Thursday, January 29, 2004
Devin Harris' 29 points led the Badgers past the Buckeyes, 69-57.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Devin Harris is piling up points and fans.
Four days after scoring a career-high 30 in a 20-point win over Illinois, Harris made 5-for-7 3-pointers and scored 29 points to lead No. 17 Wisconsin to a 69-57 victory over Ohio State Wednesday night.
"If he's not the best guard in the country, he certainly has to be one of the top few," Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien said.
The Badgers (14-3, 5-1) are off to their best start in the Big Ten since the 1962 team won seven of its first eight. They share the conference lead with Indiana.
Still, they had not been overpowering away from home, losing their last three.
A turnaround
"We've [played poorly] on the road, so this was a big step," said Harris, who made 9-for-12 shots from the field and 6-for-7 free throws in addition to recording four rebounds, four assists and five steals.
His coach, Bo Ryan, is well aware of what Harris can do. Even he was impressed.
"He dribbled to daylight," Ryan said. "He saw some openings and he did a good job of attacking the rim."
It was a match-up of two teams headed in opposite directions. Wisconsin has won three in a row and six of seven; Ohio State (9-10, 1-5) has lost three straight and six of seven.
Not since coach O'Brien's first Ohio State team in 1997-98 lost its first 14 Big Ten games have the Buckeyes (9-10, 1-5) gotten off to a worse start in the league.
J.J. Sullinger scored 14 points for Ohio State, which held a 41-24 advantage in rebounding yet outscored the Badgers by just six points in the paint.
Ohio State led 20-18 on Terence Dials' inside shot with 9:17 remaining in the half, but the Buckeyes didn't hit another basket for almost five minutes as the Badgers went on an 8-1 run.
Dials (Boardman High) had seven points on 3-for-4 from the field and 1-for-1 from the foul line.
Penn State 63, Northwestern 61
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Ndu Egekeze scored on a put-back with 1.2 seconds remaining in overtime as Penn State defeated Northwestern.
Michigan 90, Iowa 84
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Lester Abram scored 24 points and Courtney Sims had a career-high 16 to lead Michigan.
Michigan St. 79, Minnesota 78, OT
MINNEAPOLIS -- Paul Davis hit two free throws with 5.2 seconds to play in overtime as Michigan State overcame a 23-point first-half deficit.