A roundup of Big Ten basketball action from Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015:
Kendrick Nunn had a career-high 28 points, and Malcolm Hill scored 20. But the story was turnovers, as Yale committed a whopping 23, leading to 25 Illinois points, and the Illini turned the ball over just five times, leading to only five points. That huge disparity made up for a dominating rebounding performance by Yale (48-25) and just a 40-percent shooting night for Illinois. The Illini’s defensive numbers are getting better, but this wasn’t the runaway you’d expect when a Big Ten team hosts and Ivy League team.
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Indiana 90, IPFW 65
The Hoosiers’ defensive numbers weren’t bad against the Mastodons, as the visitors from Fort Wayne shot just 34.8 percent from the field and were only 8-for-25 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, Indiana shot 51.8 percent and grabbed 51 rebounds to offset 17 turnovers. Yogi Ferrell had a mammoth night, scoring 38 points. Same for Troy Williams, who had a whopping 19 rebounds to go along with 15 points and five blocks. Robert Johnson was 5-for-5 on 3s and finished with 16 points.
Michigan State 78, Maryland-Eastern Shore 35
A few days after allowing 33 points in a win over Binghamton, Michigan State’s defense suffocated another small-school foe, holding Maryland-Eastern Shore to just 35 points over 40 minutes. The Hawks shot 21.9 percent on the evening, scoring just 16 first-half points, while the Spartans shot 50 percent in a rout. Bryn Forbes’ 14 points led all scorers, and Denzel Valentine scored 11. Both guys each had three made 3s. Eron Harris was 4-for-4 from 3-point range and finished with 12.
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Creighton 83, Nebraska 67
Creighton shot a stellar 51.9 percent from the field, while Nebraska shot just 39.7 percent as the Bluejays cruised to victory. Andrew White scored 28 points in the loss, going 11-for-21 from the field and hitting a trio of 3-pointers and grabbing 10 rebounds for a double-double. The Huskers never led as the defense just wasn’t good enough to slow the hot-shooting Jays.
Purdue 93, Howard 55
The Boilers scored 56 points in the first half and nearly hit 100 on the game in this runaway. Purdue shot 50 percent, holding Howard to just 33.9-percent shooting. The Boilers made 12 3-pointers and turned the ball over just six times. Caleb Swanigan had a team-high 19 points, part of a double-double with 12 rebounds. Kendall Stephens had 14 off the bench, making four 3-pointers, and Rapheal Davis scored 10 points in his return to action after sitting out the last four games.
The Badgers were upset at the Kohl Center for the second time this season, dropping their first game to the Panthers since 1992. After blowing a double-digit second-half lead, Wisconsin had a chance to tie the game when Nigel Hayes went to the free-throw line with 24 seconds left, but Hayes — who scored 32 points on the night — missed both shots. Bronson Koenig sliced a four-point lead to one with 13 seconds left, and UW-Milwaukee turned the ball over to give Wisconsin a chance to win, but Koenig’s shot missed.