John Mobley Jr. scores 21 points and unranked Ohio State beats No. 8 Purdue 82-74

By Canadian Press on March 1, 2026.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — John Mobley Jr. scored 21 points to lead Ohio State to an 82-74 win over No. 8 Purdue on Sunday.

A crowd that included a loud contingent of Boilermakers fans watched the Buckeyes revive their fading NCAA Tournament hopes and beat Purdue for the third time in a row.

Purdue (22-7, 12-6 Big Ten) led by as many as seven in the first half, but Ohio State (18-11, 10-8) used a 14-3 run to open up a 23-19 lead on Amare Bynum’s 3-pointer with 6:44 to go.

The Buckeyes led by five at the half despite Purdue making 8 of 14 from 3-point range, a deficit Ohio State made up at the free-throw line. The Buckeyes made 8 of 11 from the charity stripe while Purdue was 1 for 2.

Ohio State took a 16-point lead on a pair of free throws by Devin Royal with 7:41 to go in the second half.

Purdue went on a 12-2 run to get within six, but Bynum hit a 3-pointer and Royal added a put-back slam to stop the bleeding and put the Buckeyes back up 11.

The Boilermakers got to within six again with 31 seconds left, but Bruce Thornton made a pair of free throws to give the hosts some breathing room.

Thornton finished with 20 points while Bynum added 14 points and Royal finished with 12.

NO. 13 MICHIGAN STATE 77, INDIANA 64

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Jaxon Kohler scored a season-high 21 points and Jeremy Fears Jr. added 21 points and nine assists to lead Michigan State past Indiana.

Kur Tang finished with a career-high 18 points, making 6 of 8 from 3-point range — nearly half of the Spartans’ 13 3s. Kohler also grabbed 13 rebounds, his 12th double-double of the season as the Michigan State (24-5, 14-4 Big Ten) won its fourth straight.

The Spartans never trailed in winning at Assembly Hall for just the second time in six trips to complete a road sweep this week. They also won at No. 8 Purdue 76-74 on Thursday. It was coach Tom Izzo’s first trip to Bloomington since he broke the league record for conference wins in February 2025, breaking the mark held by former Hoosiers coach Bob Knight.

Lamar Wilkerson scored 19 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Indiana (17-12, 8-10) from a fourth consecutive loss. Tucker DeVries finished with 20 points and six rebounds, while Sam Alexis added eight points in a game Indiana’s bench players were shut out.

Michigan State used a hot start to take a 14-5 lead, then relied on its long-range flurry to thwart the Hoosiers from mounting serious challenge. The Spartans extended the margin to 39-26 on Teng’s fourth 3 of the game late in the first half.

The Associated Press