Ohio State defeats Wisconsin for 13th victory, 77-67

COLUMBUS (AP) -- Jamar Butler and Je'Kel Foster took turns making critical shots down the stretch to lead No. 19 Ohio State to a 77-67 victory over No. 15 Wisconsin on Wednesday night.
The loss ended Wisconsin's seven-game Big Ten winning streak and dealt a defeat to the last unbeaten Big Ten team.
The Buckeyes (13-2, 3-2) had a balanced attack, with Boardman High graduate Terence Dials scoring 15 points and Ron Lewis, Butler and Matt Sylvester each adding 14.
Kammron Taylor and Alando Tucker each scored 21 points for the Badgers (14-3, 4-1), with Tucker shooting 9-of-22 from the field.
OSU goes on run
With the Buckeyes on top 44-43 and 14 minutes remaining, the Buckeyes ran off eight straight points. Butler hit two free throws, seldom-used sub Ivan Harris hit a 3 from the left corner and Butler made a 3 early in the possession to push the lead to 52-43.
Ohio State, which beat a ranked team for the first time in three tries this season, never trailed again.
The Badgers pulled to 65-61 with just under 6 minutes left on Brian Butch's 15-foot jumper, but then Foster came out of his slump. He hit the second of two free throws. After a miss by Tucker, he came out of an inbounds play to hit a 3-pointer from the right side. After two more Wisconsin misses, Ohio State went inside to Dials and he hit a baseline turnaround over Jason Chappell for a 71-61 lead with 3:33 left.
Neither team shot the ball well the rest of the way, trading missed free throws and errant 3-pointers.
Foul line helps OSU
Four free throws by Taylor cut the lead to 72-65 heading into the final minute, with Lewis hitting three foul shots and Foster and Butler each adding one to keep the Buckeyes in control.
Butch added 11 points for Wisconsin, which had beaten Ohio State in its last three trips to Columbus. Butch twisted his left ankle on a defensive rebound with 6:34 left in the first half and was helped to the locker room, but came back to play most of the second half.
Wisconsin had its worst shooting game of the season, hitting 38 percent (25-of-66). The Buckeyes, meanwhile, came out of a shooting slump by making 54 percent.
The teams were tied at 31 at halftime after three ties and 11 lead changes.
Wisconsin was without two reserves. Freshman forward Marcus Landry, who had played in every game and averaged 6.4 points and 3.1 rebounds, was declared ineligible for the game. No reason was given for the ineligibility.
Backup center Greg Stiemsma was on what was called a "leave of absence for personal medical reasons." Neither player made the trip to Columbus. A Wisconsin spokesman would not elaborate on the reasons for their absence.