BTT: Purdue, Ohio State, Penn State and Indiana All Advance

The BTT continues to entertain as high seeds Ohio State and and Penn State advance to the semifinals. Here is a breakdown of the four games yesterday;
1 seed Purdue vs. 9 seed Rutgers

Purdue has a habit of starting games slow. That may come back to bite them at some point but yesterday they were able to overcome a quick 10 point deficit in the first half and take a 3 point lead going into the break with a Gillis 3.

It’s Rutgers…. It’s always a dog fight with them and yesterday was no different. The game was as physical as the come and was a good test for the Boilers for the post season. It’s good to see Purdue found a way to win when shots weren’t falling and finding themselves in trouble with the press down the stretch. The Boilers advance to the semi-finals and will face a red hot Ohio state.

Gillis was all over the boards bringing down 9 rebounds and putting up 20 points. Big Ten POTY Zach Edey had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. David Jenkins Jr. came up clutch off the bench hitting some big time shots and chipped in 12.

Derek Simpson led Rutgers with 18 while Mulcahy and Omoruyi each added in 10.

13 seed Ohio State vs. 4 seed Michigan a State

Cinderella lives to see another day. Chris Holtmann has this team rolling as Ohio State stunned the Big Ten world with an upset over Michigan State. The Buckeyes are now the lowest seed to ever advance to Saturday in BTT history.

All the pieces are falling together for OSU as their offense is clicking on all cylinders led by point guard Bruce Thornton who dropped 21 points and had 6 assists. Roddy Gayle Jr. added in 15 and Sueing chipped in another 14 points.

Michigan State was led by Joey Hauser who pulled in 6 boards and had 15 points. Walker, Akins and Hoggard also added in 10 a piece.

Ohio State will face off against Purdue tomorrow in the semi-finals at 1pm ET. Will the Buckeyes tired legs catch up with them? Or will the first #13 seed ever advance to the championship game fighting for bid in the NCAA tournament.

10 seed Penn State vs. 2 seed Northwestern

The Shrews keeps his Nittany Lions rolling as Penn State knocks off #2 seed Northwestern in the quarterfinals in overtime.

Seth Lundy 16 points and 7 rebounds helped advance Penn State to the semi-finals along with Jalen Picketts 15 points and 9 boards. Northwestern gets an extra day of rest before the madness begins; Brooks Barnhizer pulled down a double-double with his 15 points and 11 rebounds and Buie led the Wildcats with 16 points.

3 seed Indiana vs. 6 seed Maryland

The 10th seeded Penn State Nittany Lions have won seven of their last eight games and advanced to the semifinals with wins over Northwestern and Illinois . First team All-Big Ten selection Jalen Pickett leads PSU in scoring (with 17.8 ppg, 7.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game.

The third-seeded Hoosiers took down sixth-seeded Maryland 70-60 in Friday night’s quarterfinal game to advance to Saturday’s semifinal matchup. First team All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis leads Indiana with 20.7 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.

The Nittany Lions and Hoosiers meet for the first time since Jan. 11 in the Big Ten Semifinals Saturday. Penn State won the season’s only meeting 85-66 inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The 19-point win was Penn State’s largest margin of victory over Indiana in program history. If Penn State advances it will be only its second Big Ten championship game in program history.