No. 9 Michigan 64, Illinois 63: Nik Stauskas scored 19 points and found Jordan Morgan for the go-ahead basket with eight seconds to go as the Wolverines edged the Illini in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.
Glenn Robinson III added 15 points and seven rebounds while Caris LeVert contributed 13 points for top-seeded Michigan (24-7), which will play fifth-seeded Ohio State in Saturday's semifinals. The Wolverines, who handed Illinois a 31-point loss March 4, won their sixth straight game despite going 10-of-30 from beyond the arc.
Tracy Abrams, who scored a season-high 25 points in the Illini’s first-round win over Indiana on Thursday, led the way with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists for No. 9 seed Illinois (19-14). Rayvonte Rice finished with 11 points and seven boards, Kendrick Nunn had 10 points and Nnanna Egwu grabbed a game-high nine rebounds for the Illini.
With the scored tied at 33 late in the first half, LeVert capped the opening stanza with a 3-pointer and dunk and bookended an 11-3 run to begin the second half with another triple and dunk to stretch the margin to 13. Trailing by 11 with just over 12 minutes remaining, Abrams scored seven points during a 17-3 surge that allowed Illinois to take a 61-58 lead.
Derrick Walton Jr. evened it with a 3-pointer on the other end before Rice’s layup put Illinois back in front with 2½ minutes left and Stauskas missed the second of two free throws with 55 seconds to go to leave Michigan down by one. Following a shot-clock violation on the Illini’s next possession, Stauskas hit Morgan on a pick-and-roll while Abrams came up short on a runner in the lane as time expired.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Michigan improved to 8-0 in contests in which it hits at least 10 3-pointers. … Illinois hasn’t won more than one game in the Big Ten tournament since reaching the final in 2008. … The Wolverines have won seven straight against the Illini.
Illinois | Michigan | |
Tracy Abrams 11 | Scoring | Nik Stauskas 19 |
Tracy Abrams 5 | Assists | Caris LeVert 4 |
Nnanna Egwu 9 | Rebounds | Glenn Robinson III 7 |
Tracy Abrams 6 | Free Throws Made | Nik Stauskas 9 |
Rayvonte Rice 2 | Steals | Jon Horford 1 |
Nnanna Egwu 1 | Blocks | Jordan Morgan 1 |