Big Ten Tournament Opening Round: No. 8 Michigan opened the day by using a 45-29 edge on the boards to overcome a 27 percent showing at the offensive end for a 49-40 win over No. 9 Minnesota. It was a defensive struggle for both teams, as both had more turnovers than assists and the Golden Gophers (9-22) shot below 32 percent from the field. Michigan (21-11), which goes on to face No. 1 Ohio State on Friday, was led by 14 points from Dion Harris. Minnesota was led by Spencer Tollackson’s game-high 15 points.
No. 7 Michigan State advanced as well, but by a slim 62-57 margin as they withstood a late rally by No. 10 Northwestern. The Spartans (22-10) opened up a 15-point lead late in the first half, but the Wildcats got it back to single digits before the break. Then in the second half, Michigan State had a lead in the high single digits for most of the half before the Wildcats (13-18) would get wthin three in the final minute. Drew Neitzel led Michigan State with 22 points and six assists, while Craig Moore and Kevin Coble had 15 each to lead Northwestern. The Spartans advance to take on No. 2 Wisconsin, against whom they have had two games recently that went right down to the wire.
In the final game of the day, No. 6 Illinois had to withstand a late rally by No. 11 Penn State to take home a 66-60 win. It looked like the Illini (22-10) had broken the game open in the second half, as they went up by 16 with under 13 minutes left to play, but the Nittany Lions wouldn’t go quietly. The Illini still had a 12-point lead with 4:16 left, but Penn State (11-19) would eventually get within two with 1:38 left before being unable to break through. Chester Frazier scored 16 of his career-high 21 points in the second half to lead Illinois, and Warren Carter added 19. Penn State was led by Mike Walker’s 22 points. Illinois will take on No. 3 Indiana on Friday. [3/08/07]
