COLLEGE BASKETBALL : Indiana Loss Goes to Knight’s Head

Bob Knight probably had a headache after his 18th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers lost for the third time in four games.

Michigan State’s 94-79 Big Ten victory at East Lansing on Wednesday was only part of the cause.

Television cameras caught Knight bumping foreheads with Sherron Wilkerson after the Hoosier freshman was benched for complaining to the referee about a noncall.

Knight did not address the incident afterward, and it was unclear from the videotape whether the head butt was intentional.

Shawn Respert didn’t help Knight’s headache either, scoring 40 points for Michigan State (19-10, 10-7).

The victory, Coach Jud Heathcote said, should add to the Spartans’ schedule.

“This gets us the (NCAA tournament) bid, so we have a lot more basketball left to play,” he said. “I’m really happy with the way we seem to be peaking at just the right time.”

It’s the same time Indiana (18-8, 11-6) seems to be hitting a valley, though Alan Henderson scored 41 points for the Hoosiers.

No. 8 Michigan 81, Penn St. 72--Juwan Howard scored 21 points and Jalen Rose added 20 at Ann Arbor, Mich., as the Wolverines moved back into a first-place tie with Purdue in the Big Ten.

With Penn State center John Amaechi sidelined because of a sprained ankle, the Wolverines (21-6, 13-4) dominated inside, outrebounding Penn State, 41-30. Michigan pulled away from the Nittany Lions (12-14, 5-12) in the final 9:40 of the first half with a 21-10 run.

Illinois 90, No. 20 Minnesota 75--Jerry Hester had 20 points at Champaign, Ill., where the Illini strengthened their chances for an NCAA tournament bid.

Illinois (17-9, 10-7) rained three-point baskets on the Gophers (20-11, 10-8), outscoring Minnesota, 33-9, on three-pointers.

OTHER GAMES

At Philadelphia, Drexel (25-4) scored the last 11 points of the game in an 86-78 victory over Maine (20-9), clinching the North Atlantic Conference championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. . . . Michigan transfer Tony Tolbert scored 21 points to lead Detroit Mercy (16-13) to a 70-65 victory over Evansville (21-10) in the championship game of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference at Indianapolis. The Titans did not earn an automatic NCAA berth because the MCC has lost its bid. . . . Michael Finley scored 27 points for Wisconsin (17-9, 8-9), which rekindled its NCAA hopes with a 95-71 Big Ten victory over Iowa (10-16, 4-13) at Madison.