Michigan State Still Eyeing a No. 1 Seeding

OK, show of hands, does anyone out there really want to be a top-seeded team in the NCAA tournament?

Thursday, Cincinnati lost to Saint Louis and probably forfeited the top spot in the Midwest. Stanford lost at Arizona and probably ceded the West to the Wildcats. Tennessee blew its case for the South with a loss Friday to South Carolina.

Friday at the Big Ten tournament, with plenty of choice NCAA slots available, powerhouse Ohio State lost to Penn State, which left fifth-ranked Michigan State to carry the tournament torch.

The Spartans did, but it wasn’t easy as they fended off pesky Iowa, 75-65, in a quarterfinal game at the United Center.

Iowa guard Dean Oliver scored 30 points against one of the nation’s best defenses, including a layup with 11:50 to play that cut the lead to 51-50, but the Spartans did enough to win.

“Yeah, we were concerned,” Michigan State guard Mateen Cleaves said of his team’s sluggish performance. “You turn on the TV and, all over, a lot of No. 1 and No. 2 seeds lost.”

With Ohio State out, the Big Ten tournament seemingly is Michigan State’s to lose. If the Spartans (24-7) beat Wisconsin today and win the title Sunday, they’ll assuredly open the NCAA tournament next week as a No. 1, probably in Cleveland.

Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo isn’t ready to think that far ahead.

“It doesn’t matter to me, one, two, three,” he said of his team’s possible NCAA placement. “I just want to get in it and play better than we did tonight.”

Izzo was not a happy tournament camper. He watched Oliver, who scored no points in a first-round victory over Minnesota--”Coach was calling me Mr. Doughnut” Oliver said--make 11 of 17 shots against the vaunted Spartan defense.

Michigan State’s reserves scored only four points.

The Spartans are the nation’s best rebounding team, but only outrebounded Iowa (14-16) by 37-35.

The Hawkeyes kept hanging around, and trailed by only 59-57 with 6:50 to play on an Oliver three-point basket, but a 6-0 run pushed the Michigan State lead to eight and the Spartans were never seriously threatened again.

Morris Peterson led Michigan State with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Cleaves had 14 points and seven assists.

Iowa Coach Steve Alford said he was happy how well his team stood up to a superior opponent.

“They’re like a big-time heavyweight,” he said. “They want to knock you out in the first round, much like Mike Tyson early on, when he had that aura.”

Penn State 71, No. 4 Ohio State 66--The ninth-seeded Nittany Lions (15-13) pulled off the biggest upset in the Big Ten’s three-year tournament history with the quarterfinal victory over the top-seeded Buckeyes (22-6), who probably blew their chance at a top placement in the NCAA tournament.

“This impacts our seeding tremendously,” Ohio State Coach Jim O’Brien lamented. “With other teams losing, I thought if we took care of our own business we would be in good shape. At this point, the No. 1 seed for us is out of the question.”

Ohio State beat Penn State twice during the season, but made only 38.2% of its shots on Friday, making only four of 26 three-point attempts.

Forward Jarrett Stephens led Penn State with 21 points, while guard Crispin had 13 points and seven assists in 36 minutes.

Illinois 72, No. 18 Indiana 69--Cory Bradford’s three-point basket with 1.4 seconds to play lifted the fourth-seeded Illini (20-8) over the fifth-seeded Hoosiers (20-8).

Illinois plays Penn State today in a semifinal game.

Bradford had made at least one three-point shot in all 59 games he has played at Illinois, but was O for 5 before making the winner to extend his streak to 60.

“I wasn’t concerned about the streak,” said Bradford, who finished with 12 points. “I was worried about a winning streak. All I wanted was for that one to go in.”

Indiana made only 23 of 63 shots (35.5%), with standout guard A.J. Guyton making only five of 20.

Wisconsin 78, No. 22 Purdue 66--Mark Vershaw scored 22 points and the Badgers (18-12) parlayed their usual tough defense into a rough victory over the Boilermakers.

The Badgers have won five in a row, their longest winning streak of the season.

Wisconsin got its final basket with 2:45 to play, but secured the victory by making 10 of 14 free throws in the final 1:55--six by Vershaw.

Mike Kelley, who sat out the second half of Thursday’s opening-round victory over Northwestern because of a thigh injury, added 14 points for the Badgers.

Mike Robinson scored 15 to lead Purdue (21-9) and Brian Cardinal added 14 despite making only four of 12 shots.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.