Marian Hossa celebrated his return to the lineup with a goal and two assists, and the Blackhawks defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Sunday night to snap a two-game losing streak.Ben Smith had a goal and assist, and Nick Leddy and Jonathan Toews scored for defending Stanley Cup champion Hawks, who are struggling to keep up with the top contenders in the Western Conference.Despite the victory, the Blackhawks are 11-8-7 in 2014 and remained fifth in the conference and third in the Central Division.Gustav Nyquist scored for the injury-depleted Red Wings, who are desperate for wins as they try to get into the playoffs for the 23rd consecutive time.Corey Crawford made 19 saves and Detroit’s Jimmy Howard had 26.The 35-year-old Hossa was back in action for the first time in two weeks. The right wing was knocked out with an undisclosed injury in the Blackhawks’ 5-1 victory against Pittsburgh at Soldier Field on March 1.The banged-up Red Wings played without 10 injured players, including stars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. Forward Todd Bertuzzi joined the list on Sunday, sitting out after suffering an injury on Friday against Edmonton.The Blackhawks faced Detroit for the second time since beating them in overtime in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series last year to complete a comeback from a 3-1 deficit. The Red Wings won 5-4 in a shootout on Jan. 22 at Joe Louis Arena.The Blackhawks and Red Wings were division rivals for the past 31 years until Detroit moved from the Western to Eastern Conference this season. The NHL Original Six teams were grouped together in the Central Division for the previous 19 seasons and in the Norris Division for 12 years before that.The Blackhawks outshot the Red Wings 11-5 in the scoreless first, but neither team generated sustained pressure or many prime scoring chances.The Blackhawks turned up the pressure early in the second and outshot Detroit 14-7 in the period.Howard came up with close-in pad saves on Hossa and Niklas Hjalmarsson during a flurry about 5 minutes into the period to keep it scoreless.Leddy’s power-play goal, on the Hawks 19th shot, finally opened the scoring at 8:44 of the second. His drive from just inside the left point sailed through a screen and slipped between Howard’s pads.Nyquist tied it at 1 with 4:50 left in the period with a power-play goal that deflected in off the skate of Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook.After the Red Wings had controlled the puck in the Hawk zone, Nyquist shot from the inside of the edge of the right circle. The shot appeared to be heading wide of the lower left corner of the net, but struck Seabrook’s left foot and got past Crawford.Smith put the Blackhawks back in front 2-1 on a rebound with 14 seconds left in the period.Defenseman Duncan Keith carried the puck down the right wing boards, closed to the circle and then fired through a scrum. Howard got a piece of the shot, but Smith muscled in the loose puck from the edge of the crease.Hossa gave the Hawks a 3-1 lead at 6:33 of the third. After taking a feed from Patrick Sharp, Hossa raced down the right wing, cut in around Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith and beat Howard from close range.Hossa’s set up Toews’ short-handed goal with 2:10 left that iced it.After stealing the puck from Johan Franzen near the Hawk blue line, Hossa skated down the right wing. He pulled up and then fed Toews, who cut to the net and tucked in a shot.

NOTES—Brandon Saad didn’t return for the third period after playing a total of 11 shifts. The Blackhawks didn’t disclose the reason. … Detroit RW Jordin Tootoo, recalled from Grand Rapids of the AHL on Saturday, filled in for Bertuzzi. … Red Wings D Jakub Kindl was a healthy scratch. … Before the game, Joel Quenneville hinted that C Teuvo Teravainen, one of the Blackhawks’ top prospects, might join the team soon. Teravainen’s team in Finland, Jokerit, was eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday. That paves the way for the 19-year-old forward, drafted in the first round by the Hawks in 2012 (18th overall), to sign an NHL contract.

Joakim Noah had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Taj Gibson scored seven of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and the Bulls held off the Sacramento Kings 94-87 Saturday night.Mike Dunleavy added 16 and DJ Augustin 12 for the Bulls.Isaiah Thomas led the Kings with 26 and DeMarcus Cousins had 25.Both teams struggled on offense, with the Bulls shooting 40 percent and the Kings 37 percent.The Bulls, who are fourth in the Eastern Conference, improved to 3-2 on their six-game homestand. The Kings are 2-4 on their seven-game road trip.Cousins hit a layup with 1:01 left to cut the Bulls’ lead to 88-85.Gibson responded with a jumper and the Bulls made four of six free throws to seal the win.The Bulls led 48-43 at halftime before the Kings outscored them 20-16 in the third to pull within one.The Bulls have won four straight at home against the Kings, the only team below .500 to visit during the homestand.Cousins scored the Kings’ first seven points of the second half to tie it at 50. The Kings took a 55-53 lead on Thomas’ 3-pointer. The Bulls pulled ahead 64-57 after a 7-0 run, but the Kings made six free throws to pull to within 64-63 at the end of the third.Noah had 17 points and five rebounds and Gay led the Kings with 10 points at halftime.Noah scored 12 points in the first quarter that ended 23-23. Reggie Evans was called for a technical with 3:20 left after yelling an obscenity after he dunked.The game was more competitive than the teams’ previous meeting. The Kings routed the Bulls 99-70 at Sleep Train Arena on Feb. 3, when the Bulls finished with season lows in points and shooting percentage (28.2).

NOTES—Dunleavy’s right eye was black and he wore tape above it. He received 10 stitches after he caught an elbow when he drew a charge Thursday in the Bulls’ 111-87 win over Houston. … Evans started at power forward for the Kings to match up against the Bulls’ front line. Malone said the Kings will decide who plays the position based on each game’s matchup. Derrick Williams has played both forward positions. … Malone was impressed with G Jimmer Fredette, who played 41 games with the Kings this season before he signed with the Bulls on March 2. “He was always in the gym, even on off days, committed to getting his work in,” Malone said. “Even when he was not playing and part of the rotation, he never dropped his head, kept on working, kept on supporting his teammates. That’s why I think the Bulls at some point will be able to use him.” … The Kings are 11-23 on the road.

Roman Josi and Nashville’s dangerous defensemen did it all against the Blackhawks.That is why Pekka Rinne believes the blue-liners are the biggest key for a strong finish to the Predators’ disappointing season.Josi had three assists, and Ryan Ellis scored in the third period to lead the Predators to a 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks on Friday night.

“If we win or lose, usually it’s the D-men,” said Rinne, who made with 31 saves. “The talent we have on the back end, we’re pretty fortunate to have that kind of depth in the defense.”

Shea Weber also had his team-best 27th assist as Nashville’s defensemen combined for five points in the Predators’ third consecutive win. Weber also leads the team with 43 points, and Josi jumped into a tie with Patric Hornqvist for second on the team with 21 assists.

“That’s the strength really of our group, our D-men,” coach Barry Trotz said. “They’re all young and talented. We’re the youngest team in the league by three years on the blue line. The future is really bright for us there. Now we’ve got to work on trying to get those elite forwards like the Blackhawks have.”

It was the second straight loss for the Blackhawks, who are struggling to keep up with the top contenders in the rugged Western Conference. The reigning Stanley Cup champions dropped to 10-8-7 in 2014.Jonathan Toews and Peter Regin scored for the Blackhawks, and Corey Crawford made 26 saves in his 200th NHL game.

“We’re putting ourself in tough situations by not starting well and getting away from our team game,” Toews said. “Not much of an explanation, but we know we need better right now. We need to get out of this trend we’re in right now.”

Mike Fisher and Hornqvist also scored for Nashville, which has won two of three against the Hawks this season.Ellis’ fourth goal of the season came right after the Predators killed a holding penalty on the defenseman that carried over into the third. He jumped out of the box, got a long pass from Josi and beat Crawford on a breakaway to make it 3-1 just 45 seconds into the period.

“I was just fortunate enough to time it right,” Ellis said. “Josi made a great play with a blocked shot then a tape-to-tape pass through the zone.”

Regin’s tip-in got the Blackhawks within one again at 11:28, but they were unable to tie it. Regin’s second goal with the Hawks came after Toews sent a wide-open opportunity off the left post 4:40 into the third. Toews also had an open tip go wide with 36 seconds left.

“We knew they were going to make a push,” Josi said. “With that team they’ve got a lot of skill, but Peks was great again.”

The Blackhawks controlled the action at the start, but Nashville began to pressure Crawford midway through the first.Nick Spaling shot wide right on a prime opportunity with about 7 minutes left. Fisher put the Predators in front when he pushed a rebound over Crawford’s left leg for his 17th goal at 15:33.Nashville used a big slap shot by Weber to open a 2-0 lead with 69 seconds left in the first. Crawford stopped the drive by the big defenseman, but Hornqvist swept in the rebound for his 13th.Crawford hopped up and slammed his stick down as the Predators celebrated Hornqvist’s first goal since March 4.

“Tough to watch the last part of the first period,” Joel Quenneville said. “I thought that was as bad as we’ve probably played for any stretch all year.”

The two-goal deficit seemed to wake up the Blackhawks for a bit. Toews stole the puck from Josi and passed it to Kris Versteeg, who passed it back to the captain for his 26th goal with 14 seconds remaining.The Hawks carried the momentum into the second, but Rinne was there each time. He used his left pad to deny Patrick Sharp on a 1-on-1 opportunity, and he got some help from teammates when the Blackhawks had the puck in front during a power play at the end of the period.Crawford also used his glove to grab Craig Smith’s shot with 5:46 left in the second.

NOTES—Marian Hossa participated in the morning skate and is hoping to return Sunday at home against Detroit or Tuesday at Philadelphia. He has missed five games. … Predators F Viktor Stalberg received a warm ovation when he was shown on the video board in the first period for helping the Hawks win the Stanley Cup last season.

INDIANAPOLIS—Michigan State wanted to prove its healthy and ready for the postseason. Branden Dawson showed the Spartans are well on their way.Dawson had 16 points and Gary Harris added 13 points to lead No. 22 Michigan State to a 67-51 victory over Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals Friday night.Dawson played in his fourth straight game since missing nine with a broken right hand and even though he continues to wear a brace, Dawson’s teammates have asked for him to step up.

”My teammates have been telling me in practice, `We need more out of you. We just need you running and bringing energy and crashing the boards,”’ Dawson said. ”That’s what I did tonight. I stayed solid and didn’t rush anything.”

After scoring 6.7 points and grabbing 6.3 rebounds in his first three games back, he finished with nine rebounds against the Wildcats and reached double-figure scoring for the first time since he scored 13 against Indiana in January.

”I definitely felt different out there,” Dawson said. ”When you work on things, you see results. I felt good out there.”

The third-seeded Spartans (24-7), who lost 3 of 4 games heading into the contest, will face No. 12 Wisconsin in one semifinal on Saturday.Drew Crawford scored 21 points and Alex Olah finished with 10 for the 11th-seeded Wildcats (14-19), who lost to the Spartans in the league tournament for the fourth time.Michigan State went on a 13-3 spurt in the first half and then extended the lead with a 9-3 run in the second half.Denzel Valentine made a free throw, and Keith Appling, Adreian Payne and Dawson each scored. Harris made a reverse lay-up and hit a 3-pointer to put Michigan State ahead 57-33 with 9:23 remaining.The Spartans started Payne, Dawson, Valentine, Harris and Appling for the third straight game. The five started the first two games of the Big Ten season, but because of either injuries or illness, the five didn’t start together again until Michigan State’s win over Iowa on March 6.Izzo had every player available for only the final three regular-season games and the Spartans still have work to do.

”Let’s not kid ourselves,” Izzo said. ”We are going to be a work in progress every game we play. Are we making progress? Yeah, we are. But tomorrow will be a good test to see where we are.”

In the first half, Tre Demps hit a jumper to make it 27-17 before the Spartans pulled away.Harris, who scored eight points in the first half, made a pair of free throws and a layup to put the Spartans ahead 31-17 at the start of the 13-3 run.Dawson scored and Matt Costello dunked to give the Spartans a 35-20 advantage. Then Michigan State forced a turnover and Dave Sobolewski intentionally fouled Costello on a fast-break dunk.Costello converted the 3-point play and Dawson scored to give the Spartans a 40-20 lead with 45 seconds left in the half.Crawford hit a pair of free throws to make it 40-22 at halftime.Harris blocked a shot by Crawford and Payne made a 3-pointer, and Appling scored to give the Spartans a 45-22 advantage to start the second half.Then the Wildcats went on an 8-0 run.Nikola Cerina scored and Crawford made a pair of free throws and two baskets to make it 45-30 with 14:55 remaining before the Spartans pulled away again.

”Our guys were dead during the huddles,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. ”It was hard for me to talk to them they were gasping for air so much. What we talked about those last 8 minutes was, `No matter what the score is, we’re going to finish this year the way we’ve played all year. We’re going to finish this year by fighting.”’

The Wildcats end their season after becoming the first 11th-seed to win a Big Ten Tournament game since 1999. Their recent two-game spurt came after Northwestern went on a seven-game skid. They beat Purdue in the regular-season finale and then Iowa in the opening round of the tournament.The Spartans lost to Wisconsin 60-59 in the only meeting between the teams back on Feb. 9.

”It’s going to be an old fashioned fistfight,” Izzo said. ”That’s what Michigan State and Wisconsin is like.”

Mike Dunleavy caught an elbow just above the right eye while drawing a charge early in the second quarter Thursday night and left a trail of blood on the court as he ran into the Bulls’ locker room.Though the said Dunleavy’s return was questionable, there was never any doubt in his mind.After getting 10 stitches to close the gash, Dunleavy returned in the second half to score all of his 21 points to help the Bulls pull away for a 111-87 wire-to-wire victory against the Houston Rockets.

“I just knew once they got the stitches done I was coming back,” he said. “It was a pretty tough hit. My neck is sore — there’s some whiplash-type stuff — and we’re a little concerned about that, but overall, obviously, I felt pretty good in the second half.The hit knocked a little sense into me, I guess.”

Dunleavy’s strong second half paced six Bulls in double figures.Center Joakim Noah flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in 34 minutes. He was headed for his fourth triple-double of the season, but sat down with about three minutes left because of the lopsided score.Kirk Hinrich scored 19 points for the Bulls, going 5 for 6 on 3-pointers, Carlos Boozer added 18 points, D.J. Augustin 13 and Jimmy Butler 11.It was a team effort, but Dunleavy’s play was the focus in the Bulls’ locker room.

“I think it inspired the team,” Noah said. “He had a huge knot on his head looking like [Evander] Holyfield, the white version, coming out there putting on a new jersey, gutting it out in the second half shows, it was good for Duke’s street credibility.It was very impressive. It shows a lot about the character of this team. … I’ve never seen nothing like that, to get rocked like he got rocked.”

The Bulls improved to 2-2 on their six-game home stand.The Rockets have dropped two straight. Reserve guard Jeremy Lin led Houston with 21 points, while Dwight Howard had 12 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes. James Harden had eight points on 2-of-7 shooting in 27 minutes.The Bulls were coming off a humiliating loss to San Antonio on Tuesday. Although they lost by eight points, 104-96, the game was essentially over after they fell behind by 32 points in the first half. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said his team simply wasn’t ready to play following an emotional victory against the Miami Heat two days earlier.

“If we don’t play with great intensity, we’re in trouble,” Thibodeau said before playing the Rockets. “Two or three minutes when you don’t have that edge, that’s 15 or 20 points.”

That wasn’t a problem Thursday — at least for the Bulls.

“We did not come out ready to play,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “I have no idea why. You have to ask them. We did not offensively or defensively start the game. We were walking it up, not running.”

The Bulls led 50-42 at the half and any thoughts of a Houston comeback were quickly dismissed at the start of the third quarter when the Bulls scored 16 consecutive points for a 66-42 edge. The final 12 points of the run came on four consecutive 3-pointers by Dunleavy and Hinrich. They each had two, alternating after Hinrich started the streak.Later in the quarter, the Bulls stretched the lead to 77-48 on a 3-pointer by Augustin. They led 85-58 entering the fourth quarter.Dunleavy finished the period with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting. He was 3-for-4 on 3-pointers and the Bulls were 6 for 8 from behind the line in the quarter.The Bulls were able to open up the big lead because of the hot shooting, but Noah’s defense on Howard was also key. Noah’s ability to contain the Rockets’ big man straight up hampered the Rockets’ offense.It was a far cry from early in his career when Noah usually was overpowered by Howard.

NOTES—The Rockets won 109-94 in the teams’ previous meeting on Dec. 18. Houston had 66 points in the paint in that game, the most the Bulls have allowed this season. … McHale, despite having Dwight Howard on his team, said before the game that Noah should be the league’s defensive player of the year. “Especially after the [Loul] Deng trade, Noah’s played with such high intensity,” McHale said. “They’ve been winning a lot of games just on his grit and toughness.” … Before Thursday, the Rockets were 13-3 since Feb. 1 and had won four straight against the Bulls. Rockets were averaging 106.5 points before Thursday.

INDIANAPOLIS—Tre Demps had 20 points, including four 3-pointers and Drew Crawford added 15 points and six assists to lead 11th-seeded Northwestern to a 67-62 victory over No. 6 Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament Thursday night.The Wildcats (14-18) became the first 11th-seed to win in the Big Ten tournament. They went on a 7-2 run when Crawford made a lay-up to give the Wildcats a 55-51 lead with 3:52 remaining before Alex Olah drew a charge and scored a pair of free throws.Dave Sobolewski hit a 3-pointer with 2:20 remaining to give the Wildcats a 60-53 advantage.Roy Devyn Marble had 25 points and Jarrod Uthoff finished with 17 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the sixth-seeded Hawkeyes (20-11), who have lost 6-of-7 games.The Wildcats, who lost 7 of 8 games heading into the contest, will face No. 22 Michigan State in the quarterfinal Friday.The Wildcats opened the second half on an 8-2 run. Demps hit a 3-pointer before Marble scored a basket to make it 34-33. Kale Abrahamson made a 3 and Crawford a lay-up to give the Wildcats a 39-33 lead with 17:36 remaining.Melsahn Basabe scored a free throw and Demps a jumper to make it 41-34 with 16:00 left in the game.Later, Crawford scored a 3 to give the Wildcats a 45-39 lead.Then the Hawkeyes scored six straight.Gabriel Olaseni made a lay-up, Marble scored two free throws and Olaseni scored two more free throws to tie the game at 45 with 9:13 left.It’s been a tough stretch for the Hawkeyes and things aren’t getting better. But on Thursday night, Iowa players and fans honored the son of Iowa coach Fran McCaffery, Patrick, who was diagnosed with a tumor on his thyroid last week.The Hawkeyes wore warm-ups with ”P-Mac” printed on the front and ”(hash)teampat” on the back with Patrick McCaffery’s number 22 basketball jersey number.Demps hit a 3-pointer to put the Wildcats ahead, 48-45, before Uthoff made a pair of free throws to make it 48-47 before the Wildcats pulled away.They took a 62-56 lead on shot by Demps. Marble converted a 3-point play and later Uthoff converted a 3-point play to make it 64-62 with 20 seconds left, but Iowa never could get over the hump.Sanjay Lumpkin made a basket to give Northwestern a 16-12 lead midway through the first half before Zach McCabe made a lay-up and a pair of free throws to tie the game at 16.Demps made a 3-pointer to put the Wildcats ahead 19-16 before the Hawkeyes went on a 12-2 run.Uthoff made three straight 3-pointers, including one to give the Hawkeyes a 25-19 lead with 5:31 remaining in the first half.Olah made a lay-up to make it 25-21 before Marble converted a 3-point play to give the Iowa a 28-21 advantage with 3:46 left in the half.Then Northwestern scored seven straight.Demps scored on a lay-up and Abrahamson made a lay-up and then a 3-pointer to tie the game at 28 with 43 seconds left in the half.Marble made a 3 before Demps answer with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 31 at halftime.

NEW YORK—Doug McDermott is playing in New York City this week, just a few blocks from Broadway. And by the looks of it, he plans to put on a show.The nation’s leading scorer delivered Thursday night with a dazzling shooting display in his Big East tournament debut, scoring a record 27 of his 35 points in the first half for No. 14 Creighton during an 84-62 victory over DePaul at Madison Square Garden.The two-time All-America hit six of his first seven 3-point attempts, sending the second-seeded Bluejays (25-6) into the semifinals Friday night against third-seeded Xavier, which held off No. 6 seed Marquette 68-65.Jahenns Manigat added 14 points for Creighton, which left the Missouri Valley Conference for the new-look Big East this season, and Austin Chatman had 11 points and nine assists. Led by McDermott, the league’s player of the year and a heavy favorite for several national awards, the Bluejays shot a sizzling 14 for 22 from 3-point range (63.6 percent) against 10th-seeded DePaul (12-21).Brandon Young had 22 points and eight rebounds in his final game for the last-place Blue Demons, who upset Georgetown 60-56 in the opening round Wednesday night.

”I didn’t think our energy level was as high as it was when we started the game yesterday. I guess that’s understandable playing a late game last night,” DePaul coach Oliver Purnell said. ”We finally got our legs under us in the second half.”

McDermott shot 10 of 14 in the first half, including 7 for 9 from 3-point range. He finished 14 of 22 overall and 7 for 10 on 3s, easily surpassing his scoring average of 26.5 points, as Creighton went 32 for 53 (60.4 percent) from the floor.The senior forward broke Big East tournament records for points in a half and points by a player in his debut at this event. He ended up one 3-pointer shy of the single-game mark set by Boston College guard Dana Barros in 1989.No wonder he appears on the front of this week’s Sports Illustrated in a recreation of a 1970s cover photo that featured Larry Bird.

NEW YORK—Either Xavier or Creighton will reach the championship game of the Big East tournament in its first year in the conference.The two newcomers will meet in Friday night’s semifinals in a game that will feature two unanimous first-team All-Big East selections.Semaj Christon had 18 points for third-seeded Xavier in its 68-65 victory over Marquette on Thursday night. Doug McDermott, the nation’s leading scorer with a 26.5 average, had 35 points in the second-seeded and 14th-ranked Bluejays’ 84-62 quarterfinal win over DePaul.Justin Martin scored 19 points for the Musketeers (21-11), who moved to the Big East from the Atlantic 10.Matt Stainbrook scored down low with 4:32 to play to give Xavier a 57-51 lead and that would be the Musketeers’ last field goal of the game as they went 11 of 14 from the free throw line to hold off sixth-seeded Marquette (17-15), which lost its fourth straight.Deonte Burton had a career-high 23 points for the Golden Eagles and Todd Mayo added 21.

LAS VEGAS—Issiah Grayson scored 29 points and Aly Ahmed added 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in leading No. 6 seed Cal State Bakersfield to a 68-62 win over third-seeded Chicago State in a Western Athletic Conference quarterfinal on Thursday night.CSUB (13-18) lost twice to the Cougars in the regular season, but forged a 36-33 advantage at the break by hitting 16 of 19 free throws -29 of 37 for the game- compared with 2 of 3 first-half attempts for Chicago State (13-19).The Roadrunners led through the first 10 minutes of the second half before a Nate Duhon (19 points) layup put the Cougars up 51-50. Neither team could maintain the lead until Stefon Johnson scored inside, sparking a 7-0 CSUB run. The resulting 63-56 margin with 2:03 remaining secured the Roadrunner win.

INDIANAPOLIS—Tracy Abrams had 25 points to lead ninth-seeded Illinois to a 64-54 win over eight-seed Indiana on Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.The Illini (19-13) used runs of 9-0 in the first half and 11-0 in the second half to improve to 6-2 all-time against Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament.The victory sends Illinois into a second-round matchup on Friday with Big Ten regular season champion No. 8 Michigan.Abrams stymied a late rally by the Hoosiers (17-15) with a 3-pointer and two free throws that turned a late 53-52 Illinois lead into a 58-52 advantage.Rayvonte Rice added 13 points and Kendrick Nunn scored 10 for the Illini.Yogi Ferrell led the Hoosiers with 14 points. Will Sheehey added 13 points — 11 of them in the first half — and Troy Williams scored 11 for Indiana.Illinois opened the game with a 9-0 run, taking advantage of Indiana’s cold shooting and carelessness with the ball. The Hoosiers missed their first nine shots and had nine turnovers in the first half.But Indiana answered with a 14-2 run, capped by a Ferrell 3-pointer, to take its first lead.It didn’t last long, with Noah Vonleh being called for goaltending on a basket by Rice which put the Illini back in front 15-14.Illinois led 30-28 at halftime. Indiana was 6-of-10 on 3-pointers in the first half but just 2-of-13 inside the arc.Troy Williams tied the game at 30 early in the second half on a dunk, then the Hoosiers took a 32-30 lead on two free throws by Stanford Robinson. Robinson, who was 0-for-2 from the line in the first half, was 4-of-4 in the second half.The Hoosiers built a 38-33 lead to open the second half, but the Illini rallied to tie the game. Abrams missed two free throws that would have given Illinois the lead. But a second goaltending call on Vonleh, again on a Rice shot, put Illinois in front 40-38.The Illini would stretch the lead to 44-38, prompting an Indiana timeout. Vonleh got free inside for a dunk, but the Hoosiers left Jon Ekey open for a 3-pointer that put the Illini in front 47-40.Ferrell hit two free throws, Sheehey hit a jumper and Ferrell scored on a drive that pulled Indiana within 47-46.Abrams answered with a 3 to make it 50-46 Illinois. Williams scored on a putback to make it 50-48, but Indiana could get no closer than 53-52.Abrams then scored the next five points to secure the victory.Illinois improved to 5-1 in first-round games in the Big Ten Tournament and won as the No. 9 seed for the first time. The Hoosiers fell to 10-17 in the conference tournament and fell to 1-2 as the No. 8 seed.