Zeller’s heroics lift Indiana to Big Ten title

Men’s College Basketball: Cody Zeller made a go-ahead layup with 13 seconds left and altered Trey Burke’s shot at the other end, lifting No. 2 Indiana to a 72-71 victory over No. 7 Michigan on Sunday in Ann Arbor, Mich., that gave the Hoosiers their first outright Big Ten title in two decades.

The Hoosiers (26-5, 14-4) trailed by five points in the last minute but took advantage when the Wolverines (25-6, 12-6) were unable to seal it at the foul line.

• No. 10 Michigan State beats Northwestern: Keith Appling scored 16 points and Gary Harris added 12 to lift No. 10 Michigan State to a 71-61 win over Northwestern in East Lansing, Mich.

The Spartans struggled to put away the undermanned Wildcats. Northwestern rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit, tying the game at 51 before the Spartans recovered.

• Buckeyes handle Illini: Deshaun Thomas, playing perhaps his final home game for No. 14 Ohio State, scored 19 points Sunday to lead the Buckeyes to a 68-55 victory over Illinois in Columbus, Ohio.

The victory assured Ohio State the No. 2 seed in next week’s Big Ten tournament at Chicago’s United Center.

Brandon Paul scored 21 points for Illinois.

No. 6 Duke claim ACC crown by beating UNC

• Women’s College Basketball: Freshman Alexis Jones scored a career-high 24 points and No. 6 Duke claimed its eighth Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title by routing No. 15 North Carolina 92-73 in the championship game held in Greensboro, N.C.

Elizabeth Williams also had 24 points and Haley Peters scored 17 for the top-seeded Blue Devils.

• Texas A&M wins SEC: Kelsey Bone had 18 points and 15 rebounds, with most of her production coming in the second half, and Texas A&M beat Kentucky 75-67 in Duluth, Ga., to win the Southeastern Conference tournament championship in its first year in the league.

• Purdue tops Michigan State for Big Ten title: Drey Mingo scored 24 points, and Purdue won its second straight Big Ten tournament championship, beating Michigan State 62-47 in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

• Saint Joseph’s women stop No. 11 Dayton: Chatilla van Grinsven’s 19 points and 10 rebounds helped Saint Joseph’s snap No. 11 Dayton’s 15-game winning streak 61-54 in the Atlantic 10 Conference semifinals in Philadelphia.

Lakers win, move into playoff picture

NBA: Dwight Howard scored 16 points and grabbed 21 rebounds, Kobe Bryant chipped in with 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the visiting Chicago Bulls 90-81.

The Lakers improved to 33-31, the first time this season they have been two games over .500. They also moved one-half game ahead of the Utah Jazz and into sole possession of the No. 8 and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

• Heat win 18th straight: Mario Chalmers scored 26 points, Chris Bosh added 24 and the Miami Heat won their 18th straight game, easily topping the visiting Indiana Pacers 105-91.

The 18-game streak ties the seventh-longest in NBA history, and is the league’s best since Boston won 19 straight during the 2008-09 season.

• Thunder grind out win over Celtics: Kevin Durant had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Russell Westbrook scored 15 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the visiting Boston Celtics 91-79.

The Thunder limited Boston to 25 percent shooting in the second half.

• Anderson lifts Hornets over Blazers: Ryan Anderson capped a 20-point performance with a layup as he was fouled with 1.8 seconds left, and the New Orleans Hornets snapped a three-game skid with a 98-96 victory over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers.

Ovechkin penalties spur Rangers’ win

NHL: About three hours after asking for more respect from NHL officials, Alex Ovechkin was called for two penalties within seconds of each other, leading to a pair of goals that put the visiting New York Rangers ahead for good in a 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals.

Brian Boyle and Ryan Callahan took advantage of Ovechkin’s miscues to give New York a two-goal lead in the second period. Derek Stepan and Brad Richards also scored.

• Blackhawks lose again: Sam Gagner scored two of Edmonton’s four goals in the first period and the visiting Oilers beat Chicago 6-5, sending the Blackhawks to their second consecutive loss after their record-breaking start.

Ryan Whitney and Taylor Hall each had a goal and an assist for Edmonton. Captain Shawn Horcoff also scored as the Oilers went 3 for 4 on the power play.

• Kings recall prospect Toffoli: The Los Angeles Kings recalled center Tyler Toffoli from Manchester of the AHL. Toffoli has 48 points and a plus-20 rating in 55 games this season with Manchester, emerging as one of the Kings’ top prospects.

Giants, DT Jenkins agree on contract

Miscellany: Defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins has signed a three-year contract with the New York Giants, a person with knowledge of the deal said.

The deal covers three years and is worth $8 million.

• Murray, Fish earn wins: Andy Murray earned a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 win over Evgeny Donskoy in a second-round match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, Calif. Mardy Fish of the United States earned a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win over Bobby Reynolds.

• Porte wins Paris-Nice: Australian cyclist Richie Porte has won the Paris-Nice race after a dominant victory on the final time trial stage.

The 28-year-old Porte posted a time of 19 minutes, 16 seconds over the 6 miles from Nice to Col d’Eze to become the first Australian to win the race.

• Kostelic, Maze win slaloms: Ivica Kostelic of Croatia won a rain-drenched World Cup slalom, while Marcel Hirscher of Austria clinched the discipline title after his sole rival skied out in the opening run in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.

Also, women’s overall champion Tina Maze of Slovenia beat Mikaela Shiffrin in a World Cup slalom in Ofterschwang, Germany, to overtake the American teenager in the discipline standings.

• MLS’ Union top Rapids: Jack McInerney scored in the 79th minute as the Philadelphia Union defeated the Colorado Rapids 2-1 in Commerce City, Colo.

• Gascoigne back from brink of death: Former English national team midfielder Paul Gascoigne believes he was on the brink of death when he slipped into a coma while receiving treatment for alcohol addiction in the United States.

Gazza told Sunday’s editions of The Sun that his lungs and heart seized up but now insists he will not drink again.