Big Ten Tournament Day 3 Update: Badgers Advance, Defeat Michigan

Big Ten Tournament action has hit day three, and the field has been narrowed to the final four, with semi-final action set for Saturday. The top four seeds advanced after each team won its quarterfinal matchup Friday.

To start off the day the top-seeded Wisconsin Badgers finally took the court in the Big Ten Tournament, earning a 71-60 victory over the 9-seed Michigan Wolverines.

Purdue (4-seed) then ended 13-seeded Penn St.’s “Cinderella run” in the Big Ten Tourney with a close 64-59 victory.

In its first action, the 2-seed, Maryland, defeated the 7-seed, Indiana, 75-69, and in the nightcap, the Michigan State Spartans held off Ohio State for a 76-67 win.

Here’s an updated look at the bracket:

And here’s a recap of the day’s action.

Game one: Wisconsin 71, Michigan 60

After sitting through the first two rounds on a bye, the Badgers took the court against Michigan and looked a bit sluggish in the first half. Wisconsin gained control midway through the second, and held on for good on the way to a 71-60 victory.

Frank Kaminsky led the way for Wisconsin with a 16 point, 12 rebound performance. Sam Dekker led the Badgers offensively, scoring 17 points adding 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Bronson Koenig scored 12 points, and Nigel Hayes added 11 points and 9 rebounds. Duje Dukan added an important 8 points off of the bench.

In the loss, Michigan was led by 21 points from Zak Irvin, while Spike Albrecht added 10. Ricky Doyle added 12 points off of the bench.

Wisconsin committed just five fouls in the game, and Michigan only took two free throw attempts in the game – both misses coming in the final 30 seconds. The Badgers out-rebounded Michigan 34-19.

The Badgers advance to the semi-finals, where they will meet up with Purdue.

Game two: Purdue 64, Penn St. 59

The Purdue Boilermakers ended an upset run from the Penn St. Nittany Lions, earning a tough 64-59 victory. Center A.J. Hammons scored 23 – making 9 of 11 free throws – points and grabbed 9 boards on the way to the victory.

Penn State’s D.J. Newbill put together another strong game, scoring 19 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Boilermakers advance to take on the Badgers Saturday.

Game three: Maryland 75, Indiana 69

The 2-seed Maryland Terrapins took down the 7-seed Indiana Hoosiers by six points, led by 22-points from Dez Wells. Freshman Melo Trimble scored 17 points, while Jake Layman and Jared Nickens each added 10.

The Hoosiers got 18 points out of Yogi Ferrell and 17 from Troy Williams, but shot just 35.5 percent as a team in the loss.

Maryland advances to take on Michigan State, who defeated Ohio State.

Game four: Michigan State (3) Ohio State (6)

Denzel Valentine scored points to lead the 3-seed Spartans over the 6-seed Buckeyes 76-67. Travis Trice added 18 and Branden Dawson scored 14.

Freshman phenom D’Angelo Russel scored 19 for Ohio State in the loss, and Sam Thompson and Shannon Scott added 13 each.

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Michigan State advances to play the 2-seed Maryland.

Saturday’s games:

• Wisconsin (1) vs. Purdue (4) – 12 p.m. (CBS)

• Maryland (2) vs. Michigan State (3) – to follow 25 minutes after Wisconsin vs. Purdue (CBS)

Stay tuned for updates on Saturday.

Next: Day 2 Tourney Update