COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Michigan State Tops Northwestern, Clinches Tie for Big Ten Title

Steve Smith scored 23 points, including five three-point baskets, and seventh-ranked Michigan State clinched at least a tie for the Big Ten Conference championship by routing Northwestern, 84-68, Thursday night at Evanston, Ill.

The Spartans (25-5, 14-3 in conference play), who have won nine consecutive games, can win their first outright conference title since its national championship season of 1978-79 by beating Purdue on Saturday.

Northwestern (9-19, 2-16) finished its season with its fourth loss in a row and 10th in 11 games.

No. 13 Michigan 94, Wisconsin 64--Terry Mills scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Wolverines in a Big Ten game at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Rumeal Robinson added 15 points and 12 assists for Michigan (21-7, 11-7) and moved into second place on Michigan’s all-time assist list with 548. The Wolverines beat Wisconsin for the 11th consecutive time.

Danny Jones scored 17 points for Wisconsin (14-17, 4-14).

Indiana 77, Ohio State 66--Freshman Calbert Cheaney scored 22 points and the Hoosiers kept alive their chances for an NCAA tournament bid in a Big Ten game at Bloomington, Ind.

The Hoosiers (18-9, 8-9) played the second half without leading scorer Eric Anderson, who suffered a possible broken right ankle in the final minute of the first half.

Perry Carter had 16 points for Ohio State (15-12, 9-8), which blew a seven-point second-half lead.

No. 18 Louisville 79, Tulane 66--Jerome Harmon had 16 points to lead the Cardinals in the Metro Conference tournament at Biloxi, Miss.

Louisville (24-7), which plays Memphis State in today’s semifinals, built a 41-21 halftime lead.

No. 24 Xavier 86, Butler 61--Tyrone Hill scored 21 points to lead the Musketeers in the first round of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament at Dayton, Ohio.

Xavier (25-3) will meet Evansville (17-14) in tonight’s semifinals.

Temple 53, Massachusetts 51--Mark Macon scored 20 points and the Owls held off a rally by the Minutemen to win the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament and earn a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Temple (20-10) beat the Minutemen (17-13) for the 19th consecutive time.

Arkansas Little Rock 105, Centenary 95--Derrick Owens hit his first 13 shots and scored 33 points as the Trojans (20-9) earned an NCAA tournament berth by winning the Trans America Athletic Conference tournament at Little Rock, Ark. Centenary is 22-8.

Utah 62, Brigham Young 61--Tommy Connor’s three-point basket with one second left in overtime lifted the Utes (16-13) in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference tournament at El Paso. BYU is 21-8.