Evan Turner lifts Ohio State to victory

Evan Turner drained a 37-foot shot at the buzzer to give Ohio State a 69-68 victory over Michigan in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals Friday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Turner took an inbounds pass, dribbled upcourt and pulled up barely past halfcourt. He finished with 18 points and eight assists for the No. 5-ranked Buckeyes (25-7), who will move on to play Illinois (19-13), which beat No. 13 Wisconsin, 58-54.

“I was just trying to get the ball up and get it in shooting range and keep my follow-through, and it went in,” Turner said.

Ohio State Coach Thad Matta said he wasn’t sure the Buckeyes deserved such good fortune.

“It’s funny because I was so mad kind of at how we had played throughout the course of the game. But as he let it go, I thought, ‘That thing has got a chance to go in,’” he said.

Before the final shot, Turner had been one for eight in the second half. Turner’s shot came after Manny Harris had made an 11-foot shot with 2.2 seconds left to give Michigan (15-17) a 68-66 lead. Harris finished the game with 26 points.

In other Big Ten quarterfinals, Minnesota (20-12) pulled the biggest upset, defeating No. 11 Michigan State, 72-67, in overtime. Devoe Joseph made two three-point shots during a 10-0 overtime run for the Gophers. The Spartans played without guard Chris Allen, who was suspended for the game by Coach Tom Izzo for “not meeting responsibilities to his teammates.”

In the semifinals, Minnesota will play No. 6 Purdue, which got 28 points from junior guard E’Twaun Moore to beat Northwestern, 69-61.

SEC

John Wall had 23 points, including seven consecutive in the second half to help No. 2 Kentucky (30-2) overcome an 11-point deficit and defeat Alabama, 73-67, in the quarterfinals at Nashville. On Saturday, the Wildcats play No. 15 Tennessee, which beat Louisiana State despite shooting 25.9% in the first half.

ACC

Kyle Singler had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 4 Duke (27-5) pulled away late to beat Virginia, 57-46, in the quarterfinal at Greensboro, N.C. Duke became the winningest team in the tournament’s history with their 85th victory, edging ahead of North Carolina. The tournament had two more upsets. First, Durand Scott scored 11 of his 17 points in the final six minutes and Miami stunned fourth-seeded Virginia Tech, 70-65. Then, Iman Shumpert scored 14 points to lift Georgia Tech (21-11) past No. 19 Maryland (23-8), 69-64. The Terrapins had the ball and were within one possession of the lead six times in the final 4:30 and didn’t score.

Big 12

Xavier Henry scored 11 points in a 21-2 run that broke open a tight game and carried No. 1 Kansas (31-2) past No. 23 Texas A&M, 79-66, in the semifinals at Kansas City, Mo. The No. 23 Aggies (23-9) led by as many as nine early in the second half. In the final, Kansas will play No. 9 Kansas State, which held off No. 21 Baylor, 82-75.

Atlantic 10

Terrell Holloway made a go-ahead three-point play with 1:22 left and No. 24 Xavier rallied from a 15-point deficit in the final 10 minutes to defeat Dayton, 78-73, in a quarterfinal at Atlantic City, N.J., in a game marred by a late technical foul against Dayton senior guard Rob Lowery. The technical came with 33.6 seconds left and Xavier ahead, 70-68. Lowery had dribbled the ball just over halfcourt and called time out. As he turned to go to his bench steps away, Holloway walked over and slapped the ball out of his hands. Lowery took exception and swung at him in a slapping motion right in front of official In another quarterfinal, Juan Fernandez made three three-point shots and handed out three assists in a game-opening 24-8 run that led No. 17 Temple (27-5) over St. Bonaventure, 69-51.

Big East

Da’Sean Butler scored 24 points to lead No. 7 West Virginia to a 53-51 victory over Notre Dame in the semifinals at New York. The Fighting Irish had two chances in the closing seconds, but Tory Jackson missed a three-point try, and Tyrone Nash was stripped of the ball after coming up with the rebound. In the final, the Mountaineers will play No. 22 Georgetown (23-9), an 80-57 winner over Marquette.

Conference USA

Randy Culpepper scored 21 points to lead No. 25 Texas El Paso over Tulsa, 75-61, in the semifinals at Tulsa, Okla. In the final Saturday, the Miners will play Houston, which defeated Southern Mississippi, 74-66.

Mountain West

San Diego State upset No. 8 New Mexico, 72-69, in a semifinal at Las Vegas. Trailing 70-69, the Lobos had the ball under their basket with 7.4 seconds left. Dairese Gary grabbed the inbounds pass and sped upcourt but stumbled at the top of the key and didn’t get off a clean shot. Kawhi Leonard grabbed the rebound and made the final two free throws for the Aztecs (24-8).

Elsewhere …

In the Patriot League final at Bethlehem, Pa., C.J. McCollum scored 20 points to lead Lehigh to its first NCAA tournament berth in six years with a 74-59 victory over Lafayette.