10th-seeded Illini stay in the hunt with upset of Boilermakers

Last update: March 14, 2008 - 11:11 PM

• ILLINOIS 74, NO. 17 PURDUE 67 (OT): Demetri McCamey scored 26 points, helping the Illini extend their season with an overtime victory over the second-seeded Boilermakers on Friday in the Big Ten quarterfinals. McCamey, a freshman guard, made nine of 14 field goals and all six of his three-point shots. "Coach [Bruce Weber] said we need somebody to be special, and fortunately I was that," McCamey said. "All four of our freshmen helped down the stretch."

Shaun Pruitt added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Illini (15-18), who will play the Gophers today. Freshman guard E'Twaun Moore led the Boilermakers with 22 points, but only one in overtime.

Illinois led 67-66 in overtime when Mike Davis got a perfect pass from McCamey and scored on a backdoor cut to make it 69-66. On Illinois' next possession, Davis scored on an acrobatic putback to make it 71-66 with a minute left. The Boilermakers (24-8) missed their last 12 shots.

"McCamey made big shot after big shot, especially when they were down, and that was the difference," said Purdue coach Matt Painter, whose team had beaten Illinois twice this season.

• NO. 8 WISCONSIN 51, MICHIGAN 34: Joe Krabbenhoft scored 12 points, Michael Flowers put on a defensive clinic and the Badgers made Michigan work for every one of its rare baskets in the lowest-scoring game in Big Ten tournament history. The Badgers held the ninth-seeded Wolverines (10-22) to 20 percent from the floor, and Michigan finished with more turnovers (14) than field goals (10).

"Wisconsin did a great job defensively, and we're not the lone rangers in this," Wolverines coach John Beilein said. "We held a veteran team to a low score. We couldn't throw the ball in the ocean, and you have to do that." Michigan's 34 points were the fewest ever for a single game in the 11-year history of the Big Ten tournament, and the meager final score trumped the 89 scored by Michigan and Minnesota in the first round last year.

Flowers held Manny Harris, who scored a career-high 26 at Wisconsin in January and nearly led Michigan to an upset, to four points on 1-for-12 shooting. Anthony Wright led the Wolverines with 11 points.

• NO. 19 MICHIGAN STATE 67, OHIO STATE 60: Drew Neitzel scored 28 points, Travis Walton hit five free throws in the final minute and the Spartans held off the Buckeyes. Neitzel hit six three-pointers against the Buckeyes' zone, but the Spartans couldn't pull away until late in the game with a three-pointer by Durrell Summers, a steal by Neitzel and another basket by Summers. Ohio State managed only one free throw over a span of more than 4 minutes.

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