Neitzel saves MSU from Bradley
Drew Neitzel heated up just in time to help Michigan State avoid a costly upset.
Neitzel's clutch 3-pointer started an important run, and Raymar Morgan scored 15 to help the ninth-ranked Spartans rally for a 66-61 victory over host Bradley on Tuesday night.
Daniel Ruffin led Bradley (6-3) with 17 points.
Michigan State trailed by 9 in the second half, but Neitzel came through in the latter stages after struggling for most of the game.
His 3 with just under five minutes left cut it to 51-50 and started a 7-0 surge that put the Spartans ahead for good, 54-51. And Neitzel hit 3 free throws in the final minute to help Michigan State hang on for its fourth straight victory.
Neitzel and Kalin Lucas had 13 points apiece for the Spartans.
N. Carolina 106, Penn 71: Tyler Hansbrough scored 29 points, Danny Green had 19 and No. 1 North Carolina easily held off overmatched Penn.
The Tar Heels, coming off an 86-77 win over Kentucky, are 8-0 for the first time since the 1998-99 season. They won their first game at the Palestra, the basketball cathedral that's home to Philadelphia's Big 5, since winning the NCAA Tournament's east regional final in 1957.
The Quakers (2-7) used some sensational shooting in the first half to keep the game close for about 15 minutes and send the sellout crowd of 8,722 into an upset-minded frenzy.
They tried to run with the Tar Heels and that was a bad idea. North Carolina wore down the Ivy League's Quakers and got easy points on the break and off turnovers to control the second half. North Carolina made 15 of its first 20 shots in the second half.
Tyler Bernardini led Penn with a career-high 26 points and Brian Grandieri had 17.
Notre Dame 68, Kansas St. 59: Sophomore Luke Harangody had 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to lead Notre Dame (6-2) to its fourth straight win, 68-59 over Kansas State (5-3) on Tuesday night in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Michael Beasley, the Kansas State freshman who leads the nation in scoring and rebounding, had a big first half with 17 points but managed just 2 in the second against Notre Dame's collapsing defense.
Kyle McAlarney had 18 points, including the final nine for the Fighting Irish (6-2) over the last 6½ minutes.
Tenn. 76, Chattanooga 70: Chris Lofton had 16 points, JaJuan Smith added 13 and No. 10 Tennessee (8-1) survived a scare to beat host Chattanooga.
Stephen McDowell had a team-high 14 points for Chattanooga (4-4), which fell to 5-30 against its in-state adversary. Marcus Watts added 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Nicchaeus Doaks had 11 points for the Mocs.
E. Michigan 72, ISU 63: Carlos Medlock scored 18 points, and Justin Dobbins added 14 to rally host Eastern Michigan past Illinois State, snapping the Eagles' two-game losing streak.
Jesse Bunkley added 10 points for the Eagles (4-4), who recorded their first win over a Missouri Valley Conference school since they beat Drake in the 1997-98 season.
Osiris Eldridge had 18 points, and Dom Johnson and Emmanuel Holloway each added 10 for the Redbirds (5-3), who have lost three of their last five games.