Wolverines nip Illini in Big Ten tourney

Wolverines nip Illini in Big Ten tourney

Published Mar. 11, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

Darius Morris scored eight of his 17 points in the final eight minutes Friday, leading Michigan back from a nine-point deficit to beat Illinois 60-55 in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.

Wolverines coach John Beilein beat the tourney's winningest team, won his 1,000th game as a head coach and set up a semifinal date Saturday with No. 1 Ohio State.

Mike Tisdale, Demetri McCamey and Brandon Paul each scored 10 points to lead the Fighting Illini (19-13). It's only the second time in 14 years that Illinois did not advance to the semis.

After closing the first half on a 17-4 run, the Illini didn't let Michigan (20-12) get closer than seven until Morris took over late.

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Morris tied the score at 51 with 3:24 left, and Tim Hardaway Jr.'s 3-pointer with 1:42 left finally gave Michigan a 56-53 lead that it didn't relinquish.

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