Evan Turner stayed up late Saturday night, watching Michigan State lose to turn the Big Ten race into a free-for all.
Then he got up early Sunday to make sure No. 13 Ohio State stayed in the mix.
Turner matched his career high with 32 points, leading the Buckeyes past Iowa 68-58 Sunday to stretch their Big Ten winning streak to seven straight.
“We got here at 7:45 in the morning,” Turner said after the rare Ohio State game with a noon tip-off. “We caught the Michigan State versus Illinois game last night, so we were up kind of late. We came out and competed and got the job done.”
Jon Diebler added 12 points for the Buckeyes (18-6, 8-3), who have won four in a row overall and seven of eight.
Eric May scored 16 points, Aaron Fuller and Cully Payne 11 each, and Matt Gatens 10 for the Hawkeyes (8-16, 2-9), who have lost four in a row.
The Buckeyes are among four teams that started Sunday just a game back of Michigan State in the Big Ten.
No. 3 SYRACUSE 71, CINCINNATI 54: Kris Joseph hit a pair of three-pointers to fuel the Orange’s decisive second-half run in Cincinnati, and Syracuse (23-1, 10-1 Big East) kept its best start in school history going with its 10th in a row.
Ibrahima Thomas led Cincinnati (14-9, 5-6) with a season-high 13 points.
Women
PURDUE 58, WISCONSIN 56: FahKara Malone became the Boilermakers’ all-time steals leader in a home victory.
Malone – who finished with six points and three steals – passed Katie Douglas’ record of 327 steals with her second of the game. Brittany Rayburn scored 19 points to lead Purdue (13-11, 8-5 Big Ten).
Alyssa Karel scored 13 points to lead Wisconsin (17-7, 7-6).
INDIANA 67, ILLINOIS 54: Jori Davis recorded a double-double, scoring game-high 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, to lead the Hoosiers in Champaign, Ill.
Whitney Lindsay scored 16 for Indiana (13-10, 6-6 Big Ten), and Jamie Braun added 14.
Jenna Smith scored 20 for the Illini (12-11, 4-9), and Lacey Simpson added 11.
No. 1 CONNECTICUT 84, LOUISVILLE 38: Tina Charles had 20 points and nine rebounds in Louisville, Ky., as UConn (23-0, 10-0 Big East) extended its winning streak to 62 in a row.
No. 2 STANFORD 77, USC 39: Jayne Appel passed Nicole Powell to become Stanford’s career rebounding leader with 1,153, Kayla Pedersen had 18 points and 14 boards and the Cardinal (21-1, 11-0 Pac-10) won their 42nd straight home game.
No. 7 XAVIER 67, RICHMOND 55: Dee Dee Jernigan matched her career high with 15 points to lead four Musketeers (18-3, 8-0 Atlantic-10) in double figures in Cincinnati.
No. 8 OHIO STATE 86, PENN STATE 73: Samantha Prahalis had 26 points, and the Buckeyes (23-3, 11-2 Big Ten) overcame a 15-point deficit in State College, Pa.
SOUTH CAROLINA 52, No. 14 GEORGIA 42: Valerie Nainima scored 21 points to lead the Gamecocks (13-10, 6-5 SEC) in Athens, Ga.
No. 15 FLORIDA STATE 83, WAKE FOREST 38: Chasity Clayton had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Seminoles (20-4, 6-2 ACC) in Tallahassee, Fla.
No. 17 TEXAS 81, TEXAS TECH 51: Brittainey Raven scored a game-high 22 points to pace the Longhorns (16-6, 5-3 Big 12) in Austin, Texas.
MISSISSIPPI 102, No. 19 LSU 101, 3 OT: Kayla Holloway’s layup with 11 seconds left in the third overtime lifted the Rebels (15-8, 6-4 SEC) to a wild win in Baton Rouge, La. Allison Hightower led LSU (15-7, 4-6) with 31 points.
No. 20 KENTUCKY 71, ARKANSAS 57: A’Dia Mathies scored 27 points and Victoria Dunlap added 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Wildcats (20-3, 8-2 SEC) in in Fayetteville, Ark.
No. 22 IOWA STATE 65, MISSOURI 39: Alison Lacey had 18 points and seven assists to lead the Cyclones (18-4, 6-3 Big 12) in Columbia, Mo.
No. 25 ST. JOHN’S 66, SETON HALL 45: Kelly McManmon and Centhya Hart each scored 11 points in South Orange, N.J., as the Red Storm (19-4, 7-3 Big East) won for the sixth time in seven games.
