Spartans' poor shooting in 2nd hurts as Penn St. wins, 61-48

Talor Battle scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half to help Penn State defeat Michigan State 61-48 in the Big Ten tournament semifinals and advance to the final for the first time.

Battle made six 3-pointers, including four during a 2:35 stretch in the second half that put the Nittany Lions (19-13) in control for good.

Tim Frazier had 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists for sixth-seeded Penn State, which will play No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Ohio State on Sunday for an automatic NCAA tournament berth. The Nittany Lions haven’t reached the NCAA tournament since 2001.

Kalin Lucas scored 16 points and Durrell Summers added 11 for Michigan State (19-14), which shot 21 percent in the second half.

The Sprtans can only hope if the NCAA will bring them in to the Big Dance. It's a good thing they're in the Big Ten, which the NCAA are big fans of.