Michigan St. Has Regrets in Victory

Michigan State’s senior class tied a Big Ten record with 108 victories, but it would trade some of those victories for one less Big Ten loss this season.

Andre Hutson scored 15 points and Zach Randolph had 14 Tuesday night as the fifth-ranked Spartans defeated Indiana, 66-57, at East Lansing, Mich., again featuring their suffocating defense and tenacious rebounding.

“The 108 wins is big, but the Big Ten championship would be so much sweeter,” Hutson said. “I’m definitely going to be rooting for Ohio State [against Illinois] on Thursday.”

To win a fourth consecutive Big Ten title, Michigan State, 21-3 overall and 10-3 in the Big Ten, has to win its final three conference games and needs Illinois (21-5, 11-2) to lose at least one of its final three.

The 108th victory for Michigan State’s senior class tied the Big Ten record set by Indiana teams from 1972-76 and 1990-94.

David Thomas had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Spartans.

The Hoosiers (16-11, 7-6) had won four of their previous five games.

Indiana’s Kirk Haston, whose three-point basket as time expired Jan. 7 ended Michigan State’s 23-game winning streak, scored 18 points and fouled out. Jared Jeffries scored nine points on four-of-15 shooting.

“I thought they were just too strong and physical for us,” Indiana Coach Mike Davis said.

No. 20 Maryland 95, North Carolina State 66--Juan Dixon made 11 of 12 shots and matched his season high with 30 points to lead the Terrapins (17-9, 8-6) over the Wolfpack (12-13, 4-9) in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at College Park, Md.

Steve Blake scored a season-high 15 points and had nine assists for Maryland, which took sole possession of third place in the ACC.

Byron Mouton and Lonny Baxter each had 12 points for the Terrapins, who clinched at least a .500 record in the ACC for the eighth consecutive season.

Anthony Grundy had 15 points for North Carolina State, guaranteed its 10th consecutive losing record in the conference. Kenny Inge had 11 points for the Wolfpack, which has lost 12 in a row at Cole Field House.

No. 25 Providence 96, Virginia Tech 56--Abdul Mills had 20 points and eight assists to lead the Friars (19-7, 10-4) over the Hokies (8-17, 2-12) in a Big East game at Providence, R.I.

Mills, a sophomore, made all five of his shots, among them three three-pointers, and all seven of his free throws.

Providence, which entered the Top 25 this week for the first time since Jan. 24, 1989, made its first 11 shots and led by as many 43 points in handing the Hokies their worst loss since 1989.

The Friars matched their highest victory total in the Big East, while Virginia Tech lost its seventh in a row.

WOMEN

No. 2 Notre Dame 81, Miami 43--Ruth Riley scored 20 points on eight-of-11 shooting to help the Irish (24-1, 13-1) rebound from their only loss with a Big East rout of the Hurricanes (13-12, 6-8) at South Bend, Ind.

The victory was No. 400 for Irish Coach Muffet McGraw, her 312th at Notre Dame.

The Irish, who fell to No. 2 after losing Saturday to Rutgers, 54-53, put together their most impressive performance since before they climbed to No. 1 a month ago.

No. 3 Connecticut 97, West Virginia 34--Swin Cash had 20 points and a career-high 20 rebounds to lead the injury-riddled Huskies (23-2, 13-1) over the Mountaineers (5-20, 3-11) in a Big East game at Hartford, Conn.

No. 9 Rutgers 61, Seton Hall 45--Tammy Sutton-Brown scored 16 points and Dana Boonen scored 11 to lead the Scarlet Knights (19-6, 11-3) over the Pirates (16-9, 9-5) in a Big East game at Piscataway, N.J.

No. 10 Iowa State 87, No. 22 Texas 47--Angie Welle and Megan Taylor each scored 19 points to lead the Cyclones (21-4, 11-3) to a Big 12 rout of the Longhorns (19-9, 7-7) at Ames, Iowa.