HUNTER DICKINSON

Cam Spencer and Derek Simpson scored 23 of their combined 31 points in the second half and Rutgers beat Michigan 62-50 on Thursday in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Michigan center Hunter Dickinson said he was part of a decision to remove a published Barstool Sports podcast in which one of his co-hosts compared Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo to Adolf Hitler. “I have a lot of respect for Tom Izzo.” Dickinson is a regular on the podcast but said he couldn't recall if he was on it when the comment was made.

Juwan Howard and his players expressed optimism after Michigan's narrow loss to No. 3 Virginia, but the trend of late-game collapses continued.

Who will be No. 1? Can Kansas repeat? What's with all the veteran big men returning? Here are 68 reason to look forward to college basketball.

Jermaine Samuels scored 22 points and Villanova controlled Michigan in a 63-55 Sweet 16 victory in the NCAA Tournament.

Michigan booked the most surprising of its five straight trips to the Sweet 16 by beating No. 3 seed Tennessee 76-68 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Freshman Frankie Collins provided the spark Michigan needed in a turbulent year for the Wolverines and coach Juwan Howard.

Juwan Howard was on his best behavior.

Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis is The Associated Press player of the year in the Big Ten Conference and the Badgers’ Greg Gard is coach of the year.

DeVante’ Jones scored 21 points and Michigan rallied in the second half, wrapping up its up-and-down Big Ten regular season by beating No. 23 Ohio State 75-69.

Caleb Houstan scored 13 of his career-high 21 points in the second half when Michigan pulled away to beat Rutgers 71-62 without head coach Juwan Howard, who was serving the first of a five-game suspension.

Jared Rhoden scored 16 points, helping Seton Hall rally to beat No. 4 Michigan 67-65.

The opening week of the college basketball season, as it usually is, was filled with marquee games.

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)INDIANAPOLIS – UCLA has made more trips to the Final Four than any program but North Carolina. AdThey were clinging to a 50-49 lead when Michigan called a timeout with 19 seconds to go, intending to set up the game's final shot. The buzzer sounded and UCLA began to celebrate, only for the officials to put a half-second back on the clock. They were 3 of 11 beyond the arc, shot 39% overall and couldn't make one at the end. UCLA won a regional semifinal in 2006 and the Bulldogs returned the favor in the 2015 regional semifinals.

The evening's most telling stat was points in the paint: Michigan 50, Florida State 28. Other lowlights for the Seminoles:— 14 turnovers, including 10 in the first half that led to 16 Michigan points. Adding to the trouble, Walker, the team's leading scorer this season, rolled his ankle at the 14-minute mark of the second half. FSU went on a mini-tear when Osborne and Polite made back-to-back 3s to trim Michigan's lead to five early in the second half. Driving the lane and making the extra pass underneath, the Wolverines made 11 of their first 13 shots in the second half.

4 seed Florida State (18-6) vs. No. 1 seed Michigan (22-4), East Region semifinal, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis. Michigan has withstood an injury to second-leading scorer Isaiah Livers to become the last team remaining from the Big Ten’s nine NCAA Tournament selections. Florida State has allowed its first two NCAA Tournament foes to shoot just 33.6% and average 53.5 points. Michigan is averaging 84 points in the NCAA Tournament.

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)INDIANAPOLIS – What the Big Ten needed was someone, anyone, to start playing like it came from the Big Ten. AdBut during the 14-1 stretch that opened things up, Michigan did what typical Big Ten teams are supposed to do. Most-telling stat of the night was points off the bench: Michigan 26, LSU 2. His 27 points kept LSU in range in the second half, but Wagner altered his shot underneath at the end of that stretch. Michigan shot 53 percent and made 10 of 25 3-pointers.

– Juwan Howard got the win in his first NCAA Tournament game since taking over at Michigan, guiding Mike Smith and the top-seeded Wolverines to an 82-66 victory over Texas Southern on Saturday. It's his second season in charge, but the NCAA Tournament was canceled last year because of the pandemic. Howard and the Wolverines (21-4) had little trouble with the No 16 seed Texas Southern, but the absence of Livers could lead to adversity down the road. It wasn’t perfect as Texas Southern outscored Michigan 42-30 in the paint and got within 12 late, causing Dickinson to re-enter the game. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference member Norfolk State ousted Appalachian State on the same court, marking the first time SWAC and MEAC schools won NCAA Tournament games on the same day.

(AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)Gonzaga and Baylor spent almost the entire season holding down the top two spots in the Top 25. Makes sense they'd hold down a bunch of spots on The Associated Press All-America teams. The Bulldogs' Corey Kispert and the Bears' Jared Butler led the way with first-team nods Tuesday from the national panel of 63 media members that vote each week in the AP Top 25 poll. Just like the first- and second-team All-Americans, their teams also will be playing in the NCAA Tournament this week. ___AP Basketball Writer John Marshall and AP Sports Writers Michael Marot and Stephen Hawkins contributed to this report.

Ohio State forward E.J. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)INDIANAPOLIS – Ohio State guard Duane Washington Jr. just wanted a second chance at his home-state team. 9 Buckeyes fend off the fourth-ranked Wolverines for a 68-67 victory and a trip to the Big Ten Tournament title game. “This rivalry means a lot to a lot of our guys, a lot of our Ohio guys," Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann said. The Wolverines appeared in three straight title games before last year's was cancelled because of COVID-19.

Rocket Watts scored 21 points and Aaron Henry had 18 to lead the Spartans in a 70-64 victory over No. The Wolverines (19-3, 14-3) closed the regular season getting routed at home by the Fighting Illini, beating Michigan State handily to clinch the Big Ten title and losing the rematch three days later. They were ready to play today and we weren’t.”AdJoey Hauser scored nine of his 11 points off the bench in the first half as Michigan State led 30-26. SENIOR MOMENTFifth-year senior Joshua Langford, who missed much of the previous two seasons with injury, made a 3-point shot with 49 seconds left to give Michigan State a 64-59 lead. UP NEXTThe Big Ten Tournament begins Wednesday in Indianapolis, where first-seeded Michigan may meet Michigan State for a third time.

2 Michigan wrapped up the Big Ten title with a 69-50 victory over rival Michigan State on Thursday night. The Wolverines won it again in 2014. Aaron Henry scored 14 points for Michigan State (14-11, 8-11), which will finish with a losing conference record for the first time since 1993. Michigan State went 0 for 9 from 3-point range, its first game without a 3 since Nov. 15, 2013 against Columbia, according to Sportradar. MOTIVATIONAL VIDEOFormer Michigan State star Draymond Green made an appearance in a pregame video the Wolverines watched.

3 Michigan pull away for a 73-57 victory Saturday at Indiana. Aljami Durham led Indiana (12-12, 7-10) with 15 points and Race Thompson finished with 11 points and six rebounds. Michigan made Indiana uncomfortable while facing full-court pressure, stayed in front of the Hoosiers in half-court defense, and challenged shot after shot. Indiana: The Hoosiers trailed 22-21 with 8:36 to go in the first half — and then this one got away from them. ... Indiana shot 38% from the field and was outrebounded 37-27.

Dickinson gave Garza fits around the basket, and Franz Wagner scored 21 points to lead No. Michigan answered that with a 14-2 run that took place mostly while Dickinson was on the bench. The 7-foot-1 Dickinson, who like Garza went to high school in the Washington area, blocked Garza's first shot attempt of the game. “I know I’ve got to be better for my team,” Garza said. Michigan: The Wolverines have only one day off before playing at Indiana on Saturday.

Liddell during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, in Columbus, Ohio. After six ties in the second half, Michigan pulled away in the final minutes and then held off Ohio State 92-87 Sunday in a meeting that showcased two teams aiming for No. Ad“I thought his length and size bothered us," Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann acknowledged. Ohio State and Michigan both are projected to be No. Ohio State: At Michigan State on Thursday.

Michigan's Franz Wagner had 10 of his 14 points in the second half. But the Badgers shot 7 of 28 in the second half and missed their last 11 3-point attempts. “What we did in the first half is what we wanted to do in the second half,” Ford said. Michigan beat Wisconsin 77-54 on Jan. 12 and became the first team to sweep a regular-season series from the Badgers since 2017-18, when Michigan State and Nebraska both did it. AdWisconsin: The Badgers needed more from their starting five, who combined to score 10 points and shoot 2 of 16 in the second half.

23 Minnesota to a 75-57 victory on Saturday, handing No. 7 Michigan its first loss while holding Dickinson to a season-low nine points. He’s a really good freshman, but you’ve got to act like the junior in this one,’” Minnesota coach Richard Pitino said. “This loss right here is a loss that we’re going to learn from,” coach Juwan Howard said. Minnesota, the lowest of six ranked Big Ten teams, will undoubtedly move up several spots.