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After Maryland's victory over Wisconsin, both Michigan State and Purdue needed to take care of business at home in order to keep pace with the Terps.
Game of the Night: Minnesota @ Michigan State
Unfortunately for Spartan fans, they did not keep pace, losing to Minnesota 96-90 in OT. Michigan State led most the game, but the Gophers kept fighting and kept hanging around. With just 2.2 seconds left Carlos Morris hit a game tying three, but the kicker? He was fouled. He would end up missing the chance to win the game at the line and the game headed to overtime. In the extra period, Richard Pitino's team was able to pull away just enough to seal a victory.
Denzel Valentine would lead all scorers with 27, including 7 made three-pointers. Teammate Travis Trice added 21 off the bench and Branden Dawson would contribute 10 points to go along with 8 boards and 3 blocks. Minnesota was led by Morris off the bench with 20. Starters Joey King and Andre Hollins both had 17, while Maurice Walker added 15 and 8 rebounds. Minnesota gets a week off before facing Wisconsin at home, while MSU will see the Badgers in Madison on Sunday.
The Rest
Nebraska @ Ohio State
The Cornhuskers are probably not going to be able to use their locker room for another week after this one. Ohio State controlled this game from the get go, and never allowed Nebraska to get into any kind of a rhythm offensively. In the end the score was 81-57 OSU. Terran Petteway struggled shooting, but still managed to score 12 points, while Tarin Smith led Nebraska with 13. Jae'Sean Tate had a breakout game for OSU with 22 points and 7 rebounds, while teammate and fellow freshman D'Angelo Russell scored 11 points and added 6 assists. Ohio State's next game will be at home against Purdue on Sunday. Nebraska gets the weekend off before travelling to Illinois on Wednesday.
Rutger @ Purdue
The refs really felt like they needed to be included in the game conversation, therefore they called 50 fouls in what was really not that physical of a game. Even with Vince Edwards out due to a concussion, Purdue held a large lead most of the game. It wasn't until the very,very end when the Boilers started to get sloppy and allowed the Scarlet Knights the tiniest sliver of hope. It wouldn't be enough though, and Purdue would end up winning 92-85. Basil Smotherman started in place of the injured Edwards and had a career game with 17 points, 5 boards and 3 steals. Five other Boilers ended up in double-figures, including Rapheal Davis who nearly had a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. For the Knights, Kadeem Jack had a big night with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while D.J. Foreman was a surprise off the bench with 15 and 5. Next up for Purdue is a Sunday trip to Columbus. For Rutgers, their next game is Tuesday at home against Maryland.