EVANSTON—Dererk Pardon scored on a layup at the buzzer off a long inbound pass from Nathan Taphorn to give Northwestern a 67-65 victory over Michigan on Wednesday night.The Wolverines’ Zak Irvin had just missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds. The ball got knocked out of bounds and, after timeout, Taphorn threw a baseball style pass the length of the court, hitting Pardon in stride for the winning shot.As the buzzer sounded, fans packing Welsh-Ryan Arena poured onto the court. The win was just what the Wildcats (21-9, 10-7 Big Ten) – trying to make their first NCAA Tournament – needed after dropping five of seven.Vic Law scored 18 for Northwestern. Bryant McIntosh added 13 points and five assists, and the Wildcats matched their highest conference win total since the 1932-33 team tied for the Big Ten championship.Derrick Walton Jr. shook off a slow start to score 15 for Michigan (19-11, 9-8). He hit 4 of 8 3-pointers. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman finished with 13 points. Irvin scored 12 and Moritz Wagner grabbed 10 rebounds. But the Wolverines took the loss after winning five of six.Wagner had just been called for a lane violation attempting the front end of a one-and-one when McIntosh whipped a pass to Sanjay Lumpkin to give Northwestern a 65-63 lead with 1:47 remaining.Irvin tied it on a put-back with 1:28 remaining. Both teams missed some chances to take the lead, but Northwestern came out on top thanks to a perfect pass from Taphorn to Pardon.The Wildcats, who looked like a lock for the NCAA a few weeks ago, can breathe a little easier after a rough stretch…..Northwestern closes the Regular Season against Purdue in the final game at Welsh-Ryan Arena until the 2018-19 season. The Wildcats will play next year at Allstate Arena in Rosemont while their facility undergoes a $110 million renovation.

CHAMPAIGN—Too many times, Illinois had fallen to pressure.In a season filled with disappointment for Illinois coach John Groce and his team, Wednesday’s 73-70 win over Michigan State showed the team Groce thought he would have all season, and one players knew they could be.The Spartans fought all the way, erasing a couple of double-digit leads, but the Illini relied on a defense that’s grown stronger in the last few games.

”It just feels different,” said Malcolm Hill, who led the Illini with 22 points. ”I think it’s just clicking for us.”

Michigan State had a chance to win the game in the last 10 second, but Miles Bridges missed a layup when Illinois’ Te’Jon Lucas stripped the ball away.Illinois led 73-70 with three seconds left after Kipper Nichols made one of two free throws and Lourawls Nairn Jr. attempted a 3-pointer with the game clock expiring, but the shot caromed off the backboard, securing the Illini win.Hill scored 22 points on 6 of 16 shooting and helped the Illini control the pace for what was a close game for much of the night – leading for 25:33.Much of the success came from hot shooting. Illinois (18-12, 8-9 Big Ten) shot 45 percent from the field and 11-26 from 3-point range.But the key was a strong defensive effort that has helped Illinois win four straight and five of the last six games.For a team that has gone through a clich rollercoaster ride this season, Illinois still has a postseason shot with one game left. Insiders and fans may not have seen that coming after the rough start to the season.

”It was a high-level game, there was a lot of emotion both ways,” Groce said. ”It’s kind of cool when you’re still playing for something.”

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo had fewer answers on the other hand.His team shot 48 percent from the field, 8-21 from 3-point range, out-rebounded Illinois 33-25, but despite all the category wins, the Spartans couldn’t overcome Illinois and only led for 8:40.Izzo was worried about his team’s confidence after the Spartans beat No. 16 Wisconsin on Sunday, and he was right to be worried.

”It was not the focus that we need on the road to beat a good, experienced team,” Izzo said. ”I’m just disappointed. We didn’t do enough.”

Bridges led the way for Michigan State (18-12, 10-7 Big Ten) with 21 points and Alvin Ellis III scored 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half. The Spartans turned the ball over 15 times.Izzo’s team has one more game before the postseason starts. He wants an accountable team, and is eager to see how the Spartans respond.

”This time I thought the players did not bring what they needed to bring, and we’ll find a way to bring it to Maryland,” Izzo said.

Izzo can’t be happy with his team, losing a game that it should’ve won. With a game left in the season, the Spartans are poised for strong runs in both the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.The Illini won arguably their most important game of the season. A win against Rutgers and a few more in the Big Ten Tournament might be enough for an NCAA Tournament berth and save Groce’s job.Freshman guard Te’Jon Lucas continued to make flashy plays Wednesday. With 5:52 left in the game, the guard made a no-look pass to give Leron Black an uncontested dunk.Kipper Nichols continued a strong first season, scoring five points and bringing in three rebounds and one steal.Bridges had a strong start to the game, scoring seven points and bringing in six rebounds in the first 10 minutes of the game.Illinois travels to Rutgers on Saturday for its regular season finale.

Patrick Kane and the Blackhawks pushed aside the Pittsburgh Penguins.Kane had his second hat trick in three games, Scott Darling made 36 saves and the Blackhawks beat the Penguins 4-1 on Wednesday night for their fifth straight victory and 10th in 11 games.Richard Panik also scored to help the Hawks pull within three points of first-place Minnesota in the Central Division and Western Conference. Kane, last season’s MVP, has a team-leading 27 goals – scoring 12 times and adding seven assists in his last 11 games.Kane said he was pumped up for first meeting this season between the last two Stanley Cup winners.

”It felt like a playoff game out there,” Kane said. ”It’s a team we don’t really see a lot. ”We knew they’re coming off a back-to-back game, but they still played hard tonight. A tough team to play against.”

It’s tougher to play against the Blackhawks right now, especially with Kane at top speed.

”He’s made some great shots,” coach Joel Quenneville said. ”He’s a threat to shoot and he’s a threat to make a play, so I think you’ve got to respect the other option which is not easy on goalies.”

Darling started a second straight game in place of Corey Crawford, the No. 1 goalie who has been fighting an illness. Crawford said he felt much better following Wednesday’s morning skate and was on the bench to back up Darling.

”Scotty had some huge saves, and we got some timely goals tonight,” Kane said.

Scott Wilson scored for Pittsburgh as the Penguins fell short again after a 3-2 loss at Dallas on Tuesday night. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 25 shots for Pittsburgh in his first start in two weeks.Despite the second straight loss, coach Mike Sullivan wasn’t upset with his team’s effort, just a couple of breakdowns the Blackhawks jumped on.

”I thought we competed hard,” Sullivan said. ”I think we can play a little bit smarter in a couple of the areas where we gave up a couple of odd man rushes, but what I really liked is I thought we had a heightened intensity.”

Artem Anisimov left the game in the second period with an injury.

”He might miss a little bit of time, not a lot of time,” Quenneville said with a grimace. ”We’ll know tomorrow.”

Rookie Nick Schmaltz moved to Anisimov’s center position on line with Kane and Artemi Panarin and had two assists.Kane opened the scoring at 8:49 of the second.Rookie Nick Schmaltz stripped the puck from Jake Guentzel at the Hawk blue line, then quickly whipped it the other direction to Kane who closed in on a 2 on 1. Kane fooled Fleury with a low shot between the legs,.Wilson tied it at 1 with 3 minutes left in the second on a rising backhander from the right circle that slipped over Darling’s glove.Wilson’s shot popped back out of the net so quickly that the goal wasn’t immediately ruled a score. Play continued for 29 seconds before the horn sounded, and the goal underwent a video review by the NHL office in Toronto and was allowed.Panik put the Hawks back in front 2-1 with 24 seconds left in the period with 17th goal. He made a power move down the slot around Chris Kunitz and beat Fleury high on the glove side.Darling was at his best in the third to preserve the lead.Kane made it 3-1 on a wrist shot from the right circle with 3:08 remaining. He completed his fourth career regular-season hat trick with an empty-netter with 40.7 seconds remaining.

NOTES—Niklas Hjalmarsson missed his second game with an upper-body injury. Although Hjalmarsson is on IR on retroactive to Feb. 23, GM Stan Bowman said the condition is not serious. … Oduya, a member of the Hawks 2013 and 2015 Stanley Cup teams, returned from an ankle injury and played his first game in more than a month Sunday for the Stars against Boston. Coach Joel Quenneville said he wanted to give the 35-year-old a chance to settle in….The Blackhawks host the New York Islanders on Friday night.

The Blackhawks have reacquired defenseman Jonny Oduya from the Dallas Stars in exchange for Mark McNeill and a conditional fourth-round pick Tuesday.Oduya will head back to Chicago in hopes of making another deep playoff run with the team he’s already won two Stanley Cups with. The 35-year-old blueliner has only drawn into 37 games this season due to injury, but he was activated off injured reserve Sunday, and could slot into the Blackhawks’ lineup as soon as Wednesday against Pittsburgh. This move won’t mean much to fantasy owners, as Oduya’s meager offensive production keeps him off the radar in most formats, but it will provide the Hawks with another stable, veteran presence on the blue line down the stretch.

The “Odd-Bulls” live! Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double of the season, and the Denver Nuggets rode a second-half surge to a 125-107 victory over the Bulls on Tuesday night.Danilo Gallinari scored 22 points and former DePaul Blue Demon Wilson Chandler added 20 as Denver, which entered the game fourth in the NBA in scoring (110.6 points per game), posted a 70-48 advantage in the second half to erase a halftime deficit.Gary Harris and Will Barton had 15 points apiece for the Nuggets.Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo had 19 points apiece for the Bulls, who had their four-game winning streak snapped. Jimmy Butler finished with just eight points on 3-for-13 shooting.The Bulls had a 59-56 halftime lead before Denver busted out for a 35-point third quarter to take a 91-83 advantage into the fourth. The Nuggets were 11 of 20 from the field and 10 of 11 from the free throw line in the third.

Denver carried the momentum into the final quarter, scoring the first eight points – capped by Gallinari’s two 3-pointers – for a 99-83 lead. The margin was up to 21 points (110-89) a few minutes later and the rout was on.

MOTES—Fred Hoiberg has two main objectives during the final six weeks of the regular season: win enough games to make the playoffs while taking a long look at some of the team’s young players, including newly acquired Cameron Payne and Joffrey Lauvergne. ”We played 11 in the first half the other night (against Cleveland) and it’s tough to play that many guys,” Hoiberg said. ”But at the same time, you do want to get a look at the new guys.”….The Bulls host Golden State on Thursday.Kevin Drant is doubtfull after soffering a hyperextended left knee in a Tuesday night loss to Washington.

PROVIDENCE—Kyron Cartwright and Emmitt Holt scored 14 points apiece and Providence rolled to a 73-64 victory over DePaul on Tuesday night for its fifth straight win.Providence (19-11, 9-8 Big East) entered the game in a four-way tie for fourth place in the conference standings, and visits St. John’s (13-17, 7-10) on Saturday to end its regular season. DePaul (9-21, 2-15) has lost 12 of its last 13 games.The Friars took the lead for good about six minute in and built a 34-23 halftime advantage. DePaul pulled within seven points before the Friars used a 19-8 run for a 60-42 lead with 6:40 to play. Cartwright scored nine points and Holt chipped in four during the stretch.Rodney Bullock added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Friars. Jalen Lindsey finished with 12 points.Brandon Cyrus and Devin Gage each scored 12 points to lead DePaul.

The Blackhawks’ big-name scorers keep coming through when needed, and they kepts on rolling.Artem Anisimov scored with 5:20 left in the third period to lift the Blackhawks over the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Sunday night for their fourth straight win and ninth in their last 10.Anisimov beat Jake Allen on the glove side from the right edge of the crease for his 22nd goal – matching his career high – after taking a pinpoint cross-ice pass from linemate Artemi Panarin. Tanner Kero added an empty-netter with 2.6 seconds left.The Blackhawks have outscored opponents 44-24 during their 10-game run. The goals have not only been plentiful, but timely, as the top two lines have been clicking.

”If somebody has a good shift, everybody feeds off it and keeps it going,” Anisimov said. ”It’s very nice to have two lines going.”

Anisimov’s line, with wings Panarin and Patrick Kane, has been outstanding. So has the trio of center Jonathan Toews with wings Richard Panik and rookie Nick Schmaltz.

”I think we’re so much deeper as a team, both lines are dangerous and effective,” coach Joel Quenneville said. ”Who are (opponents) going to check? Who are they going to match up on the back end? ‘It gives the other team something to think about over the course of a game.”

Kane assisted on Anisimov’s winner and scored a power-play goal. Toews also had a goal and an assist for surging Hawks, who pulled one point behind first-place Minnesota in the Central Division and Western Conference despite blowing an early 2-0 lead.Toews has nine goals and 15 assists in his last 14 games. Kane has nine goals and six assists in his last 10.Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith had an assist for his 500th NHL point.Magnus Paajarvi and Alex Pietrangelo scored for the Blues, who played their first game following their bye week and lost their third straight.After Pietrangelo connected during a power play in the second period to tie it at 2, the Blues saw a chance to get back on track.

”This would have been a good one to come away with,” Pietrangelo said. ”I know teams haven’t had a lot of success coming out of the break. It would have been nice to break that trend.”

Scott Darling made 30 saves as he stepped in for No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford, who was ill and ruled out by Quenneville at the team’s morning skate.Allen blocked 38 shots. Toews pened the scoring 4:18 in with a quick forehand move to cap a crisp, rink-long passing series with his linemates.Kane finished a give-and-go with Toews to make it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 11:44, beating Allen on the short side with a shot from the left circle.Paajarvi cut it to 2-1 with 3:06 left in the period. He skated in alone and beat Darling between the legs after linemate Jori Lehtera forced defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk into a turnover at the Blackhawks’ blue line.Pietrangelo’s power-play goal with 7:27 left in the second tied it. With the Blackhawks’ defense backing in, he took David Perron’s feed and beat Darling on the glove side.

NOTES—The Blackhawks finished 3-2 against the Blues in the regular season. … Darling was backed up by Lars Johansson, who was recalled from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL on Sunday. Johansson arrived at the United Center in time, even though the IceHogs played at Ontario, California, on Sunday night. … Tomas Jurco, acquired Friday from Detroit for a draft pick, made his Blackhawks debut. … Niklas Hjalmarsson missed the game and is day-to-day. He skated five shifts on Thursday against Arizona before leaving. … D Jay Bouwmeester played his 300th game with St. Louis. … The Blues healthy scratches were F Nail Yakupov and D Robert Bortuzzo. … Dennis Rasmussen sat out.

NOTES—The Blackhawks are home to Pittsburgh on Wednesday night in first of two regular season meetings between the teams.

LINCOLN—Malcolm Hill scored 19 points and Illinois went on a 3-point shooting spree in the second half in a 73-57 victory over Nebraska on Sunday.Tracy Abrahams added 13 points and Maverick Morgan had 12 for the Illini (17-12, 7-9), who won their third straight road game and for the fourth time in five games overall.Tai Webster had 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead the Cornhuskers (12-16, 6-10).The Illini, who came into the game 12th in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting in conference games (32.9 percent) made seven of their first eight 3s of the second half to go up 61-44 with 9:15 to play. They finished 13 of 26 from beyond the arc.The Huskers are last in the Big Ten in 3-point defense in conference games (41.3 percent).Hill scored 14 of his 19 points after half. He and Abrams each made four 3-pointers.Illinois led 30-28 at half, and Abrams and Hill hit a couple 3s during a 10-3 spurt that gave the Illini a seven-point lead. Jalen Coleman-Lands’ 3 pushed the lead to 47-37 with 13:41 to play, and the Huskers never got closer.

BLOOMINGTON—Thomas Bryant completed a 3-point play with 2.6 seconds left Saturday night and James Blackmon Jr. finished with 13 points to help Indiana rally from a seven-point deficit in the final 93 seconds to beat Northwestern 63-62.The win snapped a five-game losing streak and was the only time Indiana (16-13, 6-10 Big Ten) led in the final 13 1/2 minutes.Bryant McIntosh scored 22 points for Northwestern (20-9, 9-7) but just missed a half-court heave at the buzzer to win it.The Hoosiers seemed to take control with a 22-0 run to close the first half – the last coming on Devonte Green’s heave from 60 feet that made it 36-26.But after retaking the lead with a 17-3 second-half run and taking a 62-55 lead with 1:33 left, Northwestern didn’t score again.Blackmon’s 3-pointer with 38.6 seconds left made it 62-60 and Bryant won it with a fortuitous bounce on the free throw.Bryant finished with 11 points and six rebounds.Scottie Lindsey finished with 13 points and Derek Pardon had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats, who lost their second straight.Northwestern looked like it would cruise when it jumped to a 26-14 lead with 5:29 left in the first half but didn’t score again until McIntosh opened the second half with a layup.Then it all happened again in the second half.Lindsey’s jumper gave the Wildcats a 42-41 lead and they led the rest of the game until Bryant’s 3-point play.Just a few weeks ago, the Wildcats looked like a lock to make their first NCAA Tournament. But now they’ve lost five of seven and two in a row against teams in the lower half of the conference standings. With two home games remaining, the Wildcats need to get things righted quickly.NU tries to rebound Wednesday at home against Michigan.

Patrick Kane scored three goals for his third career hat trick to lead the surging Blackhawks past the Arizona Coyotes 6-3 on Thursday night for their third straight win and eighth in nine games.Kane has 23 goals to lead the Blackhawks, who closed within three points behind first-place Minnesota in the Central Division and Western Conference.Rookies Nick Schmaltz and Ryan Hartman each had a goal and assist. Blackhawks defenseman Michal Rozsival scored his first goal of the season in his first game since Jan. 15.Jonathan Toews added two assists to extend his points scoring streak to five games and increase his output to 22 points in his past 13.Jakob Chychrun, Ryan White and Radim Vrbata scored for the Coyotes. Chychrun and Vrbata each scored for the second straight game.Corey Crawford made 34 saves. Arizona’s Mike Smith stopped 23 shots.Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson left after skating five shifts in the first period.Hjalmarsson didn’t appear to suffer an injury and the Hawks gave no reason why he left when the team announced he wouldn’t return. The 29-year-old, second on the Blackhawks with 21:59 of ice time per game, didn’t participate in the team’s morning skate on Thursday.The Blackhawks jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period, but the Coyotes took advantage of a Hawk defensive breakdowns to score goals 57 second apart late in the period to tie it 3-all after 20 minutes.Schmaltz, celebrating his 21st birthday, opened the scoring just 37 seconds in, taking Toews’ cross-ice feed to complete a 2-on-1 break. Chychrun tied it at 1 on a screened shot from the left circle at 7:36.Set up by Marian Hossa, Hartman connected from the low edge of the right circle at 10:28 to make it 2-1. Kane extended the advantage to 3-1 just over six minutes later on sharp-angle shot than banked in off Smith’s torso on the short side.White cut it to 3-2 with 2:18 left in the first when his initial shot hit the backboards and bounded in front. White skated around Rozsival and buried the loose puck.Vrbata was alone at the edge of the crease and tapped in Martin Hanzal’s feed from the left boards with 1:21 left in the first.Rozsival and Kane scored in the second to put the Blackhawks back in front, 5-3.Rozsival trailed in and fired a shot past Smith’s glove 2:56 into the period after taking a pass from Schmaltz.Kane’s second goal, with 7:19 left in the period, gave the Hawks their second two-goal lead.Kane broke in down the right wing, then pulled up in the circle. Instead of making a cross-ice pass to Tanner Kero, he shot and beat Smith between the pads.Kane completed his hat trick at 9:49 of the third when he fooled Smith on the stick side with an off-balance wrist shot from the edge of the right circle.

NOTES—Blackhawks rookie C Vinnie Hinostroza was a scratch. … Rozsival returned to the lineup after sitting out 14 games – six because of a foot injury and eight as a healthy scratch. … Arizona D Anthony DeAngelo was in the lineup following his recall from Tucson of the AHL on Monday. He filled a spot created after the Coyotes D Michael Stone was traded to Calgary for draft picks.The Blackhawks host St. Louis on Sunday in the final regular-season game between the Central Division rivals.