Big Ten Roundup (March 9): Rutgers Shuts Down Michigan, Gets Purdue in Quarterfinals

It was another day of upsets on Thursday at the Big Ten Tournament, with Rutgers, Ohio State and Penn State all winning as lower seeds. Maryland became the first higher seed to win in the last game, and gets Indiana next.

CHICAGO — Rutgers came staggering into the Big Ten Tournament, losing six of its last eight games. But one thing we all know about the Scarlet Knights is that they know how to play defense, and they did just that in their second-round game with Michigan.

Rutgers (19-13) held the Wolverines (17-15) without a field goal for 14 minutes on Thursday, winning 62-50. With the win, they get reunited with No. 1 seed Purdue in Friday's quarterfinals. Rutgers beat Purdue as the No. 1 team in the nation at Mackey Arena in January. 

It was a big win, especially after a frustrating month of tough losses.

"You know, I'm very confident in what we do, and I'm very confident in my team. There's no team this year in this league that didn't go through a stretch like that,'' Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. "This league is tough, and this is how it's going to be. This is the best league in the country, and you'd better be able to play through stretches like that. 

"Everyone thinks you just roll it out and you just win. It's just not that way. We lost a really important player (Muwat Mag). You lose a starter with eight games left, that's not easy too. Everyone has to shift their roles and change everything and that kind of thing. So you just stay the course and keep fighting and know that you could beat anybody and know that you could lose to anybody. That's the kind of league it is. Credit to all the coaches in the league. These teams are good, and these coaches can really coach.''

Rutgers trailed by three at halftime, but locked down defensively to blow the game open.

It took Michigan five minutes to make a field goal in the second half. Center Hunter Dickinson hit a three to make it 37-34 Rutgers, but then they would go a whopping 14 minutes before they made another one. They were 1-for-17 for the half before Dickinson finally hit another three, but it was 58-45 Rutgers by then with 59 seconds to go. 

"Give credit where credit is due,'' said Michigan guard Kobe Bufkin. "Obviously Rutgers is a very good defensive team. Me personally, I felt like I probably played my worst brand of basketball on the worst day to play it. Seven turnovers is unacceptable. But give credit where credit is due. They're a very good defensive team.''

The loss was a severe blow to Michigan's NCAA Tournament hopes. They were on the bubble in many projections, but on the outside looking in. This defeat will almost certainly keep them out with their 17-15 overall record. 

Rutgers guard Caleb McConnell (22) drives to the basket against Michigan forward Will Tschetter (42) during the first half. (Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports)

Thursday's other games

• No. 13 Ohio State 73, No. 5 Iowa 69: For the second straight night, Ohio State made a bold statement in the tournament, this time upsetting Iowa 73-69. Bruce Thornton, who's been playing great of late, scored 17 points and fellow freshman Brice Sensabaugh added 16.
• No. 10 Penn State 79, No. 7 Illinois 76: It was a back-and-forth game for most of the second half, Andrew Funk got hot from long range, making 5-of-6 3-point attempts in the second half. Terrence Shannon Jr. led Illinois with 19 points, but the Illini shot 6-for-21 from 3-point range. After defeating Illinois in a must-win game for its NCAA Tournament hopes, Penn State advances to the quarterfinals where it'll face Northwestern on Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
• No. 6 Maryland 70, No. 14 Minnesota 54: Maryland's pressure defense stifled Minnesota's offense, holding leading scorers Dawson Garcia and Jamison Battle to eight combined points. Donta Scott led Maryland with 20 points on 4-for-8 3-point shooting, and Jahmir Young scored 14 points in the second half as the Terrapins cruised to victory.

Complete Big Ten schedule

Here is the full bracket, with results and the complete schedule for the weekend. CLICK HERE

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