the game -- the Gophers bench was slapped with a technical
foul. Parker hit both free throws to give the Wildcats a 54-45 lead
with just eight minutes left. And after the Wildcats retained
possession, Young hit a hanging jumper to make it an 11-point lead.
Parker's 3-pointer raised the lead to 64-52 with four minutes
left and the Wildcats were able to hold on.
Both teams were shaky at the free throw line in the second half,
Northwestern missing eight from the line, including 6 of 10 down
the stretch. Minnesota made only 7-of-16 from the line in the final
20 minutes.
Ohio State 66, Iowa 64
CHICAGO (AP) -- Brent Darby banked in a layup over two defenders
with 1.8 seconds left Thursday as Ohio State blew a 12-point lead
before holding off Iowa 66-64 in the first round of the Big Ten
tournament.
Darby finished with 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds
for the Buckeyes (15-13, 8-9 Big Ten), who beat Iowa last year for
the tournament title. Sean Connolly added 15, and Velimir Radinovic
had 14 points and seven rebounds.
Chauncey Leslie scored nine of his 15 points in the last two
minutes as Iowa mounted a furious 17-7 run. Brody Boyd also had 15
points, all on 3-pointers.
Ohio State, the eighth seed, now plays No. 18 Wisconsin, the
regular season conference champs, in the second round Friday
morning.
After sleepwalking through the first half, Ohio State finally
got its game going in the second. Darby capped an 11-0 run with
seven straight points to give the Buckeyes a 59-47 lead and
seemingly lock up the game with 2:43 left.
But the Hawkeyes (15-13, 7-10) weren't ready to quit playing
just yet.
Boyd, the sharp-shooting hero of the championship game two years
ago, got Iowa going again with a 3-pointer. Leslie then made
back-to-back field goals, including a scoop shot from his hip, to
pull Iowa within 59-54 with 1:46 left.
After Connolly made a pair of free throws, Leslie responded with
a layup. Sean Sonderleiter then stole the inbounds pass and scored
on a layup to cut Ohio State's lead to 61-58 with 1:22 to play.
Darby made one foul shot, but Worley came right back with a
3-pointer, pounding his chest as the ball swished through the net.
After a timeout, Ohio State scored on Zach Williams' putback.
But Iowa was right there with another 3, this time from Leslie,
to tie the game at 64 with 22.9 seconds left.
Darby worked the clock, waiting until there were less than five
seconds left. Then he shed Leslie and drove to the hoop, jumping
over two defenders and banking in the layup from the right side
with 1.8 seconds left.
Leslie took one last shot, but the buzzer sounded before he got
his jumper off. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, as the ball hit
the rim and rolled off.
The Buckeyes looked as if they were struggling to stay awake in
the first half, shooting just 29 percent and going 6 1/2 minutes
without a field goal at one point. But Iowa wasn't much better, and
Connolly's 3-pointer with four seconds left pulled the Buckeyes
within 27-23 at halftime.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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