Ohio State 61 – Wisconsin 57

Thanks to some clutch shooting, and some rough and tumble defense the Ohio State Buckeyes (21-9) were able to outlast the Wisconsin Badgers (19-12) in Indianapolis 61-57 to advance to the Big Ten Tournament semi-finals.

 

This was the Buckeyes defense from the 7-0 start of the season. Even without David Lighty, the Buckeyes were able to hold the normally efficient Badger offense to 36% from the field, and hit only 7 of their 32 shots from beyond the arc. With the defense at it’s best, it took only a couple of 3 pointers from Jeremie Simmons and Jon Diebler, and another great Evan Turner performance to ensure victory. Turner was able to get past any and all of the Badgers defenders, racking up 19 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.

 

The Badgers were paced by 3 players, all who made it into double figures, and were led by Trevon Hughes’15 points. In truth the Badgers just couldn’t hit the long ball. With the Buckeyes defenders flying towards the shooting hands of the Badgers they got very few open looks. 

 

This all leads to another matchup against the Michigan State Spartans, who roundly beat the Buckeyes in both of their games this season. If by chance they can sneak past the Spartans they could be looking more and more like a #5 or #6 seed.