INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — John Tonje scored 32 points and grabbed seven rebounds to help No. 18 Wisconsin beat No. 7 Michigan State 77-74 on Saturday in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

John Blackwell added 14 points as the Badgers (26-8) won for the third time in four days. They will play No. 11 Maryland or No. 22 Michigan for the tournament title on Sunday.

Jase Richardson had 21 points and seven rebounds for the Spartans (27-6). Jeremy Fears Jr. had 14 points and six assists, but he had the ball knocked away in the waning seconds as he tried to tie the score with a heave from near the midcourt logo.

Michigan State, the league’s regular-season champs, had won eight in a row.

Wisconsin erased a 45-41 deficit with an 11-0 run in the second half. The Badgers were pushed to the very end, but they used four straight points to make it 72-67 with 1:10 to play.

Takeaways

Wisconsin: The Badgers followed an 86-point game with 19 3-pointers by showing they could win a grind-it-out game, too. Tonje could make Wisconsin a sneaky Final Four pick.

Michigan State: The Spartans were rolling until Saturday. Could this loss cost the Spartans a No. 2 seed for the NCAA tourney? Maybe. But getting an extra day off might help more.

Key moment

After Tonje missed a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left, Blackwell tried to chase down the rebound, but his path was impeded by Jaden Akins, who was called for the foul. Blackwell made both free throws to give the Badgers a 74-70 lead with 31.4 seconds to go.

Key stat

The Badgers made three more free throws than Michigan State, 22-19.

Up next

Wisconsin will try to win its first Big Ten tourney title since 2015 and claim the league’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid. The Spartans will find out their tourney fate Sunday.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Pope Francis remains stable as he continues his recovery one month after he was hospitalized for a bout of bronchitis that turned into pneumonia. 

“The clinical conditions of the Holy Father have remained stable, confirming the progress highlighted in the last week,” a medical bulletin from the Vatican’s Holy See Press Office said in an update on Saturday. 

It was the first medical update in three days. 

While working from the Gemelli hospital, the pope was able to sign off on a three-year reform project that aims to make the Church a more welcoming place. 

POPE FRANCIS NOW ‘OUT OF DANGER FROM DEATH’ AS HEALTH CONDITION CONTINUES TO IMPROVE

He also spent the day praying and resting. 

The Vatican added that the pope’s high-flow oxygen therapy continues, which is progressively reducing his need for non-invasive mechanical ventilation at night and will help his lungs work more. 

“The Holy Father still needs hospital medical therapy, motor and respiratory physiotherapy,” the bulletin added, noting that these therapies show “gradual improvements.”

Francis was first admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14, after a week-long fight against bronchitis gradually worsened, ultimately turning into double pneumonia. 

This week, his health improved significantly, with the Vatican saying he was now “out of danger of death.”

The 88-year-old spent time on Wednesday following spiritual exercises in the Vatican, receiving the Eucharist, praying and completing physical therapy. 

POPE FRANCIS NOW EATING SOLID FOODS, ‘SHOWING SLIGHT GRADUAL IMPROVEMENTS,’ VATICAN SAYS

This week marked the 12-year anniversary of the pope’s election to lead the Roman Catholic Church.

The pope’s condition has been complicated, because he had part of his lung removed as a child after a pulmonary infection.  

A chest X-ray on Tuesday confirmed improvements observed by medical staff in previous days, but his situation remains “complex,” meaning he will have to spend more time in the hospital. 

A message for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome on Saturday.  (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

An X-ray this week confirmed that his infection was clearing. 

The Vatican said that the pope’s condition has improved to the point where updates will only be given when there is new information. 

The next update will be in the middle of next week, the Vatican said. 

The pope released an audio message earlier this month, thanking people for their well-wishes, which was played in St. Peter’s Square. 

But for the last four Sundays, the blessing the pope gives from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square has been delivered in text form only. 

Pope Francis attended the weekly general audience on February 12, shortly before he was admitted to the hospital.  (Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images)

The pontiff participated in Lenten spiritual exercises from the hospital this week and received get-well cards and a cake to celebrate his 12th anniversary as pope. 

Meanwhile, as the pope continues his treatments, the nuns who work the Vatican’s switchboard are fielding calls from those concerned about his health. 

“They feel like children waiting to know about their father,” Sister Anthony, who runs the operation in an office near St. Peter’s Basilica, told the Associated Press. “We tell them to pray for him.”

Fox News’ Elizabeth Pritchett and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Russia and Ukraine exchanged intense aerial strikes overnight and into Saturday, with both nations reporting over 100 enemy drones in their airspace.

The attacks came less than a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss Washington’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the ongoing war.

Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia had launched a large overnight assault, deploying dozens of drones and two ballistic missiles. The attack included both Shahed-type strike drones and decoys designed to overwhelm air defences. Of the total, 130 drones were intercepted, while another 38 failed to reach their intended targets.

Russia targeted critical energy infrastructure in the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, causing severe damage, according to Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK.

“The damage is significant. Energy workers are already on the ground, doing everything possible to restore power to homes as quickly as possible,” the company said in a statement. Some residents in affected areas were left without electricity.

Meanwhile, on Friday evening, the city of Kherson was hit with air strikes killing a 43-year-old man and injuring five other people.

The neighbourhoods of Tavriyskyi and Tekstylne were hit the hardest with damaged homes, transport and civilian infrastructure.

The northern town of Chernihiv was targeted and a drone strike damaged a ten-story building and cars.

Moscow released a video on Saturday showing the damaged town of Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk region and claimed it was retaken by Russian forces on Thursday.

The Defence Ministry claimed that the army evacuated people from retaken territories.

Sudzha fell to Ukrainian forces shortly after their offensive into Russia began in August 2024. According to the Ukrainian side, several hundred civilians remained in the city after its army captured it.

Over in Russia’s Volgograd region, Governor Andrei Bocharov confirmed that falling drone debris had triggered a fire in the Krasnoarmeysky district near a Lukoil oil refinery. He provided no further details, but local media reported that nearby airports temporarily suspended flights.

Kyiv has targeted the Volgograd refinery multiple times since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion more than three years ago, with the latest drone strike occurring on 15 February.

Video editor • Lucy Davalou