Big Ten Quarterfinals Recap

No. 1 Illinois 71, No. 8 Indiana 59
A 13-1 Illinois run late in the second half finally put Indiana away. The Hoosiers came back from double digit deficits to narrow the gap numerous times. The Hoosiers never held the lead after the 8:45 mark of the first half. Luther Head and Deron Williams dominated the second half for the Illini. Head had 19 of his 29 points in the second half and Williams had 15 of his 20 after the intermission to help the Illini pull away late. Head’s 29 will a personal career best and the most ever scored in a Big Ten tournament game.

IU Walk-on Mark Johnson who virtually unknown before the tournament had his second amazing game in a row. With the Hoosiers trailing 45-32, Johnson scored eight points during a 20-7 IU run to knot the game. Johnson finished with 16 points to establish a career high for the second straight day, and hit four of nine from long distance.

The win extended the Illini winning streak to 11. The streak is Illinois’ longest in almost 15 years.

No. 5 Michigan 79, No. 4 Iowa 70
Iowa bolted to a 14-4 run in the first four minutes of the game, but went cold the remainder of the half. Michigan took control outscoring the Hawkeyes 28-11 in the last 16 minutes of the half to lead 32-25 at the break.

The Wolverines would eventually extend the lead to 17 in the second half. A late Hawkeye rally cut the lead to five, but Michigan hit its free throws and moved on the semis. Bernard Robinson jr. was all over the place as he has been all year. B-Rob finished with eight points, ten rebounds and eight assists. Dion Harris led Michigan with 23 points and was backed by Lester Abram with 19 and Daniel Horton with 14. Iowa’s Pierre Pierce led all scorers with 28.

No. 2 Wisconsin 66, No. 10 Minnesota 52
As they have done all season, Devin Harris and Mike Wilkinson put their Badger teammates on their collective shoulders and helped Wisconsin eliminate a pesky bunch of Golden Gophers. A four point play by Devin Harris extended a Wisconsin lead to 12 and Minnesota would not get closer after that. Harris finished with 21 points, four assists and four rebounds and Wilkinson had 22 points and four steals as the Badgers advanced to the semifinals for the first time in four years.

Michael Bauer had eight points and 11 rebounds in his final game as a Gopher, Humphries finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds on just five of 16 from the floor. And Adam Boone had 12. The 12 points tied Humphries season low as the freshman shot only nine of 37 in two Big Ten tournament games.

No. 3 Michigan State 68, No. 6 Northwestern 55
Chris Hill returned home and Michigan State continues to blaze the nets as the Spartans defeated Northwestern for the third time this year. The Spartans will try to avoid the same fate when they match up with Wisconsin in the semifinals.

Michigan State shot 61.9 percent for the game as Hill led Michigan State with 17. Maurice Ager finished 14, including three of four from three point range. Ager hit 12 of 14 from beyond the arc on the season against NU.

The Spartans set the tone for the game by making 13 of 19 shots in the first half and holding Northwestern to 35 percent shooting the opening 20 minutes. The Wildcats cold first half was punctuated by ending the first half without a field goal in the last 8:39. Jitim Young made his final appearance in a Northwestern uniform and led the Cats with 24.