Tom Izzo had just become the sixth coach in Big Ten history with at least six conference championships, and he didn't even realize it.
"Really? That's the one thing I don't keep track of," Izzo said after No.11 Michigan State beat Michigan 64-48 yesterday to finish the regular season in a three-way tie with Ohio State and Purdue. "I keep track of national championships, and I want more of those."
Raymar Morgan scored 13 of his season-high 22 points in the first half, helping the Spartans (24-7, 14-4) build a 30-14 halftime lead against the Wolverines (14-16, 7-11).
Morgan, a senior forward whose career has been marked by inconsistency, averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds the past four games.
"I can enjoy this one right now because it was the toughest of the six to get," Izzo said shortly after the school's 12th Big Ten championship banner was hoisted to the Breslin Center's rafters. "We were picked to win it, which makes it hard, then we had to overcome some setbacks along the way."
Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims made only one shot each in the first half, and the Wolverines matched a Big Ten low with 14 points, outscoring Morgan by only a point. Harris missed nine of 10 shots and finished with four points and Sims scored nine.
Other men's highlights No. 15 Wisconsin 72, Illinois 57 - Jordan Taylor and John Leuer each scored 20 points, and Wisconsin (23-7, 13-5) beat Illinois (18-13, 10-8) in the Big Ten to deal a significant blow to the Fighting Illini's NCAA Tournament hopes.
Minnesota 88, Iowa 53 - Lawrence Westbrook scored 20 points, and Minnesota (18-12, 9-9) was 12 of 19 from three-point range in routing Iowa (10-21, 4-14) in the Big Ten.
No. 3 Kentucky 74, Florida 66 - Darius Miller and Eric Bledsoe had 14 points apiece, and Kentucky (29-2, 14-2) withstood a comeback by Florida (20-11, 9-7) in the Southeastern Conference and completed an 18-0 home season.
Miller's third three-pointer early in the second half stopped a 9-1 run by the Gators that cut an 18-point deficit to two.
Northern Iowa 67, Wichita St. 52 - Kwadzo Ahelegbe had 24 points, and Northern Iowa (28-4) used a dominating defensive second half to beat Wichita State (25-9) in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament title game.
The Panthers held the Shockers without a field goal for more than 12 minutes during a 25-3 second-half run.
MAC highlights Ohio 85, Ball St. 77, OT - Armon Bassett scored 25 points, including a layup that sent the game into overtime, and Ohio University (18-14) defeated Ball State (15-15) in the first round of the Mid-American Conference tournament.
The Bobcats, who will face top-seeded Kent State on Thursday in the quarterfinals, rallied from a six-point deficit in the final five minutes of regulation to force OT.
Tommy Freeman and DeVaughn Washington scored 15 points each for the Bobcats.
Western Michigan 75, Bowling Green 73 - David Kool scored 20 points, and Western Michigan (17-14) beat Bowling Green (14-16) in a game that featured 13 lead changes.
Buffalo 72, Toledo 54 - Max Boudreau scored a season-high 18 points, and Buffalo (18-11) never trailed in beating Toledo (4-28).
Women's highlights No. 1 Connecticut 77, Syracuse 41 - Tina Charles tied a career high with 34 points, and UConn (31-0) routed Syracuse (22-10) in a Big East tournament quarterfinal for its 70th straight win that ties the program's own record for the longest winning streak in women's college basketball history.
No. 4 Tennessee 70, No. 19 Kentucky 62 - Shekinna Stricklen scored 20 points, and Tennessee (30-2) got past Kentucky (25-7) in the SEC tournament championship game.
No. 11 Oklahoma 95,
No. 20 Oklahoma St. 62 - Oklahoma (21-9, 11-5) matched a school record with 16 three-pointers on 27 attempts in routing Oklahoma State (21-9, 9-7) in the Big 12.
No. 18 Texas 70, No. 14 Baylor 54 - Texas (21-9, 10-6) held Baylor (22-8, 9-7) to only two field goals in the second half in the Big 12.
The Bears played without 6-foot-8 freshman Brittney Griner, who was suspended for two games by coach Kim Mulkey after throwing a punch at a Texas Tech player Wednesday night.
Baylor led 41-34 with 15:21 to play before Texas embarked on a 19-0 run.