CHICAGO (AP) — Fletcher Loyer scored 19 points, Braden Smith collected 10 more assists and No. 18 Purdue beat No. 11 Nebraska 74-58 on Friday night in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
C.J. Cox and Oscar Cluff each had 12 points for the Boilermakers, and Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Smith set a Big Ten Tournament record and matched a career high with 16 assists in an 81-68 victory over Northwestern on Thursday. The senior guard needs 22 more assists to break Bobby Hurley's NCAA record of 1,076 in 140 games for Duke from 1989-93.
Purdue (25-8) advanced to the Big Ten semifinals for the fourth time in the last five years, bouncing back nicely after closing the regular season with four losses in six games. It will play UCLA on Saturday after the surprising Bruins held off No. 8 Michigan State for an 88-84 win.
Pryce Sandford scored 15 points for Nebraska, which dropped to 6-14 all-time in the Big Ten tourney. Rienk Mast finished with 11.
Nebraska (26-6) went 10 for 31 from 3-point range and 12 for 25 from inside the arc.
The Cornhuskers trailed 48-30 with 17 minutes left, but they trimmed the deficit to 58-50 on Cale Jacobsen’s driving layup with 6:53 remaining.
The Boilermakers responded with a 14-2 run, capped by Loyer’s 3 and a dunk by Cluff with 3:26 to go. Cox also connected from long range during the decisive stretch.
Purdue beat Nebraska 80-77 in overtime in their regular-season meeting on Feb. 10. Kaufman-Renn grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds in the victory, helping the Boilermakers to a 54-37 advantage on the glass.
Purdue enjoyed a 37-29 rebounding advantage this time around, and outscored Nebraska 26-18 in the paint.
Purdue lost 69-67 at UCLA on Jan. 20, snapping a nine-game win streak for the Boilermakers.
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Purdue center Oscar Cluff, left, rebounds the ball against Nebraska forwards Pryce Sandfort (21) and Rienk Mast (51) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Big 10 Conference tournament, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Purdue players celebrate after center Oscar Cluff (not shown) scored a basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Nebraska in the quarterfinals of the Big 10 Conference tournament, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
HOUSTON (AP) — Aaron Judge doubled and Pete Crow-Armstrong and Brice Turang each had two hits as the United States beat Canada 5-3 on Friday night to reach the World Baseball Classic semifinals.
The U.S. squad rebounded after an 8-6 loss to Italy in pool play left them needing help to advance to this round.
The Americans move on to face the Dominican Republic in a semifinal on Sunday in Miami. It will be the team’s third straight appearance in the semifinals and the fourth overall.
It’s another big win for the U.S. over its neighbors to the north, coming after the U.S. hockey team beat Canada 2-1 in overtime to win the gold medal at the Milan Olympics last month.
Bo Naylor hit a two-run homer in Canada’s three-run sixth that cut the deficit to two runs. But the U.S. bullpen closed it out, capped by Mason Miller striking out the side in the ninth for the save.
Canada, which was in the quarterfinals for the first time, fell to 1-5 against the U.S. in the WBC.
Canada trailed by five runs when Owen Caissie walked with one out in the sixth and moved to second on a groundout by Abraham Toro. Tyler Black’s RBI single off Brad Keller cut the lead to 5-1.
Naylor’s shot to the second deck in right field came on Gabe Speier’s fifth pitch and got Canada within 5-3. It was the 10th home run the U.S. has allowed in five games in the tournament.
Canada had a shot to close the gap in the seventh when it had runners on second and third with no outs. But David Bednar retired the next three batters, with two strikeouts, to escape the jam.
U.S. starter Logan Webb allowed four hits and walked one with five strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.
Bobby Witt Jr. was on with one out in the first when Judge doubled before Witt scored on a groundout by Kyle Schwarber to give the U.S. an early lead. The double by Judge was the only extra-base hit of the night for the U.S.
Canada had a runner on first with two outs in the second when Witt made a leaping catch on a ball hit by Edouard Julien to end the inning.
The bases were loaded with two outs in the third when Alex Bregman singled on a ground ball to Toro. His throw to first sailed over Josh Naylor’s head and into the dugout and two runs scored to make it 3-0.
Roman Anthony singled with one out in the sixth before a walk by Cal Raleigh. Brice Turang singled on a grounder to center field to score Anthony and push the lead to 4-0. Crow-Armstrong sent the next pitch into center field for an RBI single before Witt grounded into a double play to end the inning.
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United States pitcher Gabe Speier delivers a pitch against Canada during the sixth inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
United States pitcher Logan Webb reacts after striking out Canada third baseman Abraham Toro (31) to end the first inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Canada catcher Bo Naylor, hits a two-run homer against the United States during the sixth inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
United States right fielder Aaron Judge celebrates his double against Canada during the first inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
United States second baseman Brice Turang (13) hits an RBI single against Canada during the sixth inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
