It’s Going Down to Finish Line for Illinois, Henson After Loss

Look, everybody can’t go. Besides, March is the time for Madness, not maudlin sentiment.

When Lou Henson announced his retirement, it seemed only right that his Illinois team make another appearance in the NCAA tournament for the old coach, even if the Illini only make their usual quick bow-out.

But after Wednesday night’s 77-67 loss to Michigan State at East Lansing, Illinois is only 7-10 in the Big Ten, 18-11 overall.

Purdue is in the NCAA field from the Big Ten, as are, presumably, Penn State and Iowa and, now, Indiana. But No. 16 Penn State has lost six of its last seven road games in the Big Ten, including a 54-52 loss Wednesday at Wisconsin. And No. 19 Iowa muddled things by losing, 72-64, at Minnesota, which has consecutive victories over Top 25 teams and has won six of its last eight games in the Big Ten.

And the Gophers, 17-12 overall, are 9-8 in the Big Ten.

“The way we’re playing, I don’t think there are 64 better ballclubs than the University of Minnesota,” Gopher Coach Clem Haskins said. “The experts say you’re supposed to play better in February and March [to make the NCAA tournament] and we’ve done that.”

Where does that leave Henson, who would rather not coach his last college game in the National Invitation Tournament?

Probably having to beat Minnesota on Saturday.

“We have to remain optimistic. We still have a chance,” Henson said.

The chance was better before Michigan State’s Quinton Brooks scored 19 points and Daimon Beathea added 14 as the seniors helped end a three-game losing streak in their final regular-season home game.

A 12-1 run by Illinois cut the Spartan lead to 53-51 with about seven minutes to play, but Michigan State answered with a 13-4 surge to complicate Henson’s weekend.

Minnesota 72, No. 19 Iowa 64--The Golden Gophers are 6-2 in the second half of the Big Ten season and also figure a victory over Illinois will get them into the NCAA field after beating Iowa behind Bobby Jackson’s 21 points.

“Hopefully it won’t hinge on Illinois, but who knows?” said Jackson, who also had seven rebounds. “There should be no doubt if we go to Champaign and beat Illinois.”

Iowa (21-8, 10-7) committed 19 turnovers and was outrebounded, 34-23.

Wisconsin 54, No. 16 Penn State 52--The Nittany Lions (20-6, 11-6) sure aren’t playing like a tournament team, being beaten at Madison, Wis., on a 16-foot shot by Sean Daugherty at the buzzer. Dick Bennett became the winningest first-year coach in the 98-year basketball history of Wisconsin (16-13, 8-9).

OTHER GAMES

Todd Lindeman scored 28 points, 14 on free throws, and Brian Evans chipped in with 18 points as Indiana (18-11, 11-6) was a 73-56 winner over Ohio State (10-16, 3-14) in a Big Ten game at Columbus, Ohio. . . . Louis Bullock scored 21 points and Maurice Taylor 17 in the first half as Michigan (19-11, 9-8) strengthened its chances for an NCAA berth with a 77-50 rout of Northwestern (7-20).

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT

No. 13 Syracuse 76, Notre Dame 55--The Orangemen (23-7) got 32 points from John Wallace and answered a run by the Irish (9-18) that got them to within five points with 4:52 to play by finishing the game with an 18-2 run of their own in the first round in New York. Wallace scored 20 points after becoming ill at halftime.

Boston College 70, Pittsburgh 66--Antonio Granger’s only points of the game--a three-point basket with 77 seconds to play--helped the Eagles (18-9) beat the Panthers (10-17) and move into the quarterfinals against Syracuse.

Other games--Adrian Griffin scored 18 points and his last two came on a drive with one second to play to lift Seton Hall (12-15) to an 80-78 victory over West Virginia (12-15) and into a quarterfinal game against No. 3 Connecticut. . . . Kevin Norris of Miami (15-12) cut short a comeback by Rutgers (9-18) by scoring 11 points in a row down the stretch of a 77-67 victory that sent the Hurricanes into a quarterfinal game against No. 6 Georgetown. . . . Austin Croshere and Ruben Garces each had 17 points for Providence (17-10), which closed the game with a 13-4 run for an 80-72 victory over St. John’s (11-16) and will play No. 9 Villanova in the quarterfinals.

TOURNAMENTS

Atlantic 10--In Philadelphia, Rashan Palmer had 18 points for St. Bonaventure (10-17), which made 10 consecutive free throws in the last 90 seconds of a 72-60 victory over Dayton (15-14), the Bonnies’ first in the Atlantic-10 tournament in 11 years. St. Bonaventure earned the right to play No. 2 Massachusetts in today’s quarterfinals.

In other Atlantic-10 games, Lenny Brown scored 17 points for Xavier (13-14), which was a 61-54 winner over Fordham (4-23) to earn a quarterfinal game against Temple; Mark Bass scored 20 points to lead St. Joseph’s (15-11) to an 80-72 victory over Duquesne (9-18) in overtime and into a date with George Washington. Tyson Wheeler scored 20 points to help push Rhode Island (17-12) closer to an NIT bid with an 85-59 route of La Salle (6-24).

Conference USA--At Memphis, Jeff Harris scored 20 points and ninth-seeded Saint Louis (16-12) opened the second half with a 10-2 run in a 61-44 victory over Southern Mississippi (12-15) to earn a quarterfinal game against No. 8 Cincinnati today. In another game, Chucky Atkins scored 24 points to help extend the career of Coach Bobby Paschal, who has resigned at South Florida (12-15), at least one more game with a 73-57 victory over Alabama Birmingham (16-14). But Jeff Mullins of North Carolina Charlotte (14-15) wasn’t as lucky because Bryant Bowden scored 18 points to lead DePaul (11-17) to a 66-60 victory and a game against No. 14 Memphis.

Patriot League--Adonal Foyle blocked 10 shots and Colgate (15-14) held Holy Cross (16-13) without a field goal for the first 6 1/2 minutes of the second half to win its second consecutive league title, 74-65, an earn an NCAA berth at Hamilton, N.Y.

Western Athletic--In the first round at Albuquerque, N.M., Texas-El Paso (12-16) forfeited its 77-69 victory over Hawaii (11-16) on Wednesday night after it learned that forward Kevin Beal had been ruled ineligible by the NCAA. Beal, a transfer from Long Beach City College before the 1994-95 season, played 24 minutes, scoring six points. San Diego State (15-13) got 18 points from Paul Jarrett in an 80-69 victory over Air Force (5-23) to advance to a quarterfinal game against second-seeded New Mexico. The Falcons lost their last 17 games in the worst season in school history.

College Basketball Notes

In response to violations of NCAA rules over junior college transfers, the president of New Mexico State, Michael Arenduff, cut the number of basketball scholarships by two and banned off-campus recruiting this year. . . . Applications for tickets for the NCAA’s 1997 Final Four in Indianapolis will be available starting March 8 by calling (900) 646-1997. . . . Iowa State’s Tim Floyd was chosen Associated Press Big Eight Coach of the Year. . . . Nebraska basketball player Jaron Boone and former running back Clinton Childs have each been ordered to pay a $100 fine for disturbing the peace stemming from a Feb. 16 disturbance outside a Lincoln bar.