Big Ten Roundup (March 10): Ohio State's Upset Run Continues; Rutgers Makes Case for Tournament

It was a packed day of quarterfinal matchups on Friday in the Big Ten Tournament, beginning with a narrow win from Purdue over Rutgers. Despite the loss, coach Steve Pikiell made a case for the Scarlet Knights making the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State's upset run continued with a win over Michigan State, then Penn State and Indiana advanced in the late session. Read about all the action below in our Big Ten Roundup for March 10.

CHICAGO, Ill. – It's an anxious time for NCAA Tournament bubble teams, and all Rutgers can do now is wait until Selection Sunday. The Scarlet Knights gave Purdue all it could handle on Friday in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, but ultimately lost 70-65.  

Rutgers brought heavy pressure on Purdue's guards and constantly swarmed Big Ten Player of Zach Edey in the post. Starting guards Fletcher Loyer, Brandon Newman and Braden Smith combined for 13 points on 3-for-17 shooting, and Mason Gillis stepped up with 20 points. Edey finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, his seventh-lowest scoring game of the season. 

Rutgers showed balance on the offensive end as freshman Derek Simpson led the way with 18 points, followed by double-digit production from Paul Mulcahy, Cam Spencer and Cliff Omoruyi.

With this loss, Rutgers moves to 19-14 on the season. The Scarlet Knights went 10-10 in regular season Big Ten play, then defeated Michigan 60-52 on Thursday before losing to Purdue. Entering Friday's game, ESPN's Joe Lunardi considered Rutgers one of the "last four in." Rutgers is No. 38 in the NCAA's NET rankings, and the Scarlet Knights now have a 5-7 record against Quad 1 opponents, a 5-3 record in Quad 2 and a 2-4 record in Quad 4.

After Friday's win, Purdue coach Matt Painter said Rutgers is "obviously" an NCAA Tournament team, and he believes they could do some real damage in the Big Dance. 

Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell made his case to the tournament committee. 

"I think we've played good really all year long," Pikiell said. "We went on the road and beat Northwestern in a tough place. That's the second best team in the league. We went on the road and beat Purdue, beat Wisconsin, beat Penn State. Played Michigan State. It was counted as a home game, but the Knicks are the home team in Madison Square Garden, not us. We never shoot there. We never practice there. So beat Michigan State, too. This team's been great."

"We've got 19 wins in the best league in the country, most competitive league from top to bottom. I know everyone speculates on -- Nebraska could have beat anybody. Ohio State is still here. This league is unbelievable. We have the National Defensive Player of the Year. We have the best dunker in college basketball. Paul, I think, is one of the best players. We did a lot of good things throughout the whole year, and I think today just showed you we can play with anybody."

"We'll see what happens at the end of the year, not after every game. We'll see coming up here. These guys certainly deserve it. We were one of the best defenses in the country, period. So that's exciting, too. These guys have done a great job all year, and they represent the university as good as any program probably, as good as any players in the country."

Friday's other results

• No. 13 Ohio State 68, No. 4 Michigan State 58: Ohio State's Cinderella story in the Big Ten Tournament continued on Friday, even without leading scorer Brice Sensabaugh (16.3 ppg and Zed Key (10.7 ppg). Freshman guard Bruce Thornton led the way with 21 points, followed by 15 from fellow freshman Roddy Gayle Jr. and 14 from senior Justice Sueing. Ohio State's defense did not make anything easy for Michigan State, who shot 38.2 percent overall. The Buckeyes will face No. 1 seed Purdue on Saturday in the semifinals, and they'll need to win the Big Ten Tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
• No. 10 Penn State 67, No. 4 Northwestern 65: Seth Lundy knocked down a clutch 3-pointer in overtime, and Penn State got the defensive stops it needed to pull off the upset. Lundy led the Nittany Lions with 16 points, matched by Boo Buie's 16 for Northwestern.
• For the full game story, CLICK HERE.
• To read coach Micah Shrewsberry's full postgame comments, CLICK HERE.
• No. 3 Indiana 70, No. 6 Maryland 60: Indiana went on a 15-0 run early in the second half to avenge its loss against Maryland in January. Trayce Jackson-Davis powered the Hoosiers to the semifinals with 24 points, and freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino added 19.
• For the full game story, CLICK HERE.