Lincoln, Neb. – University of Nebraska men’s basketball coach Tim Miles announced Tuesday evening that freshman guard Tarin Smith has decided to transfer from the Husker program following the spring semester.

“My family and I have intensely thought about this decision, and we feel that it is best if I transfer at the end of this school year,” Smith said. “I would like to thank the University of Nebraska and the fans for this opportunity and their support and encouragement throughout the year.”

Smith, a 6-foot-2 guard from Ocean Township, N.J., played in all 31 games as a true freshman this season, averaging 4.5 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. He had a career-high 13 points in a loss to Ohio State on Feb. 26.

“I am disappointed in Tarin’s choice to transfer, but I support him and understand his decision,” Miles said. “Our entire program will miss him, and we wish him nothing but a successful future.”

— NU Sports Information —

Lincoln, Neb. – University of Nebraska forward Walter Pitchford announced Monday that he is giving up his final season of eligibility with the Husker basketball program. Pitchford will remain at the University of Nebraska and finish his undergraduate degree in ethnic studies.

“I thank Coach Miles for giving me the opportunity when I transferred from Florida,” Pitchford said. “I have learned a lot about myself in the three years I’ve been at Nebraska and it is not an easy decision to give up playing basketball. I believe it is in the best interest of both the team and myself that I devote my time to completing my degree at Nebraska and eventually go into a career in business.

“I appreciate all the support I have received from the coaching staff, my teammates and the fans during my time at Nebraska and it has become home for me,” Pitchford said. “I know my teammates support me on this difficult decision, and I will be there to support them.”

“I completely support Walter in his decision,” Nebraska basketball coach Tim Miles said. “It shows a great deal of courage for a young man to see his career path and pursue it. I know leaving behind basketball is not easy for Walter or his family, but I also believe this is the best thing for Walt because it targets what he wants to do.”

As a junior, he played in 30 games, including 26 starts, and averaged 7.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game to rank third on the team in both scoring and rebounding. Pitchford reached double figures nine times in 2014-15, including a career-high 19 points against Tennessee-Martin and at No. 16 Maryland.

He averaged 9.3 points and 4.7 rebounds as a sophomore in 2013-14, helping the Huskers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998.  That season, he ranked among the Big Ten leaders in both field goal percentage (.473, 10th) and 3-point percentage (.410, seventh).

Pitchford began his career at the University of Florida in 2011-12, helping the Gators to an appearance in the Elite Eight.

In the classroom, Pitchford is a two-time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll member.

— NU Sports Information —

CHICAGO (AP) — D.J. Newbill sees the Big Ten tournament as a shot at redemption for Penn State. It was nearly the stage for a big collapse, too.

Newbill scored 26 points, Shep Garner added 19 and Penn State hung on to beat Nebraska 68-65 Wednesday in the Big Ten tournament opener.

The 13th-seeded Nittany Lions (17-15) advanced in the tournament for the first time since a run to the final in 2011, despite letting a 16-point lead in the second half dwindle to one.

They came away with their second-straight win after dropping six in a row when Shavon Shields missed a 3 for 12th-seeded Nebraska (13-18) at the buzzer.

Penn State will play No. 5 seed Iowa on Thursday.

“We’re disappointed in how we finished in Big Ten play,” Newbill said. “We’ve got another opportunity to come out here and prove to ourselves and prove to everybody we’re better than what we showed.”

Garner hit five 3-pointers. Newbill nailed four from long range and keyed a 14-1 run early in the second half that stretched the lead from three to 16. Penn State also blocked a tournament-record 16 shots.

The loss was the ninth straight for Nebraska, which got 29 points from Terran Petteway. Shields scored 20 and grabbed 10 rebounds. But after making the NCAA tournament last season, the Cornhuskers are on the outside looking in.

“As excited as I was last year is as disappointed as I am this year,” coach Tim Miles said. “And I talked a lot of trash on the golf course last year so I was pretty pumped up.”

He believes that the program is headed in the right direction, that the incoming recruits will provide a big lift. But enduring a run like this has not been easy.

Things got so bad that Miles actually banned his players from their plush locker room and forbade them from speaking to reporters following a 28-point blowout by Iowa last month.

“It wears on you,” Miles said. “You go to the shopping center with your head down, the grocery store with your head down, and hope you don’t run into everybody and have to regurgitate what you’re going through.”

Nebraska was within 63-62 after Shields hit two free throws with 3:03 left. Newbill then scored on a layup for Penn State and Ross Travis hit a free throw to make it a four-point game with 2:18 remaining.

Petteway hit a free throw and added two more with 42.7 seconds left after being fouled on a drive, making it 66-65.

Newbill missed a floater with about eight seconds left, setting off a scramble and a jump ball with the possession arrow pointing to Penn State.

Geno Thorpe caught the inbounds and hit two free throws to make it a three-point game with 4.2 seconds. The Nittany Lions hung on when Shields’ pull-up 3 from the right wing hit the front of the rim.

Penn State looked like it was ready to run away with this one after mounting a 14-1 run early in the second and breaking open a 37-34 game.

Newbill scored eight during that stretch and wrapped two 3-pointers around a free throw by Nebraska’s Moses Abraham.

Garner then nailed another 3 for Penn State, making it 51-35 with just fewer than 16 minutes left. But instead of bowing quietly, Nebraska responded by scoring 14 in a row.

Tai Webster buried a 3 after Abraham missed a free throw, cutting it to 51-49 with 9:47 left. Garner pulled up for one of his own, triggering an 8-2 spurt, but the Cornhuskers stayed in it, a putback by Abraham making it 62-60 with about four minutes left.

“When things got tight there, we responded,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. “We attacked the situation. We made some big plays and finally got some timely rebounds and Geno hit some really big-time free-throws for us.”

—

HE SAID IT

Chambers on playing on consecutive days: “If you’re an 18-to-23 year old kid, come on. Practice? They want to play games. I feel confident they’ll be ready to play and play with great energy tomorrow.”

TIP-INS

Penn State: Penn State is 10-17 in the Big Ten tournament. … The Nittany Lions eclipsed the previous tournament blocks record of 12 by Wisconsin against Nebraska in 2000.

Nebraska: Nebraska is 17-38 all-time in conference tournaments, dating to the Big Eight in 1977.

UP NEXT

Penn State: Plays Iowa on Thursday.

Nebraska: Season complete.

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Maryland coach Mark Turgeon told his players early in the week that they would impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee if they could win their last two road games.

On Saturday he told them that if they beat Nebraska on Sunday night, they would set the school record for wins in a regular season.

The coach’s motivational talks must have helped, because the 10th-ranked Terrapins were pushed to the limit before getting out of Lincoln with a 64-61 win.

Dez Wells made a contested 18-foot jumper with 8.8 seconds left after Nebraska had made it a one-point game, and Shavon Shields missed what would have been a tying 3-pointer in the last second.

Maryland (26-5, 14-4), runner-up to Wisconsin in its first Big Ten season after being picked 10th in the preseason, heads into this week’s conference tournament in Chicago on a seven-game win streak.

“Twenty-six wins. We found out yesterday that we had a chance to set a record, most wins in a regular season, and we really dialed in,” Turgeon said. “I think because that number was sitting out there, we stayed focused and kept trying to get it done.”

Freshman guard Melo Trimble scored 21 points, Wells had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Jake Layman added 11 points for the Terps.

“This team, I’ve always thought we could do anything. Twenty-six wins, I knew we’d get it as long as we played our game,” Trimble said. “Coach Turgeon told us we were on the way to breaking the school record. Once he told us that, we really wanted it.”

Regular season-ending road wins at Rutgers and Nebraska gave Maryland a 5-4 Big Ten road record, and the Terps also had a December win at Oklahoma State.

“They say we’re a 3, 4 or 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament,” Turgeon said. “The committee likes road wins. We had two chances to get road wins this week, and our guys took advantage of it.”

Shields had 26 points and Terran Petteway added 19 for the Cornhuskers (13-17, 5-13), who lost their eighth straight.

Shields’ three-point play with 43 seconds left pulled the Huskers to 62-61. The Terps called a timeout with 11 seconds left and 4 on the shot clock. Wells took the inbounds pass and hit his shot from the wing.

Nebraska outscored Maryland 23-21 at the free-throw line, but made only 12 of 22 in the second half.

Maryland went on a 10-0 run to take the lead for good after Nebraska had gone up 48-43.

Nebraska coach Tim Miles said he had a “devastated locker room” after the game. The Huskers are the No. 12 seed in the conference tournament and play Penn State on Wednesday.

“Just play your butts off and let destiny lay where it is,” Miles said he told his team. “If we ended up losing whatever in a row out, big deal. Just play your butts off. That’s what we did today. We gave ourselves a chance.”

—

LOCKER ROOM BAN ENDS

Miles on Saturday ended the locker room lockout he imposed after the Huskers lost by 28 points to Iowa on Feb. 22. Miles had said his players’ effort didn’t merit them having access to one of the most posh locker rooms and lounges in college basketball.

LOTS OF FOULS

Officials called a combined 51 fouls in a grinding game. Turgeon was surprised one didn’t get called when he ordered that Petteway be fouled on Nebraska’s last possession. “We were trying to foul,” he said, laughing. “We weren’t trying to foul for those other 27 fouls, but we were trying to foul then.”

TIP-INS

Maryland: The Terps’ 26 wins mark a nine-game improvement from last season. … The 26 wins match the most in a season in Turgeon’s 17 years as a head coach. His 2005-06 Wichita State team, which went to the Sweet 16, also won 26. … The 7-foot-1 freshman Michal Cekovsky was back after missing two games with a left knee injury.

Nebraska: The eight-game losing streak is the program’s longest since a nine-game skid in 2002-03. … F Walter Pitchford returned after missing a game with a hip flexor injury.

UP NEXT

Maryland plays in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal Friday.

Nebraska plays Penn State on Wednesday in the Big Ten Tournament.

— Associated Press —

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In his last game in his hometown arena, Rayvonte Rice started slow.

The Illinois guard missed three of his first four shots Wednesday against Nebraska. But the Champaign native turned it on in the second half, finishing with 23 points to lead the Illini to a badly needed win over the Cornhuskers, 69-57.

Nebraska started the second half hot and had a five-point lead early, but Rice — with some help from senior Nnanna Egwu and his eight rebounds — led the Illini back.

“We stayed poised and stayed together and just didn’t buckle,” Rice said. “They threw a punch and we just answered.”

“I told Rice and Egwu: `I’m not going to miss them real bad,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles joked after the game.

The Illini (19-11, 9-8 Big Ten) have won two straight as they look for a way into the NCAA tournament. Nebraska (13-16, 5-12) has lost seven games in a row and nine of its last 10.

Rice had a quiet six-point first half but scored 17 in the second 20 minutes. That included seven straight over a key stretch midway through the half that brought Illinois back from a 40-39 deficit to a 46-42 lead.

Kendrick Nunn and Leron Black added 11 each for Illinois.

Shavon Shields led Nebraska with 14 points. Terran Petteway added 13 and Leslee Smith had eight points and nine rebounds.

Illinois scrapped for a 31-23 lead with 55 seconds in the first half on a 3-pointer by Rice.

The Cornhuskers answered with a 13-0 run over the next 5:30, taking a 36-31 lead. Shields scored seven of those points, including a 3-pointer with 17:09 left in the game to put Nebraska up 34-31, its first lead since midway through the first half.

Rice finally ended the drought for the Illini, hitting another 3-pointer with 15:25 left in the game to close the gap to two points, 36-34.

Then Rice took the game in hand.

His seven straight gave the Illini a lead they wouldn’t give up.

He drilled home a long 3-pointer with 1:35 left in the game to give Illinois a decisive 59-50 lead.

Rice has been the player the Illini have turned to the last past two seasons. Even after a lengthy absence in January and February due to injury and a suspension for a violation of team rules, he remains Illinois’ leading scorer and rebounder.

The Illini entered the game as a bubble team in search of wins, likely at least two, to make the NCAA tournament after falling short last season.

—

TIP-INS

Nebraska: Wednesday was the Cornhuskers’ seventh road game in their last 10. They won just once over that stretch. After opening Big Ten play 4-3, Nebraska has fallen to 12th in the 14-team conference.

Illinois: The Illini entered the game as the country’s No. 1 free-throw shooting team, hitting 79.6 percent. They were 20 of 23 Wednesday night.

RICE’S WRAP

With Illinois shutting down the State Farm Center for renovations after Wednesday’s game, Rice played his last game at the facility he grew up dreaming about. And he took an indirect path to get there, playing two seasons at Drake before transferring to Illinois and sitting out a season under NCAA rules.

“I think Ray’s had just a journey with everything he’s been through,” Illinois coach John Groce said this week. “He’s really grown up a great deal over the three years.”

ARENA MAKEOVER

Work on the State Farm Center that started at the end of last season and has continued outside the arena started up again inside almost the minute the game was over. Work crews tore down Illini banners in the players’ tunnel just after the buzzer. The $169.5 million renovation will bring new seats, a new scoreboard and video boards and a range of other amenities to the 53-year-old arena. The Illini will play five early home games next season in Springfield, about 85 miles west, while the work is finished.

UP NEXT:

Nebraska closes the regular season at home Sunday against Maryland.

Illinois finishes Saturday at Purdue.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Playing just their second game in their own arena in the last 28 days, the Ohio State Buckeyes felt right at home.

Jae’Sean Tate scored a career-high 22 points, Sam Thompson added 15 and Shannon Scott 13 to lead the Buckeyes past Nebraska 81-57 on Thursday night, the Cornhuskers’ sixth loss in a row.

“It definitely feels good to be home,” said Tate, who was 8 for 9 from the field, 1 of 2 on 3-pointers and 5 of 6 at the line. “It feels like we haven’t been home in forever.”

Not quite that long. But playing only their second game at Value City Arena this month, unlike many of their recent road games they jumped out to a quick lead and never allowed the opponent to get back in the game.

“Ohio State’s start was really the key to the game,” said Nebraska coach Tim Miles. “Their defensive pressure did a good job of standing the ball up, and then that got us standing around. We had three turnovers that led out to easy run-out layups and dunks. If you’re going to contend here, you can’t get down early.”

The Buckeyes (20-8, 9-6 Big Ten) rolled to a 42-24 halftime lead, taking the lead for good with a 12-0 run built on five points by Scott, four by Thompson and D’Angelo Russell’s 3-pointer. When the Cornhuskers (13-15, 5-11) came out with two quick 3-pointers by Tarin Smith in the second half, the Buckeyes pulled away again, with Thompson hitting a 3 to push the lead to 55-38 and out of reach. Thompson was 3 for 3 behind the arc.

Russell had 11 points and six assists before leaving with leg cramps for the Buckeyes, who had lost their last two.

Tarin Smith had 13 points, Terran Petteway 12 and David Rivers 10 points and 11 rebounds for Nebraska, which fell to 0-8 in conference road games.

When Ohio State played at Rutgers on Feb. 8, several NBA scouts were on hand to take notes on Russell, who didn’t disappoint with a triple-double of 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

Buckeyes coach Thad Matta, who now has led his teams to 20 wins or more in all 15 of his seasons as a head coach, had his picture taken with Jackson before the game.

“I thought about calling for the triangle (offense) and then (winking at Jackson),” he said with a laugh.

—

TIP-INS

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers were coming off what their own game notes called their “poorest effort of the season” in a 28-point home loss to Iowa on Sunday afternoon.

After that game, Nebraska coach Tim Miles was so angry that he barred his players from its plush home locker room. He also forbade any players from speaking to reporters, saying he would be the lone person representing the program.

The Cornhuskers’ $19-million practice facility, which opened in 2011, includes heated towel racks and iPod plug-ins in the showers.

Miles said the players could find their own place to shower after practices: “Good luck. They’re creative people.”

Ohio State: The Buckeyes appeared to be a lock for the NCAA tournament just three weeks ago. Then they lost three of five, and looked bad doing it.

Most mock brackets have them as an 8 or 9 seed.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers are off until March 4 when they travel to play Illinois, then close out the regular season with No. 14 Maryland at home on March 8.

Ohio State: The Buckeyes host Purdue on Sunday, are at Penn State on Wednesday and entertain No. 5 Wisconsin in the last game before the Big Ten tournament on March 8.

THE ZEN MASTER

Eleven-time NBA champion Phil Jackson, team president of the New York Knicks, sat in the first row at midcourt while scouting D’Angelo Russell. Most mock drafts have Russell, a freshman, going in the top handful of picks should he elect to jump into the draft early.

QUOTE OF THE GAME

Miles rushed out on the court just before the starting lineups were announced. He said it was a miscommunication stemming from the National Anthem being played early. He wasn’t even fully dressed when he realized how close it was to the opening tip.

“Actually, man, I really cleaned up good, in a hurry,” he said. “That’s the only damn thing I did right all night.”

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Iowa made fast work of Nebraska by playing some of its best basketball of the season in the last five minutes of the first half.

The Hawkeyes scored on nine straight possessions before half to build a 26-point lead, and they never let the Cornhuskers get closer than 21 the rest of the way in a 74-46 rout Sunday.

“When it comes together like that and they’re playing unselfishly and playing defense, as a coach, that’s the best feeling in the world,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said of the decisive 21-2 run. “The challenge is to see if you can play that way all the time.”

Aaron White had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks (17-10, 8-6 Big Ten), who got the performance they needed on the road against the conference’s 10th-place team. Iowa’s NCAA tournament hopes had taken a hit the last week or so, with a home loss to Minnesota and an overtime loss at Northwestern followed by a home win over last-place Rutgers.

“We had a bad week, and what we needed was to have a good week,” White said. “It wasn’t like we could come in here and play OK but lose. I’m happy for our guys and happy for the program, and it’s a good win. The next step to that is to not get complacent.”

Peter Jok scored 14 points and Jarrod Uthoff had 11 points and four blocked shots for the Hawks, who swept the season series against Nebraska (13-14, 5-10) and sent the Huskers to their fifth straight loss and seventh in eight games.

Iowa, which shot 50 percent and made 10 3-pointers, was the first Nebraska opponent in 38 games to make at least half its shots from the floor.

Nebraska got 16 points from Terran Petteway and 10 from Walter Pitchford. The Huskers’ 32.7-percent shooting matched their season low, and they were just 2 of 18 on 3s.

Shavon Shields, who had 25 points in the first meeting with the Hawks, was held to three points on 1-of-6 shooting.

“You never want to throw your players under the bus, but that was just beyond disappointing. That’s not what we represent,” said Nebraska coach Tim Miles, whose players were not made available for interviews. “I honestly didn’t expect this.”

The Huskers wore throwback jerseys from the 1954-55 season and honored some 50 former players on Legends Weekend. The party turned into a dud, though, as the Hawkeyes led all the way and by never fewer than 10 points after White hit a 3-pointer with 4:48 left in the first half.

The loss was Nebraska’s most lopsided of the season and its worst at home since Ohio State put a 34-point whipping on the Huskers on Jan. 21, 2012.

TIP-INS

Iowa: The game started a stretch of four games in 10 days. Iowa won the first meeting 70-59 in Iowa City on Jan. 5. Aaron White had his first double-double since he had 15 points and 12 rebounds in a November loss to Syracuse. Iowa is 16-1 when scoring 64 or more points.

Nebraska: The Huskers started two freshmen (Tarin Smith and Fuller) for the first time in two years. The 32.7-percent shooting matched the Huskers’ performance against Cincinnati in a double-overtime win in December.

CLEMMONS CLICKS

Iowa’s Anthony Clemmons played 25 minutes off the bench and had eight points, three assists and a steal working at both the point- and off-guard spots.

“He’s been playing aggressively,” starting point guard Mike Gessel said. “We need that out of him. He can get after people on defense. He was driving to the basket and making smart plays.”

SORRY, FANS

Nebraska coach Tim Miles apologized to the home fans for his team’s poor showing.

“When I was at Southwest Minnesota State, to pay for shoes we used to go to the Renaissance Festival in Shakopee (Minnesota) and pick up trash. If I had the option, I would do that tonight, tomorrow and next day and pay back the fans for cost of attendance. Our fans are so supportive, and then we go into non-compete mode.”

UP NEXT

Iowa hosts Illinois on Wednesday.

Nebraska visits Ohio State on Thursday.

— Associated Press —

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Maryland was locked in another close game when Melo Trimble let the ball fly from well beyond the 3-point circle as the shot clock was about to expire.

Swish.

The freshman guard did it again just over a minute later, and soon after, the 16th-ranked Terrapins were celebrating a gritty 69-65 victory over Nebraska on Thursday night.

Trimble scored 26 points on 7-for-9 shooting and made 10 of 11 free throws. He also led Maryland with six rebounds and five assists.

“Melo was terrific down the stretch,” Terrapins coach Mark Turgeon said. “The kid’s just a winner. I’ve been saying that since we got him. It sure is nice to have him, I’ll tell you that.”

Dez Wells and Jake Layman each scored 14 for the Terrapins (22-5, 10-4 Big Ten), who were tied with 5:38 left before Trimble took over.

After Wells made two free throws, Trimble beat the clock with a jumper from atop the key. He connected again from beyond the arc with 2:18 remaining for a 62-54 lead.

“That’s what I do when the clock is winding down, I want to take the 3 or get to the basket,” Trimble said. “Mostly, I want to take the 3. That’s what I did tonight.”

Said Turgeon: “The second one was really deep. I was like, `I just hope he has enough legs to get it there.”

Nebraska played excellent defense right up until the shot clock was about to expire. And then …

“Trimble made huge plays down the stretch,” Huskers coach Tim Miles said. “He really hurt us. Those are the two 3’s I remember that seemed like the daggers. They might have hit some free throws, too.”

Trimble scored 11 straight points for Maryland in the closing minutes, the last five at the foul line.

The Terrapins have won their last three games by a total of 11 points and are 8-0 in games decided by six points or fewer.

“We’ve been really good in close games,” Maryland guard Richaud Pack said. “I think it’s just an attitude, so far. We just expect to win and make great plays down the stretch. When we need to focus and make the right plays, we do it.”

Walter Pitchford scored 19 and Shavon Shields added 13 for Nebraska (13-13, 5-9). Terran Petteway, who came in averaging 18.7 points, was held to eight on 2-for-14 shooting but contributed nine assists.

The Huskers have lost four straight and six of seven, but they gave the Terrapins all they could handle in this one.

A 3-pointer by Pitchford got the Huskers to 65-62 with 29 seconds left, Nebraska gained possession on a steal. But Wells stole the ball and Trimble made two free throws on the other end to clinch it.

“I never thought we were going to lose,” Turgeon said.

Maryland improved to 16-1 at home, 7-0 in the Big Ten.

After Nebraska made the first two baskets of the second half to go up 38-34, Trimble hit a runner to spark a 10-0 run that put Maryland up by six.

Maryland led 50-48 when Petteway was called for his fourth foul with 8:05 left. Two straight field goals by Shields knotted the score at 52 with 6:59 to go, setting the stage for the exciting finish.

BIG TEN SHOWDOWN

Maryland has five days to prepare for a duel with first-place, fifth-ranked Wisconsin.

“We are going to treat it as a regular game,” Pack said. “But knowing the team we have and how we’ve been this year, we kind of get up for those games a little more than we do for other games.”

STREAKY

Nebraska has held its last 14 opponents to under 70 points on the road. That is the second longest streak in the nation, dating to last season.

TIP-INS

Nebraska: The Huskers are 0-7 on the road in Big Ten play. … Shavon scored in double figures for a ninth consecutive game, tying a career high. … Nebraska has lost five straight against ranked opponents. … The Huskers have held 37 straight opponents under 50 percent shooting from the field.

Maryland: The Terps will play home-and-home series next season with five foes: Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin. … Maryland was held without an offensive rebound in the first half. … Trimble has totaled 84 points in his last four games after scoring a combined seven vs. Ohio State and Penn State.

UP NEXT

Nebraska hosts Iowa on Sunday.

Maryland hosts Wisconsin on Tuesday night.

— Associated Press —