CHICAGO, March 14 (UPI) -- Sean Connolly scored 21 points Friday and Brent Darby made all eight of his free-throw attempts -- including four in the final 40 seconds -- as Ohio State stunned No. 18 Wisconsin, 58-50, in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Conference Tournament.
Michigan State then held Purdue to 12 first-half points en route to a 54-42 victory over the Boilermakers; No. 13 Illinois crushed Northwestern, 94-65, and Indiana rallied past Michigan, 63-56.
Connolly was five of seven from three-point range and Darby finished with 16 points as Ohio State (16-13) knocked off the regular-season conference champions. After just getting by Iowa in its opening-round game, the Buckeyes made all the plays down the stretch.
After Velimir Radinovic converted a loose ball scramble into his only basket of the second half and a 53-48 lead with 56 seconds to go, Darby sealed the win by making his free throws down the stretch.
"It was a terrific win," Ohio State Coach Jim O'Brien said. "I couldn't be more proud of our guys. We were very good defensively today. It was a character and heart kind of win.
"It was a gritty, gritty effort from our players and we are thrilled to be moving on."
It marks the fourth time in six years that the Big Ten Conference Tournament top seed has been bounced in its first game.
Kirk Penny led the Badgers with 14 points, but Wisconsin (22-7) shot just 34 percent from the field.
In Saturday's semifinals, Ohio State will meet Michigan State, which won its fifth straight game Friday.
Purdue could not cope with the Spartans' defense. The 12 points in the first half were the fewest for the Boilermakers in 20 minutes of basketball since 1982. Purdue made just four of 20 shots in the opening half and made 13 of 50 for the game.
Alan Anderson and Erazem Lorbek each scored 10 points for the Spartans.
In Illinois' win, Brian Cook scored 12 of his 20 points in the first half. He hit five of 10 from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Illinois (22-6).
The Wildcats (12-17), who knocked off Minnesota in the opening round of the tournament on Thursday, took a 7-5 lead on Mohamed Hachad's jump shot 3:27 into the game. It was the only lead they had.
The Illini went on a 25-4 run over the next 9:25 until Dee Brown hit a three-pointer to give Illinois a 32-11 advantage. Northwestern never came no closer than 18 points the rest of the way.
Roger Powell added 14 points for Illinois.
Indiana came back from a five-point halftime deficit to keep alive its hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament. A.J. Moye scored 18 points for the Hoosiers and Tom Coverdale had 15.
