NORMAL—Larry Nance Jr. scored 19 points and the Cowboys ran their winning streak to nine with an 81-67 comeback win over Illinois State Tuesday night.Wyoming trailed 43-29 at halftime, and was down 50-31 with 17 minutes left. A 14-0 Cowboys run pulled them within 60-59 with 8:32 to play, and Wyoming outscored the Redbirds 18-1 in the final 5 minutes.Luke Martinez added 17 points for Wyoming, 9-0 for the first time since the 1987-88 Cowboys won their first 11. Leonard Washington and Josh Adams had 15 points apiece and Derrious Gilmore scored 13 for Wyoming, which shot 64 percent in the second half and 54 percent for the game.Tyler Brown led Illinois State (5-3) with 22 points. Jon Ekey added 13 points and John Wilkins scored 12 for the Redbirds, who were coming off a three-point loss Saturday at No. 5 Louisville.The game was part of the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge.

PEORIA—Jordan Prosser matched his career high with 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds, the Braves defense had 17 steals and Bradley narrowly escaped a second half surge by George Washington to hold on for a 72-68 victory Tuesday night.Bradley (6-2) led 38-21 at halftime and took a 19-point lead just 13 seconds into the second half but the George Washington (4-4) outscored the Braves 47-32 the rest of the way and still came up short.The Braves defense forced 23 turnovers and outscored George Washington 24-8 on turnovers.Walt Lemon Jr. added 14 points, five steals and four assists for Bradley and teammate Dyricus Simms-Edwards scored 11 points, pulled five rebounds and tallied five steals.Patricio Garino was 10 of 17 from the field to lead the Colonials with 24 points and Isaiah Armwood recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

The return to undisputed first place lasted just a week for the Bears. The defense was sub par,Lovie Smith delivered a couple of questioable decisions, and the result was not good. Russell Wilson threw two late touchdowns, connecting with Sidney Rice for a 13-yard score with 7:33 left in overtime to lift the Seahawks to a wild 23-17 victory over the Bears on Sunday.

“He’s just so beautifully poised and so confident that it gives himself a chance to play at this level,” coach Pete Carroll said of Wilson.

Unbeaten in five home games, the Seahawks finally figured a way to win on the road after dropping five of their first six, and knocked off the NFC North leaders in the process.

“I just told the guys, ‘This is what the season comes down to, right here and right now,'” Wilson said.

A 97-yard touchdown drive late in regulation gave the Seahawks a lead that didn’t last, and they finally won it on Rice’s catch after Robbie Gould sent it into overtime with a field goal.Seattle (7-5) leads the NFC wild-card chase and, despite its frequent struggles on the road has won three in a row in the regular season at Soldier Field.This one sure was dramatic.Seattle took a short-lived lead late in regulation on rookie Wilson’s 14-yard pass to Golden Tate, only to watch Gould boot a 46-yard field goal as time expired to send it into the extra period.The Seahawks won the coin toss and started with the ball on their 20. They ended this one with one final flourish.Rice hauled in a pass from Wilson and took a shoulder-to-helmet hit from Major Wright that jarred the ball loose and appeared to knock the receiver unconscious as he lunged into the end zone. Rice stayed down for several minutes but eventually walked off the field, and he insisted afterward he was alert the whole time.

“[Medical personnel] rushed out on the field because I had a couple of concussions before, so they just wanted to make sure everything was fine,” he said.

The touchdown, meanwhile, was upheld after a review, and that gave the Seahawks their only road win other than a victory at Carolina.The Seahawks pulled it out even though Marshawn Lynch was held in check with 87 yards rushing. He had a touchdown run in the second quarter, but also fumbled on the game’s opening possession, leading to a score.Wilson threw for 293 yards, ran for 71 and was particularly cool down the stretch, sending the Bears (8-4) to its third loss in four games. That knocked them into a tie with Green Bay for the division lead with the Packers beating Minnesota, and coach Lovie Smith clearly was furious afterward.

“That hasn’t happened to us very often around here,” Smith said. “Terrible job I did getting our football team ready. I thought we were ready to go. Some decisions I made really hurt us early on.”

He was particularly upset at himself for going for it on fourth-and-1 at the 15 early in the second quarter rather than have Gould attempt a field goal with the Bears up 7-0.Along with that questionable decision, there were more injuries for a team that has endured its share of late.Linebacker Brian Urlacher (hamstring) and cornerback Tim Jennings (shoulder) were hurt on the winning drive. Receiver Earl Bennett (concussion) and safety Chris Conte (illness) left earlier in the game. The Bears had already ruled out return specialist Devin Hester (concussion) and guard Chris Spencer (knee) after they were injured against Minnesota. Throw in the torn ACL guard Lance Louis suffered against the Vikings last week, and the Bears were a short-handed bunch.Even so, they had their chances.Jay Cutler threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Brandon Marshall added 165 yards receiving, but the Bears ultimately came up short.

“We don’t lose many games like that here — as long as I’ve been here and having a lead that late in the fourth quarter,” Cutler said.

They were leading 14-10 when punter Adam Podlesh pinned Seattle on the 3 with 3:40 remaining in regulation. Wilson orchestrated a dramatic drive, capping it with a 14-yard pass to Tate that gave the Seahawks a 17-14 lead with 24 seconds left in regulation.The Bears weren’t finished, though.Cutler hit a leaping Marshall with the Seahawks’ Sherman and Earl Thomas on him for a 56-yard gain that put the ball on the Seattle 30. Two plays later, Gould nailed the field goal to send the game into overtime.But with Wilson leading the way,and the Bears defense ineffective the Seahawks pulled out the win.

NOTES—The Bears are now 64-11 under Smith when they go into the fourth quarter with a lead…..Seattle outgained the Bears 459 yards to 358.

Northern Illinois is headed for the Orange Bowl against Florida State New Years night at 7:30pm.NIU becomes only the fifth school outside of the AQ conferences to qualify for a BCS bowl and the first from the MAC. The other four schools are Boise State, TCU, Hawaii and Utah. Remarkably, in the seven BCS bowls those teams have appeared in they have a record of 5-2. And one of those losses was by TCU against Boise State in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl.Northern is 12-1 this season and won its second straight MAC title on Friday night, defeating Kent State 44-37 in double overtime.

Northwestern is also playing in the Sunshine State on New Years Day at 11:30am against Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl. The Wildcats will be in their

INDIANAPOLIS—Wisconsin took the ball and ran away with another Big Ten title.Montee Ball ran for 202 yards and three touchdowns and the Badgers scored seven touchdowns on their first nine possessions, blowing out No. 14 Nebraska 70-31 to win their third straight, and most improbable, Big Ten title on Saturday night.Wisconsin will be the first five-loss team to play in the Rose Bowl and is the first school to represent the league in three consecutive Rose Bowls since Michigan in the late 1970s.

“As my AD tells me all the time, you haven’t one won yet,” coach Bret Bielema said. “We’re going out there to win. That’s the mission, and I appreciate all the fans coming out to Madison East.”

It was a milestone night for the Badgers.For the first time in school history, the Badgers had two 200-yard rushers. They finished with the fourth-highest rushing total in school history (539) and tied a conference championship game scoring record. Texas also scored 70 points in the 2005 Big 12 championship game.And it was a fitting end to a wacky Big Ten season. Wisconsin (8-5, 4-4) only reached this year’s because Leaders Division champion Ohio State (12-0) and division runner-up Penn State (8-4) were both ineligible for postseason play.The Badgers didn’t care about what others were saying. They simply took advantage of their good fortune and delivered a night to remember.Ball broke the Football Bowl Subdivision career rushing touchdowns record and was named the game MVP.Melvin Gordon opened the scoring with a 56-yard TD run and closed the first half with a 60-yard run to set up another TD, rushing for a career-high 216 yards on nine carries. Three different Badgers threw passes, including running back James White who also ran for four TDs.The defense was dominant, too. In the first half alone, Taylor Martinez was sacked three times, fumbled twice, losing one and having the early pick-six.Ball matched Travis Prentice’s FBS record for most career games with multiple TDs (25), topped the 5,000-yard mark and was named the game’s MVP. He also broke Prentice’s record for rushing TDs in a career (73) and now has 76.White added 108 yards and threw his first career TD pass, too.Wisconsin piled up 639 total yards, and after blowing a 17-point lead against the Cornhuskers in a 30-27 September loss, Bielema refused to let up.Instead, he emptied the playbook and Nebraska (10-3, 7-1) got run over.

“We failed,” dejected Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. “We failed to win a championship and that was the goal coming in and we didn’t get it done and apologize for it.”

The onslaught came quickly.Gordon took the ball on an end around, made two cuts and sprinted 56 yards for a 7-0 lead on the fourth play of the game.On the next offensive play, a falling Kenny Bell tipped Martinez’s pass in the air and Wisconsin’s Marcus Cromartie picked it off and raced 29 yards. It was already 14-0 after only 2:07 in.The Huskers finally counterpunched on their second series when Martinez avoided four tackles in his own backfield, found a crease in the middle of the field and stepped over one of his own blockers for a 76-yard TD run. Nebraska settled for a 32-yard field goal from Brett Maher to make it 14-10.That’s when the Badgers opened things up.With the ball on the right hash, they sent seven players to the left hash and had Curt Phillips throw a pass to Derek Watt on the right. After two more conventional runs, White ran two plays out of the wildcat formation, finally scooting 9 yards around the right side to give Wisconsin a 21-10 lead with 1:01 to go in the first quarter.Wisconsin was only getting started.The next score, a 1-yard run plunge from White again out of the Wildcat, was set up by a 27-yard pass from receiver Jared Abbrederis to Phillips.And after Ball’s record-breaking touchdown dive made it 35-10, Gordon went 60-yards on an end around to put the ball at the Nebraska 3 with 6 seconds left in the half. White again lined up in the Wildcat and this time threw a 3-yard TD pass to Sam Arenson for a 42-10 halftime lead.Pelini and his players were left shaking their heads as a third league championship game opportunity faded away.But things got even worse in the second half.Wisconsin picked off Martinez again on the opening possession, and Ball had a 9-yard TD run on the next play.Martinez answered with an 11-yard TD run, but Ball scored on a 57-yard run and White followed that with a 68-yard TD run to make it 63-17 with 6:42 left in the third quarter.The Badgers have felt right at home in Indiana. They are the only Big Ten school with any wins at Lucas Oil Stadium, have won 10 straight in the Hoosier State and in three games this year in Indiana ran for 1,570 yards and outscored opponents 170-59.But there’s still plenty of work to do.

“It’s time to win a game, those were his words” Ball said of Bielema’s approach to the Rose Bowl.

Richard Hamilton wasn’t sure he was healthy enough to return to the game.It didn’t matter, he was going back on the floor for the Bulls.Hamilton left the game in the third quarter with a left ankle injury, then returned to hit three of four free throws in the final 20 seconds to clinch a 93-88 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.Luol Deng scored a game-high 25 points. He also had a season-high seven assists and has led the team in scoring in consecutive games. He scored 22 in a 101-78 win over the Dallas Mavericks.Hamilton finished with 15 points for the Bulls, who played the 76ers for the first time since last season’s first-round playoff series.Hamilton went down with a little more than three minutes left in the third quarter after elevating off the ground while on offense. Kirk Hinrich and Deng helped him as he limped off the floor.

“As soon as I came up off my feet, I felt something on the bottom of my foot,” Hamilton said. “I felt something pop.”

Hamilton did not receive X-rays, but said he is scheduled for an MRI on Sunday.

“When Rip [Hamilton] came back, [team trainer] Fred Tedeschi said we could use him if needed,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We needed him … we wanted him out there for the free throw situation.”

Pending the MRI, the decision worked out well for Thibodeau and the Bulls.After missing the second of his first pair of free throws, Hamilton was fouled after grabbing the loose ball batted away by Joakim Noah and made his next two.

“I should have had Thad [Young] and Evan [Turner] pinching on Noah and Evan got caught over there on him, so that was my mistake,” 76ers coach Doug Collins said.The Bulls (8-7) outrebounded Philadelphia 50-37, including 13 rebounds for Noah and 12 for Carlos Boozer.Noah had 12 points and seven assists and Boozer had 12 points, giving him double-doubles in six of his past eight games.Jrue Holiday led the 76ers with 23 points. Thaddeus Young added 22 points and seven rebounds.Philadelphia, which had won three straight and seven of nine overall, failed to reach 100 points for just the second time in six games. The Sixers have won three in a row three times this season, but have not been able to win a fourth.Philadelphia (10-7) shot just 27.3 percent from long range and 43.8 percent from the field overall. The Bulls moved to 6-0 when holding teams to fewer than 90 points.

“The thing for us is to concentrate on improvement,” Thibodeau said. “We are moving in the right direction. We are still not a 48-minute team. There were stretches where we played well defensively, we have to do it consistently throughout the game.”

The Bulls downplayed talk of the rematch from last season’s early playoff exit throughout the week. But the memory clearly lingered with fans, who showered the Sixers with boos during introductions.The Bulls lost reigning MVP Derrick Rose to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the final 90 seconds of a Game 1 win over the 76ers. The Bulls exited the first round in six games, just the fifth time in NBA history a No. 8 seed knocked off the No. 1 seed. Rose had surgery to repair his left knee in May and has been rehabbing since.Philadelphia jumped out to an early 13-6 lead before the Bulls found a rhythm on offense.Deng assisted Noah on a big first-quarter dunk to bring the Bulls within two points, then was on the receiving end two possessions later with a dunk to tie it at 17.Deng scored the final Bulls even points of the first quarter to contribute to a 21-6 Bulls run.Philadelphia regained the lead with a minute left in the second half on Evan Turner’s fading leaner in the lane. Following another dunk by Noah, Holiday hit one of two free throws with 1.3 seconds left to send it to halftime tied at 41.

EVANSTON—Josh Crittle’s go-ahead basket with 53 seconds remaining helped UIC to a 50-44 upset of Northwestern on Saturday.Crittle finished with a team-high 13 points, and Gary Talton’s two free throws with 29 seconds left sealed the win for the Flames (6-1).The Wildcats committed 16 turnovers and were just 10 of 20 from the free-throw line. Alex Olah missed two free throws with 3:16 remaining, and on the Flames’ ensuing possession, Marc Brown converted an easy layup to give UIC a 44-42 lead. The Flames never trailed again.Joey Miller’s jumper tied the game at 35 with 10:23 left, erasing UIC’s five-point second-half deficit. Two minutes later, Brown’s three-point play gave the Flames a 38-35 lead.NU was fortunate to be leading at the half, 26-25, thanks to 29 percent first-half shooting by the Flames.Drew Crawford scored a game-high 18 points for the Wildcats (6-2).

LOUISVILLE—Russ Smith scored 24 points and Peyton Siva added 20, including four 3-pointers, to help No. 5 Louisville edge Illinois State 69-66 on Saturday. Down 3 with a chance to tie, Illinois State’s Tyler Brown airballed a 3-pointer with eight seconds left that was saved by Bryant Allen to Jackie Carmichael. Carmichael found Brown for another chance at overtime, drawing considerable contact from Louisville’s Chane Behanan as the buzzer sounded. Louisville (6-1) claimed the win with the shot awry and no foul called.Up 67-66 with 43 seconds left, Behanan missed two free throws but made amends on the next defensive possession, pinning a Carmichael shot on the glass and grabbing the rebound. That set up Siva for two free throws for the game’s final margin.Illinois State (5-2) led 61-60 with 4:25 to play after being up nearly the entire first half. Brown led all scorers with 25 points. Carmichael added 20.Playing their second game without injured center Gorgui Dieng, Louisville started flat and trailed by 13 more than eight minutes in before its backcourt and defense rallied.Junior Stephan Van Treese played 34 minutes in Dieng’s absence and provided much-needed energy to go with his eight rebounds and six points.Louisville trailed for all but the first 39 seconds of the first half, enduring a scoring drought of more than seven minutes after Behanan’s opening basket, and went into the break down 33-25. Brown and Carmichael combined for 27 in the first half, outscoring Louisville in the opening 20 minutes.The Cardinals took just their second lead at 37-35 with 16:37 left since scoring the game’s first basket but ISU continued to battle in the second half.Siva – the Big East preseason player of the year – went to the bench with his fourth foul with 13:09 to play. Smith then carried the Louisville offense with his backcourt partner out, driving to the basket and drawing fouls. He hit six of eight free throws in a three-minute stretch, the last cutting the Illinois State lead to 55-51 with 10:03 to play.Siva returned with 9:07 left, Illinois State up 57-51. Smith’s steal from Johnny Hill and layup 21 seconds later was Louisville’s first field goal in nearly four minutes. Luke Hancock immediately drew a charge on Hill on the next possession and Siva’s 3-pointer off an inbounds play with 8:33 remaining cut the lead to one.Behanan, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, hit an elbow jumper at the 6:08 mark to give Louisville its first lead in more than 10 minutes at 60-59. Johnny Wilkins’ answered with 4:25 left for the Redbirds’ last lead at 61-60 before Siva’s final three from the right elbow put Louisville up for good nine seconds later.

Devon Turk came off the bench to score 19 points, including five 3-pointers, as Loyola beat Furman 77-50 Saturday.The Ramblers (6-2), who won their fourth straight, blew open a close game by shooting 65 percent from the field in the second half, including 8 of 14 on 3-point attempts. Overall, they were 11 of 24 from 3-point range.After Furman (2-5) opened the second half with a basket to tie the score at 29-all, Loyola scored 20 straight points over the next seven minutes to take a 49-29 lead with 12:12 remaining.Jordan Hicks added 12 points for Loyola, Ben Averkamp had 10 and Cully Payne had nine assists.Charlie Reddick scored 12 points to lead Furman, which shot 36 percent from the field and committed 20 turnovers. Larry Wideman added 11 points and Kendrec Ferrara had 10.

PEORIA—Freshman Nick Stauskas scored 22 points in his first start and No. 3 Michigan survived a late run to beat Bradley 74-66 on Saturday. Stauskas started for Matt Vogrich and delivered early with eight first-half points to help the Wolverines (7-0) hold onto a narrow halftime lead, 34-30.Walt Lemon Jr. led Bradley (5-2) on a late run to close to 70-65 with half a minute to play. But the Braves were force to foul and the Wolverines held on to win. Trey Burke added 16 in the Wolverines’ first trip to Bradley since 1997. Glenn Robinson III scored 13 and Jordan Morgan scored 10 and pulled down 10 rebounds.Lemon led Bradley with 15 points. Tyshon Pickett added 11 for the Braves.