Big Ten semifinals: Wisconsin battles to OT win over Purdue; Illinois beats Nebraska

Minneapolis — Max Klesmit made a runner in the lane with 4.8 seconds to play in overtime and Wisconsin beat Big Ten Tournament top-seed Purdue 76-75 on Saturday for a spot in the conference championship game.

Klesmit's clutch shot followed his teammate Chucky Hepburn's in regulation, when Hepburn made a layup as time expired to force overtime.

“Just got a good look at the end, and it went in,” said Klesmit, who finished with 12 points, five assists and five rebounds.

Hepburn had 22 points and AJ Storr scored 20 for fifth-seeded Wisconsin (22-12).

Zach Edey led No. 3 Purdue (29-4) with 28 points and 11 rebounds. He was the only Boilermaker who scored in double digits.

Edey surpassed Rick Mount's school record of 2,323 career points (1967-1970) with about seven minutes remaining in the second half. He finished the game with 2,339 career points.

The reigning Big Ten player of the year was limited by foul trouble in the first half and missed a crucial free throw late in regulation, but he hit eight straight free throws in overtime and finished 14 for 19 from the line.

The Badgers, who were ranked as high as No. 6 in the nation in late January, lost eight of their last 11 conference games, including a 78-70 defeat at Purdue on March 10. But they've put those troubles behind them in Minneapolis, with convincing wins over Maryland and Northwestern before knocking off the Boilermakers.

“There’s so much parity in college basketball,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. “You have to not put your head down. … Not feel sorry for yourself.”

Purdue was trying to match Michigan State (1999, 2000) as the only Big Ten program to win both the outright regular season title and the conference tournament in consecutive years. Now the Boilermakers are hoping to put to rest the ghosts of last year's NCAA Tournament, when they were the top seed upset in the first round by No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson.

“We’re focused on now. That’s in the past,” Purdue guard Braden Smith said. “I said it multiple times, they beat us that day, and they played better than us, and I don’t think it will happen again. We’re all super excited and ready for this next upcoming week.”

Trailing by a point with less than 30 seconds to play in overtime, Hepburn drew an offensive foul on Smith, giving Wisconsin possession with 21.3 seconds left.

As the clock wound down, Klesmit floated a shot that bounced straight up off the rim before dropping through the hoop.

Lance Jones missed a last-gasp shot from 35 feet as time expired, giving Wisconsin its first win over Purdue in three tries this season.

In regulation, the Badgers called a timeout down two points after crossing midcourt with 2.7 seconds remaining. Hepburn caught the inbound pass and cut to the basket, finger-rolling it in as time expired. Edey had just missed the second of two free throws with about six seconds to go.

Wisconsin's final possessions in regulation and overtime both came off Purdue turnovers. The Boilermakers turned it over 16 times, compared to just five for the Badgers, leading to a 15-0 edge in points off turnovers for Wisconsin.

“It’s kind of our magic number, if we get 14, 15, 16, 17 turnovers,” Painter said. “I know it’s our only fourth loss, but all four losses that number is right in there. Just got to do a better job across the board taking care of the basketball.”

Tempers flared at the beginning of the game when Edey was called for a loose-ball foul and caught Steven Crowl with an elbow. The two centers stared each other down and exchanged words. Each player was assessed a technical and Edey went to the bench with two fouls.

▶Illinois 98, Nebraska 87: Terrence Shannon Jr. scored a career-high 40 points for a Big Ten Tournament record to lead a second-half surge by 13th-ranked Illinois.

“Nobody can stop him. I think he’s the best player in the country by far,” said teammate Ty Rodgers, who had eight points and 13 rebounds. "When he’s in that mode, you can’t get him out."

Marcus Domask added 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and Luke Goode made four 3-pointers for the Illini (25-8), who fell behind by 15 points early in the second half before seizing control to move to the conference championship game against Wisconsin on Sunday.

Wisconsin beat third-ranked Purdue 76-75 in overtime in the other semifinal game.

Brice Williams had 23 points, Keisei Tominaga added 18 and Rienk Mast scored 15 for the Huskers (23-10), who hit the wall hard down the stretch in their first appearance in the Big Ten semifinals in 13 seasons in the league.

“Not only physically did we hit some fatigue, but mentally," coach Fred Hoiberg said.

Shannon had 18 points in less than 12 minutes to start the game, went quiet for awhile, and then got going again early in the second half. The first team All-Big Ten player hit the 40-point mark for the eighth time in program history and the first since Malcolm Hill against Northern Kentucky on Nov. 13, 2016.

Shannon also broke the Big Ten Tournament record held by Northwestern’s Michael Thompson with 35 points against Minnesota in 2011. He went 5 for 9 from 3-point range and 13 for 16 from the foul line.

“He doesn’t get tired," Domask said. "Little by little, he wears teams down."

Shannon has not been made available for interviews since he was charged with rape in Kansas in December. The school suspended him, but a judge reinstated him after six games.

“He’s handled it like a professional. He knows there’s a serious situation out there. He’s been an unbelievable teammate,” coach Brad Underwood said.

The Huskers started to lose the Illini’s prolific guards down the stretch, and Illinois hit 59% from the floor against the Big Ten's best shooting defense.

Tominaga's slick drive for a layup stopped a 10-0 run around the 13-minute mark, but Shannon answered with a 3-pointer to bring Illinois back within three points. Tominaga, Nebraska's leading scorer, knocked down a 3-pointer off the break to push the lead to 66-60, and teammate Josiah Allick closed his eyes and said, “Yes!” to no one in particular on the way back. The Huskers badly needed that, but they couldn't come up with any more clutch shots.

Goode banked in a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 71-70 lead, putting the Illini in front for the first time since 10-8.

The Huskers were safely in the NCAA Tournament in this breakout in Hoiberg's fifth year, boasting the second-most wins in program history. The only time they've reached a conference final was 1994, when they won the Big Eight. But maybe Nebraska is becoming a basketball school after all. The women's team took second-ranked Iowa to overtime in the Big Ten championship game here last week.

Nebraska is the only power conference program that has never won an NCAA Tournament men's game. The last appearance was 10 years ago.

“I love how this team is playing right now," Hoiberg said. "We can’t let one game disrupt the good things that have happened with our program.”