Ohio State And Duke Paired Again For ACC-Big Ten Challenge

Duke will get a chance to avenge a lopsided loss to Ohio State as the Blue Devils host the Buckeyes in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Wed., Nov. 28, at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.

Exact game times for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge will be set at a later date, but the OSU-Duke match-up is almost certain to air in a prime spot on ESPN.Ohio State took an 85-63 win over Duke in a Challenge match-up on Nov. 29 at Value City Arena. That game matched up No. 2-ranked Ohio State with No. 3 Duke in arguably the biggest nonconference game in the 14-year history of VCA.

Duke has four starters back from a 27-7 team that fizzled down the stretch with three losses in its last four games. The capper was a 75-70 loss to 15th-seeded Lehigh in an NCAA second-round tournament game – in Greensboro, N.C., no less. That was certainly an early exit for a Duke program just two years removed from its latest national title under Mike Krzyzewski.

Guard Austin Rivers is leaving Durham after one year for the NBA. But 6'10" Mason Plumlee (11.1 ppg, 9.2 rpg) will be back for his senior year.

Also returning are guard Seth Curry (13.2 ppg), forward Ryan Kelly (11.8 ppg) and guards Andre Dawkins (8.4 ppg), Quinn Cook and Tyler Thornton. Duke also adds shooting guard Rasheed Sulaimon (ranked 11th nationally).

Ohio State has three starters back from its 31-8 team that won a share of the Big Ten title and reached the Final Four. The Buckeyes lost guard William Buford to graduation and saw center Jared Sullinger leave early for the NBA.

Wing Deshaun Thomas (15.9 ppg) announced he would be back. Thomas averaged just under 20 points per game in OSU’s Final Four run and could be poised for a big year. Guards Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith Jr. also return. OSU coach Thad Matta will ask sophs-to-be Sam Thompson, LaQuinton Ross, Shannon Scott and 6'11" Amir Williams to step up and fill the voids.

Buckeyes Fall In Final Four To Kansas

Buckeyes lost after giving up a 13 point lead

The Ozone - At times during the 2011-12 season the Ohio State men’s basketball team was admittedly bi-polar. On Saturday night, the Buckeyes’ split personality cost them a shot at the national championship.

OSU followed up a first half in which it led by as many as 13 points with one of its worst shooting halves of the season and watched its season slip away at the foul line in a 64-62 loss to Kansas in college basketball’s national semifinals.

After taking a nine-point lead into halftime, the Buckeyes only made eight of their 33 field goal attempts in the second half, and allowed a late 6-0 Jayhawks run to put Kansas on top and into Monday night’s national championship game where it’ll face Kentucky.

"Well, I thought we played the first half very effectively. Second half obviously we didn't shoot the ball to the level we needed to. I thought Kansas was much more active defensively, using their athleticism," said OSU Head Coach Thad Matta.

Trailing by two points with two seconds remaining, OSU Aaron Craft attempted to send the game into overtime by purposely missing the second of two free throws, but was whistled for a lane violation before attempting the would-have-been game-tying lay-up.

Craft’s ill-fated attempt was too little too late for a Buckeye team that was outscored 39-28 over the course of a second half that saw OSU forward Deshaun Thomas’ minutes limited after he picked up his third foul with 17:34 remaining in the game, and his fourth with 11:30 left.

OSU’s disaster second half was hardly predictable after a first half that saw the Buckeyes hold Kansas to just 13 points over the course of the game’s first 15 minutes and consistently lead by double-digits until a Travis Releford lay-up cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 34-25 heading into halftime.

Basketball Preview: #2 Ohio State vs. #2 Kansas

The time has come. Will OSU pull out a win?

Welcome to "The Other Game" at the Final Four.

OK, so, the Ohio State-Kansas matchup may not have the fantastic freshmen, the outspoken coaches or blood-feud story line of the opening semifinal between Kentucky and Louisville. But this one still should be worth a two-hour investment in front of the TV set Saturday night.

Besides the chance to watch two top-line teams play for a spot in the national title game, the Buckeyes-Jayhawks game offers a rare opportunity to see two All-Americans going at it with everything on the line.

Ohio State is led by Jared Sullinger, the sophomore forward who missed the first matchup between these teams with a bad back. Kansas' best player is Thomas Robinson, who had 21 points and seven rebounds in the Jayhawks' 78-67 win on Dec. 10.

"In my eyes, he's the college player of the year," Sullinger said of Robinson. "I know some think different. But with his season, the way he took his team to the top, you've just got to give it to him."

In fact, it's Kentucky's Anthony Davis who took player of the year awards from The Associated Press and college basketball writers Friday. But while Davis is a story of an ultra-talented freshman trying to lead his team to a championship in what likely will be his only year with the Wildcats, Sullinger and Robinson approach college in a different way.

At one point last season, Sullinger was viewed as a surefire lottery pick, a one-and-done prospect with nothing much left to prove in college. He never saw it that way, however, and when Ohio State was eliminated from last year's tournament as a No. 1 seed, the 6-foot-9 forward committed to staying in college.

"I wanted to make a statement, that not everybody is using college basketball as a pit stop to go the next level," he said. "That there's more than money and endorsements. There's championships that you've got to win at every level. That's what I pride myself on. I've won a championship all the way from elementary to now. I pride myself on winning. That's the biggest thing. That's why I came back."

"Pride," was also one of the first words Robinson used when asked about his decision to return for his junior year.

He spent most of his first two seasons playing limited minutes behind the Morris twins, Markieff and Marcus. NBA scouts were telling Robinson he could be a first-round draft pick if he left.

"It was a pride issue," Robinson said. "I didn't want people to guess and be like, `I think he can play. We've seen glimpses.' I wanted to come back and prove to everybody that I'm a good player."

He did. Widely viewed in the preseason as a player who might nudge his way onto some All-America lists, Robinson outperformed the predictions. He averages 17.7 points and 11.8 rebounds a game and is learning the difference between coming off the bench as a role player and leading a team.

Monday's Buckeye Bits

Good morning Buckeye fans. Are you feeling the excitement and sheer giddiness that I'm feeling this morning? Thanks again to the Buckeyes for knocking off the 1-seed in the East region, Syracuse, on their way to a Final Four appearance.

This marks the first time since the 2006-2007 season that Ohio State has reached the Final Four. That was back when we had Oden and Conley as they went on to the National Championship game, something that this basketball team can accomplish just as well. Let's get on to the Bits!

The Jayhawks Stand In Our Way. It's time for a rematch and this game has quite a bit more riding on the outcome then last time. Back in early December, the Buckeyes played at Kansas against Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor. Up to that point, OSU was a perfect 8-0 and ranked 2nd in the country. Then, the Jayhawks were ranked 13th and were able to knock off Ohio State with a deceiving 78-67 victory.

The key point in this rematch: Jared Sullinger did not play in December vs. Kansas. Sullinger was sidelined due to an injury with his back, forcing him to sit the bench and watch the Buckeyes fall. Now there is nothing in Sullinger's way. This should be a great game to watch, as Kansas is really starting to hit their stride  after defeating the Midwest 1-seed, North Carolina. Both Robinson and Taylor play very well together and should cause problems for Ohio State all night, setting up an awesome combination of basketball talent.

Sullinger, Buckeyes Power Through Syracuse On Way To Final Four

The Buckeyes truly earned their place in the Final Four.

Ohio State coach Thad Matta sized up his team in the middle of the season and had it figured for an early loss when the NCAA tournament came around.

The final weekend of March Madness is next, and the Buckeyes will be there.

Jared Sullinger recovered from first-half foul trouble to score 19 points and grab seven rebounds, helping Ohio State beat top-seeded Syracuse 77-70 on Saturday to advance to the Final Four in New Orleans. The second-seeded Buckeyes will play the winner of Sunday's Midwest Regional final between North Carolina and Kansas.

"We're not going down to New Orleans for a vacation. It's a business trip," said Sullinger, who picked up his second foul 6 minutes into the game and did not return the rest of the half. "These guys have played without me before, so they know what they have to do."

Deshaun Thomas scored 14 points with nine rebounds for Ohio State (31-7), which led by eight points with 59 seconds to play and held on after the Orange cut it to three. The Buckeyes made 13 of 14 free throws in the final 68 seconds and finished 31 of 42 from the line.

Ohio State is making its first trip to the Final Four since 2007, when it lost in the national championship game to Florida. They had lost in the regional semifinals in each of the past two seasons, and Matta wasn't even sure they would make it that far after a series of unimpressive practices.

When the Buckeyes, who spent five weeks as the No. 2 team in the nation, closed out February with three defeats in five games -- including a home loss to Wisconsin on Feb. 26 -- Matta had more reason to worry.

But he got the response he was hoping for.

"That loss opened their eyes and said, 'Hey, maybe we're not as good as we think we are,' " Matta said. "Maybe it got us pointed in the right direction."

Basketball Preview: #2 Ohio State vs. #1 Syracuse

Can the Buckeyes make the Final Four?

One of the old axioms of college basketball is that you play zone against a team that plays zone. Syracuse, which plays the best zone defense in the sport right now, has struggled recently against zones.

Ohio State coach Thad Matta, who on Saturday will be the next coach to try and solve the 2/3 when his second-seeded Buckeyes (30-7) meet the top-seeded Orange (34-2) with a berth in the Final Four at stake, was asked if he was thinking of trying to play zone against a zone.

"Not really. We're into Game 30, whatever it is. We kind of are who we are from that standpoint to be honest with you," he said Friday. 

"Going against a zone this week -- we felt like Cincinnati was going to play us like they did last night, the first half zone, and thought there was a chance we'd play Syracuse, so we went against zone in practice and left with a ton of confidence on offense because the zone was so bad. So we're not going to do that."

Syracuse's zone is far from bad, even when it's far from perfect.

Wisconsin pounded the zone with 14 3-pointers in the 64-63 East Regional semifinal loss to the Orange, but came up short down the stretch.

"I heard, I don't know when it was, a couple years ago, whatever, and I thought it was the greatest answer I've ever heard from Coach Boeheim," Matta recounted. "Somebody asked him what do you do when somebody gets really hot against your zone and they're making 3s? He said `How do you know they're not going to make them against man-to-man?' I think he has his philosophy, and he's only won 900 or however many games he's won. It works for him.

"Watching that game last night, he struck true to what he's done. Fourteen 3s, you might say, `Hey, that's good enough to get the job done.' Last night it wasn't."

Thomas, Sullinger Lead Buckeyes Past Cincinnati On Way To Elite Eight

Sullinger and the Buckeyes took over late

Jared Sullinger and the Ohio State Buckeyes had blown a 12-point lead and fallen behind Cincinnati in the second half of the East Region semifinals.

It was time for the "cool guys" to take a seat, and let the blue-collar team take over.

Sullinger scored 23 points with 11 rebounds and Ohio State turned back Cincinnati's last charge with a 17-1 run to beat the Bearcats 81-66 on Thursday night and advance to the NCAA regional finals for the first time since 2007.

"We've got two types of basketball teams: We've got the cool guys and then the blue-collar guys," Sullinger explained. "I thought to start the second half we got into the cool-guy mode and we kind of let our guard down. ... I mean, we just came out and decided to be cool guys, and they came out and they stung us, and then we got ourselves back into another basketball game."

Deshaun Thomas scored 26 points for the second-seeded Buckeyes (30-7), who will play Syracuse at the TD Garden on Saturday. Aaron Craft added 11 points -- all in the second half -- with five assists and six steals, taking charge during the second-half run that turned a four-point deficit into a double-digit lead.

Cashmere Wright scored 18 and Sean Kilpatrick had 15 for the No. 6 seeded Bearcats, who were attempting to match Big East rival Syracuse by beating a Big Ten opponent to advance to the East Regional finals. The top-seeded Orange advanced earlier Thursday by beating fourth-seeded Wisconsin 64-63.

It's the first trip to the regional finals for Ohio State since it lost in the 2007 championship game to Florida. The Buckeyes lost in the round of 16 in each of the past two years.

"Coach (Thad) Matta has been through two Sweet 16s where the train kind of stopped. And we wanted to make sure that this train was going to keep rolling," Sullinger said. "It's tremendous to be in a situation like this, and it's a blessing. But at the same time we can't lose focus."

Wearing fluorescent orange shoelaces and piping on their jerseys, Cincinnati (26-11) fell behind by 12 at the half before going on a 19-4 run early in the second. The Bearcats led 52-48 with 11:34 to play when Matta called a timeout and ripped into his team.

The Buckeyes allowed just one free throw over the next 5½ minutes.

Basketball Preview: #2 Ohio State vs. #6 Cincinnati

Craft stepped up big against Gonzaga

There are 347 schools playing Division I men's basketball. Thirteen are from Ohio. Four of those are among the 16 teams still playing in the NCAA tournament.

Only one calls itself The Ohio State University.

The flagship school from the leading basketball state in the nation -- in this tournament, at least -- will play Cincinnati on Thursday night in an East Regional semifinal that is as much a Battle of the Buckeye State as it is a chance to move one game closer to a national title.

"What I've felt all along is it's just a tremendous state for basketball," said Ohio State coach Thad Matta, who also coached at Miami of Ohio and Xavier before taking over the Buckeyes in 2004.

"I think a lot of times in the high school ranks it gets tabbed as a football state, just all the great players that they've put out. But just in the time that I've been there ... I've got a pretty good understanding of how passionate the fans are. It takes a lot of luck for four teams to get here, obviously. I think it speaks volumes to the level of basketball in the state."

Although it is bordered by hoops hotbeds Kentucky (a state with nine NCAA titles) and Indiana (five), Ohio hasn't really been considered a basketball state since placing a team in four straight championship games from 1960-63. (Ohio State won the first, then lost the next two to Cincinnati; the Bearcats returned in `63 and lost to Loyola of Chicago.)

Ohio State has won two football championships since then, but its appearance in the basketball title game in 2007 is the only one for the state since the `60s. Even -- gasp! -- Michigan, with three men's basketball championship since then, has more to show from its trips to the NCAA tournament.

"Ohio, everybody knows them as a football state. But we have a little bit of basketball talent inside those borders," said Buckeyes forward Jared Sullinger, a Columbus native who is one of three Ohioans among the top four scorers on the team. "It's just finally showing now."

And not just at Ohio State.

Team Effort Powers Buckeyes Past Gonzaga On Way To Sweet Sixteen

Thomas added 18 for the Buckeyes

Ohio State busted the original bracket buster.

Jared Sullinger scored 18 points, including two big baskets in the final 3 minutes to lead the Buckeyes past Gonzaga 73-66 on Saturday and into the round of 16 for the third straight year.

Deshaun Thomas also scored 18 for the second-seeded Buckeyes (29-7), while Aaron Craft added 17 points and 10 assists. Ohio State will play Florida State or Cincinnati in the East Regional semifinals in Boston on Thursday.

Gary Bell Jr. led No. 7 seed Gonzaga (26-7) with 18 points. The Bulldogs erased a 10-point deficit to tie it at 61 on a 3-pointer by Elias Harris with 4:05 remaining, but Sullinger knocked down two pretty hook shots late while the Zags went cold.

The steady play of Craft and some gritty defense in the final minutes helped Ohio State avoid becoming the third No. 2 seed to lose in less than 24 hours. Fellow heavyweights Duke and Missouri fell to upstarts on Friday from one-bid leagues.

Yet the Buckeyes knew the Bulldogs hardly are scrappy underdogs. They entered the game with 17 NCAA victories over the last 14 seasons, the same as the Buckeyes.

The 18th will have to wait until next year at least, though Gonzaga again showed the mettle that's made it perhaps the most successful mid-major program in the country.

The Bulldogs appeared to be out of it after a putback by Thomas gave the Buckeyes a 58-48 lead. Gonzaga responded with a 13-3 run capped by a 3-pointer from the corner by Harris.

Then Sullinger, who still thinks about last year's loss to Kentucky in the regional semifinals, took over. He backed down Gonzaga center Robert Sacre and hit a soft little hook shot from the right block to put Ohio State back in front.

Thomas, Buckeyes Blow Past Greyhounds On Way To Round Of 32

Thomas came up big against the Greyhounds

Ohio State used its size advantage to handle Loyola, Md., dominating the Greyhounds the way a No. 2 seed is expected to handle a 15 seed.

The Buckeyes made sure there wouldn't be a second scare at the Consol Energy Center.

Deshaun Thomas scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds -- one off his career best -- to lead Ohio State to a 78-59 victory Thursday night in the second round of the East Regional.

That was far different from top-seeded Syracuse's 72-65 victory over North Carolina-Asheville, a game that had many thinking it could be the first time a No. 16 seed beat a No. 1.

"Obviously this tournament is about advancing, and that's what we did tonight," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "I don't think we played at the level we need to. Our guys know that. Give Loyola a ton of credit for that. They came at us."

William Buford had 17 points and Jared Sullinger added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Buckeyes (28-7), who dominated the smaller Greyhounds inside, finishing with a 49-24 rebound advantage.

"Deshaun was excellent on the boards and also scoring the basketball," Sullinger said. "He pretty much carried this team. I don't think we would have won it without him."

Ohio State will play seventh-seeded Gonzaga in the third round Saturday. The Bulldogs beat 10th-seeded West Virginia 77-54.

Basketball Preview: #2 Ohio State vs. #15 Loyola (MD)

Sullinger is ready to go

Ohio State has four sophomore starters and one bad NCAA tournament memory.

The Buckeyes were knocked out of last year's tournament in the regional semifinals by a jumper by Kentucky's Brandon Knight with 5 seconds to play. A No. 1 seed last year, the Buckeyes felt their season ended way too soon.

A No. 2 seed this year, Ohio State starts a run at a 10th Final Four when it plays 15th-seeded Loyola (Md.) on Thursday night in the second round of the East Regional.

The Buckeyes (27-7) were a tri-champion of the Big Ten this season. Loyola (24-8) finished second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and won the conference tournament to seal its second NCAA tournament berth, 22 behind the Buckeyes.

Ohio State's Jared Sullinger was a first-team All-America last season as a freshman. He averaged 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds this season while earning All-Big Ten honors.

Sullinger sounded like someone who believes that when he talks about Loyola, which had the first 20-win season in school history in 2011-12.

Ohio State Pounds Rival Wolverines On Way To B1G Championship Game

(Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Jared Sullinger scored 24 points to help No. 7 Ohio State defeat Michigan (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today, No. 10 AP) 77-55 on Saturday in the Big Ten tournament semifinals.

Deshaun Thomas scored 22 points and William Buford added 10 for the third-seeded Buckeyes (27-6), who advanced to play No. 8 Michigan State in the final on Sunday. Michigan State defeated Wisconsin (No. 12 ESPN/USA Today, No. 14 AP) 65-52 in the other semifinal on Saturday.

The Buckeyes shot 49 percent from the field to earn a shot at their third straight Big Ten tournament title.

Tim Hardaway, Jr., led No. 2 seed Michigan with 13 points, but he made just 3 of 10 shots. Trey Burke, Michigan's other star player, scored five points on 1-for-11 shooting and had eight turnovers

The Wolverines (24-9) shot 31 percent from the field, made just 4 of 25 3-pointers and committed 18 turnovers in one of their worst offensive performances of the season.

Buckeyes Push Boilermakers Out Of Tournament, Advance To Next Round

Sullinger led the Buckeyes to an 88-71 win

Jared Sullinger still relishes carrying the load. Sullinger had a season-high 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to help No. 7 Ohio State beat Purdue 88-71 on Friday night in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.

Sullinger defers more often than he did last season, sharing the spotlight with Deshaun Thomas and William Buford. This time, it was his show.

Thomas had 22 points and seven rebounds and Buford scored nine of his 11 points in the second half for the third-seeded Buckeyes (26-6). Ohio State shot 61 percent to post its second-best scoring output of the season and outrebounded Purdue 39-28.

The Buckeyes will play No. 10 Michigan on Saturday. The Wolverines defeated Minnesota 73-69 in overtime in an earlier quarterfinal.

D.J. Byrd scored 20 points and Terone Johnson added 15 for the Boilermakers (21-12). Robbie Hummel, Purdue's top scorer, finished with six points on 2-for-8 shooting.

The Boilermakers made 12 of 26 from 3-point range but were overwhelmed by Ohio State's size and athleticism in the paint.

Purdue missed its first five shots to fall behind 7-0, and the deficit increased to 19-11 before the Boilermakers rallied. Byrd hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to cut Ohio State's lead to 33-30.

Hummel stuffed Sullinger's shot on one end and Anthony Johnson made a 3-pointer on the other end to trim Ohio State's lead to 35-33. Sullinger's 3-pointer with 34 seconds left in the first half gave the Buckeyes a 40-36 lead at the break.

Tuesday's Buckeye Bits

Good morning fellow Buckeye honks! Welcome to yet another addition of Buckeye Bits.

Basketball Fever- It's tournament week! Well, it's the tournament before the real tournament but a tournament nonetheless. It was nice to win the showdown in East Lansing over the weekend but to secure a #1 seed next week, the Buckeyes will probably have to advance to the Big Ten title game.

 They might even have to win it to earn that coveted seed. Oh well. As long as Buford shows up like he did on Sunday, I'm fairly confident that the Buckeye's can make a run this March.

Are you going to the games?- Columbus will once again play host for a portion of the NCAA tournament. Attending one of these is definitely on my bucket list. I'm not sure I can concinve my boss that this is a good reason to call off this year but if your in a better situation, here is where you can find ticket info.

Tuesday's Buckeye Bits

Hello again fellow Buckeye fans. Welcome to another edition of "Buckeye Bit's". We are here to scour the Internet in an effort to pick out some interesting tidbits for you, our loyal reader. Hopefully you find our efforts worthwhile in this barren wasteland we call the offseason. Let's get to it. 

Armageddon? While wasting away at my office on Monday, I came across this scary little article. I am a total space, history and sports buff so anything that falls within those categories quickly catches my eye. What does it have to with the Buckeye's you might ask? 

Hell, I don't know but it's interesting nonetheless. If scientists just found this thing last year, imagine how many other threats exist out there in space. I'm going to need at least 2 championships from Urban before we all die in a hail of asteroids so let's get to it coach! Oh, looks like he has. 

Basketball Preview: #8 Ohio State vs. #16 Wisconsin

Buford is playing his last home game

Despite its recent losses, Ohio State remains in contention for another Big Ten title. Another subpar performance against a ranked opponent, though, might all but end those championship hopes. The eighth-ranked Buckeyes will try to keep those alive by getting past No. 16 Wisconsin in their final home game of the season Sunday.

Ohio State (23-5, 11-4) has split its past four games -- with both of those losses against Top 25 teams -- and is 1 1/2 games behind Michigan State in the conference race. The Buckeyes, seeking their fifth title in seven seasons and third in a row, will visit the Spartans on March 4 to conclude the regular season.

After shooting 38.8 percent in a 56-51 loss at rival Michigan on Feb. 18, Ohio State bounced back with a 65.3 percent performance -- its second-best this season -- in an 83-67 rout of visiting Illinois on Tuesday. The Buckeyes made 11 of their first 12 shots in that game.

Deshaun Thomas finished with a team-best 19 points while making six of his eight shots, and William Buford had 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

Buford, who has been a part of 108 wins over his four seasons, will be the only Buckeyes player participating in his final home game. The senior guard is 34 points shy of surpassing Michael Redd for fifth on the school's scoring list.

Basketball Preview: #8 Ohio State vs. Illinois

The Buckeyes need to pull together

The Illinois Fighting Illini will begin their difficult end to the season tonight with a visit to Value City Arena to battle the eighth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in Big Ten Conference action.

Illinois improved its series record versus the Buckeyes to 103-69 on January 10th with a 79-74 victory over Ohio State at Assembly Hall. Brandon Paul had the third-best scoring performance in Illinois basketball history in the contest as he poured in 43 points after he drained seemingly impossible shots with regularity for 40-straight minutes.

Since the big win over the Buckeyes, Illinois has been struggling, going 1-8. Strangely enough, the Fighting Illini's only win during that span came against the Big Ten Conference's leading Michigan State Spartans. Head coach Bruce Weber's squad saw its overall record drop to 16-11 on Saturday after an 80-57 setback courtesy of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The fifth straight loss for Illinois was caused by a 36-4 run by Nebraska which spanned two halves. 

Basketball Buckeyes Fall At Michigan

Cold shooting left the Bucks with an L

More than 17 hours after Beilein showed up at the Crisler Center with doughnuts for the fans, Michigan (No. 19 ESPN/USA Today, No. 17 AP) finished off a 56-51 victory over No. 6 Ohio State. (Ed. Note That gives Ohio State a 2-game losing streak against teams from TSUN)

The Wolverines (20-7, 10-4 Big Ten) are 15-0 at home and tied with the Buckeyes for second place in the Big Ten, a half-game behind Michigan State.

The star of the night was a true freshman who was introduced to the fired-up crowd as "The pride of Columbus, Ohio, Trey Burke."

Burke finished with 17 points, including a game-clinching runner with 11 seconds left that helped Michigan stop a six-game losing streak to the Buckeyes.

Basketball Preview: #6 Ohio State vs. #19 Michigan

Can Sullinger and OSU bounce back?

The memory of another frustrating loss to rival Ohio State last month remains vivid in the collective minds of the Michigan basketball team.

With that defeat as motivation, the No. 17 Wolverines try to avoid a seventh consecutive loss to the sixth-ranked Buckeyes on Saturday night in a Big Ten matchup at Crisler Arena.

Michigan (19-7, 9-4) trailed by three at halftime at Ohio State on Jan. 29, but the Buckeyes used a 14-2 run midway through the second half to win 64-49. By the end of the game, Buckeye fans added insult to the result by singing "We Don't Give A Damn For the Whole State of Michigan."

The rematch is here, in a prime-time setting and on a court where the Wolverines have won 15 straight dating to last season. The Buckeyes are going to be tested coming off of their recent loss to Michigan State.

Michigan State Handles Buckeyes, Snaps 39-game home streak

The two best coaches in the B1G.

With four minutes to play and Ohio State trailing Michigan State by eight points, Jared Sullinger went up for a basket against former AAU teammate Adreian Payne. It looked like Sullinger was hacked on his way to the rim, but a charge call sent Value City Arena into a frenzy of boos. OSU head coach Thad Matta looked daze and confused while Jared’s dad, Satch, glared at the court with his hands on his hips.

For the first time in 40 games, the Buckeyes (21-4, 9-3) fell on their home floor, 58-48, to Michigan State (20-5, 9-3), and in the process blew a chance for a two-game lead in the Big Ten standings.

Ohio State opened the game with a 9-4 lead, but both teams struggled to find a rhythm offensively. Sullinger finished with a triple-double, but not the kind he will put on his résumé. The Buckeyes’ star sophomore grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds to go with 17 points, but also turned the ball over 10 times in the loss. It did not help that Sullinger’s teammates were largely ineffective against the Spartan defense.