Thursday Morning Shootaround: The Big Ten Disallows the Shot Clock in Penn State's Win Over Illinois

Penn State landed a huge win over Illinois, who was tied for second in the Big Ten, 38-33. Yes, that was the final score. Illinois took a 29-20 lead with 10 minutes left, but scored just four points the rest of the way as Talor Battle and the Nittany Lions took over, going on an 18-4 "run". Battle was the only player to reach double figures in this one, scoring 11 points. Penn State shot just 28.6% from the floor while the Illini hit 30% of their shots. To be honest, I think a game like this should automatically disqualify either team from the NCAA tournament.

Other bubble teams that helped their cause last night:

• Florida State 80, Miami 67: Toney Douglas got the best of Jack McClinton in a match-up of the ACC's two best scorers. Douglas went for 24, 17 in the second half, and helped hold McClinton to just 13 points as FSU landed an enormous win. The 'Noles are now in a four-way tie for second place in the ACC. While FSU still has some work to do (they are in right now, but have a tough five game stretch ahead of them), Miami may be now be out of the tourney discussion.
  
• Florida 83, Alabama 74: The Gators jumped out to an early lead and Alabama never really made it interesting. Nick Calathes had 22 points, 6 dimes, and 5 steals in the win. Big win for Florida, who is trying to secure an NCAA tournament berth.
• Georgetown 65, South Florida 40: The Hoyas got a big win at USF to help keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive. Chris Wright had another excellent game, finishing with 17 points, and Greg Monroe added a double double with 12 and 10.
  

Most of the bubble teams that played last night lost:

• West Virginia 79, Notre Dame 68: Notre Dame used hot shooting at the outset to build a 10 point lead. But the Mountaineers used tough defense to claw their way back into the game, taking a 42-40 lead at the half. The second half was all WVU as they used an early 10-2 run to open up a two point games. Eventually, they built the lead as high as 17. WVU would have been in pretty good shape even with a loss, but the Irish may now have to win out if they hope to make the NCAA's. Alex Ruoff had 24 to lead WVU, while Luke Harangody went for 26 and 13 to lead all players.
• Citadel 64, Davidson 46: Steph Curry didn't play last night as Bob McKillop looks to be saving him for Saturday's date with Butler.
• Louisville 94, Providence 76: The Friars were up 46-45 at the half, but the Cardinals came out a different team after halftime. They forced turnovers and hit the offensive glass hard, and their size and athleticism were too much for PC to overcome. Terrence Williams bounced back from a sprained wrist to go for 17 points, 8 assists, and 6 boards. Earl Clark added 13, 10 boards, and 7 dimes while Edgar Sosa led the team with 18 points. Louisville is now in a three-way tie in second place in the Big East (1/2 game behind UConn), while the loss means that the Friars are still looking for that signature win on their tournament resume.
• Mississippi 81, Tennessee 65: The Rebels got 21 from Terrico White and 18 and 13 from Murphy Holloway as they were able to slow down Tennessee in the second half. The difference was the Ole Miss defense down the stretch, as they held Tennessee without a point for five minutes while extending their lead. Wayne Chism had 19 and 8 for the Vols, who all of a sudden are in a four-way tie atop the SEC East with Florida, Kentucky, and South Carolina.
• Mississippi State 75, South Carolina 70: Phil Turner hit a big three with about two minutes left in the game to open up a five point lead for MSU. Ravern Johnson had 20 in the win, which left the Gamecocks tied for first in the SEC.
  
• Virginia 75, Virginia Tech 61: Sylvan Landesberg went for 19 points, 9 boards, and 6 assists as UVA won their second straight game. The Cavs used a 17-2 run over the span of both halves to upen up a lead on the shorthanded Hokies (Tech was playing without suspended Jeff Allen). It was the fourth loss in six games for the Hokies, who are now, all of a sudden, on the bubble again.
• Northwestern 72, Ohio State 69: Freshman John Shurna hit a tough three with 3.3 seconds left on the clock as Northwestern improved to 5-8 in Big Ten play. Kevin Coble had 26 and Craig Moore had 23 in the win for the Wildcats. Jon Diebler led Ohio State with 28.
• Wyoming 77, UNLV 68: The MWC is loaded this year with five teams hoping to make a run at the NCAA tourney, which is why losing to one of the bottom teams in the league is not something UNLV wants to be doing. Brandon Ewing went for 29 for Wyoming, who opened up a 13 point lead in the second half and hung on down the stretch as UNLV made a couple runs.
  

The rest of the games from last night:

• Temple 72, Fordham 45: The A-10 may be a three-bid league this year if Temple keeps on winning. They are now 16-9 and 8-3 in the league.
• Wake Forest 87, Georgia Tech 69: James Johnson had 24 and 11 boards as the Demon Deacons look to be getting back on track, winning their second straight.
• Utah 89, Colorado State 79 OT: Luke Nevill blocked a shot at the end of regulation, then scored eight of his 23 points in OT as Utah kept its lead in the MWC. Nevill finished with 23 points, 14 boards and 7 blocks.
• North Carolina 89, NC State 80: Hansbrough scored 27 points and Danny Green added 19 as the Heels opened a lead as big as 19 in the second half. But the issue was their defense, which allwoed the Wolfpack to shoot 64% in the first half.
  
• LSU 72, Arkansas 69: LSU overcame a huge first half deficit and Marcus Thornton added 28 points and 7 steals, including one with the Tigers up 70-69 with under a minute left.
  
• Memphis 90, Southern Miss 47
• Kansas 72, Iowa State 55
• Utah State 78, Cal St. Bakersfield 57