Michigan St., Illinois advance in Big Ten

INDIANAPOLIS, March 13 (UPI) -- Michigan State rode the efforts of backups Chris Allen and Marquise Gray into the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament Friday with a 64-56 win over Minnesota.

The tournament's top three teams made it to the semifinal round, led by the sixth-ranked and No. 1 seed Spartans -- who got 25 first-half points from their bench.

Michigan State (26-5) will take on fifth-seeded Ohio State in the semifinals after the Buckeyes survived a physical confrontation with Wisconsin 61-57.

The other quarterfinal action saw 25th-ranked Illinois get past Michigan 60-50 and Purdue dispose of Penn State 79-65. Illinois and Purdue, seeded second and third in the tournament, will meet in the second of Saturday's semifinals.

Allen scored 17 points and Gray had 11 while Michigan State star Kalin Lucas settled for 12.

Minnesota lost seven of its last 11 games, which could cost the Gophers a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Illinois opened a 20-point lead in the second half against the Wolverines and improved to 24-8. Mike Davis led the Illini with 22 points.

Purdue raced to a 19-5 lead over Penn State and was never threatened. The Boilermakers (23-9) shot 55 percent from the floor.