BIG TEN: No. 13 Michigan State 80, Illinois 75
Keith Appling led a pivotal run early in the second half and finished with 24 points and seven assists to help host Michigan State beat Illinois.
The Spartans (18-4, 7-2 Big Ten) scored the first 14 points of the second half to take their first lead.
The Fighting Illini (15-7, 2-6) lost for the fifth time in six games. They had a chance to be the first team with four wins over currently ranked teams.
Illinois started strong and responded to rallies with shots and stops in the first half. Michigan State played with a lot of energy in the second half. Appling alternated making shots and setting up teammates to score in helping turn a 10-point deficit into a 41-37 lead.
Iowa 76, Penn State 67
Aaron White had a career-high 27 points and host Iowa beat Penn State, snapping a two-game losing streak.
Melsahn Basabe had 10 points and 10 rebounds in his first start of the season for the Hawkeyes (14-7, 3-5), who hit 31 free throws in 39 tries.
Iowa took the lead with an early 14-0 run against the last winless team in Big Ten play.
The Hawkeyes let Penn State creep back within 69-62 with 1:30 left, but White answered with a three-point play for Iowa.
D.J. Newbill had 20 points for Penn State (8-13, 0-9), which committed 18 turnovers.
TOP 25: No. 8 Arizona 57, Washington 53
Nick Johnson scored 15 points, five in the final 2 minutes, and Arizona rallied from an early deficit for an ugly victory over host Washington, snapping a three-game losing streak to the Huskies.
Mark Lyons and Solomon Hill both added 10 points for the Wildcats, who won their second straight after losing at home to UCLA. This victory by the Wildcats won’t be remembered for the quality of play, but Arizona remained just one game behind Oregon at the top of the Pac-12 Conference standings.
Arizona trailed 48-46 with 4:34 left after C.J. Wilcox hit Washington’s first 3-pointer of the game. The Wildcats (18-2, 6-2 Pac-12) then closed on an 11-5 run and got plenty of help from the careless Huskies.
Saint Louis 75, No. 9 Butler 58
Jordair Jett matched his career best with 19 points and host Saint Louis pressured Butler into a season-worst 23 turnovers, recording the program’s biggest upset in nine years with a victory that had fans storming the court to celebrate.
Dwayne Evans added 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting and five rebounds for the Billikens (15-5, 4-2 Atlantic-10), who fed off just the fourth sellout at 5-year-old Chaifetz Arena and led by double digits most of the game. Saint Louis shot 50 percent.
Rotnei Clarke had 17 points for Butler (17-4, 4-2) but also had five turnovers.
