Boyd scores 27 as No. 24 Wisconsin pulls away to beat Iowa 84-71

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Nick Boyd scored 27 points and Nolan Winter added 18 as No. 24 Wisconsin pulled away late for an 84-71 victory over Iowa on Sunday.

Bennett Stirtz’s layup trimmed Iowa’s deficit to 68-65, but Austin Rapp hit a pair of 3-pointers to fuel a 10-point Wisconsin run. Boyd’s layup put the Badgers ahead 78-65 with just under four minutes remaining.

John Blackwell hit four free throws after a deadball technical foul to extend the lead to 82-69 with 1:02 left.

Rapp scored 14 points and Blackwell had 13 for Wisconsin (19-8, 11-5 Big Ten), which bounced back from an 86-69 loss at Ohio State.

Stirtz had 23 points for Iowa (19-8, 9-7), which was coming off a 57-52 win at home over No. 9 Nebraska. Alvaro Folgueiras and Tate Sage scored 11 apiece.

Wisconsin shot 53.8%, including 10 of 24 beyond the arc. The Badgers hit 18 of 20 free throws, including 14 of 15 in the second half. Boyd shot 9 of 16 and Winter 8 of 11.

NO. 15 MICHIGAN STATE 66, OHIO STATE 60

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Carson Cooper scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead No. 15 Michigan State to a win over Ohio State.

Jeremy Fears added 11 points and eight assists for the Spartans (22-5, 12-4 Big Ten), who have won three of four, moving into a third-place tie in the Big Ten with No. 9 Nebraska and No. 7 Purdue.

The Buckeyes (17-10, 9-7) fell to 0-9 against Quadrant 1 teams, a statistic that may hurt their chances of earning an NCAA Tournament bid next month.

Ohio State had an opportunity to earn an impressive win, playing without the ill Devin Royal and injured John Mobley and missing the 29 points per game that they average.

Bruce Thornton tried to make up for it, scoring 32 points, but didn’t get much help from a teammate other than Christoph Tilly, who scored 10 points and missed only one shot.