Indianapolis – Six-time Big Ten tournament champion Ohio State went one-and-done for only the second time since the tournament was reinstated in 1995, losing 73-63 to Wisconsin on Thursday.
Ohio State (14-14), the defending tournament champion, had won 28 of the last 30 meetings with Wisconsin, including the past seven. The fifth-seeded Buckeyes led by 10 at halftime and 46-43 entering the fourth quarter.
Kelly Karlis scored a career-high 24 points and Marsha Howard added 23 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals for the 13th-seeded Badgers (15-17).
Wisconsin came into the game shooting just 28.4 percent from three-point range but on Thursday made 11 of 17 attempts, including seven of nine in the second half.
Michigan State 68, Northwestern 52: Leading 47-44 late in the third quarter, the ninth-seeded Spartans State (20-10) scored 16 unanswered points to put the game out of reach, never allowing the eighth-seeded Wildcats (16-14) to get closer than 15 afterward. Northwestern missed 12 straight shots during the game-turning run. Shay Colley led Michigan State with 14 points. The Spartans will play top-seeded Maryland on Friday.
Abbie Wolf had 15 points for the Wildcats, Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah added 11 and Veronica Burton 10.
Kunaiyi-Akpanah made consecutive layups to cap an 8-0 run that put Northwestern up 49-30 four minutes into the second half. Colley's three-pointer just past the midway point ended MSU's drought and she followed with a layup. It wasn't until freshman Nia Clouden had a pair of baskets in the closing 8-0 run that made it 55-44 after three quarters that the Spartans got some separation. Four different players scoring in the 8-0 run that opened the fourth quarter.
Purdue 75, Nebraska 71: The Boilermakers filled out the quarterfinal card with a win over the Cornhuskers.
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