Buckeyes top Badgers to win title

No. 2 Ohio State edged No. 1 Wisconsin in the final seconds, 49-48.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Mike Conley Jr. stepped out of Greg Oden's lengthy shadow at just the right time.
Conley drove the lane and made a runner with four seconds left to give No. 2 Ohio State a 49-48 victory over top-ranked Wisconsin Sunday, clinching the Buckeyes' second consecutive Big Ten title.
"I had a feeling I was going to get the ball," said Conley, son of the 1992 Olympic triple-jump gold medalist. "I just went to the hole and it worked out for us."
The Buckeyes are likely to climb to the top spot in The Associated Press rankings for the first time since Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek and a sub named Bob Knight were ranked No. 1 throughout the 1962 season.
"I hope it motivates us," coach Thad Matta said. "I hope it continues to pour gas on our fire."
Badgers had lead
Alando Tucker, Wisconsin's candidate for conference player of the year, had given the Badgers the lead with just under a minute left when he scored inside off Jason Chappell's dump pass.
Chappell then blocked a shot by Ron Lewis before Wisconsin's Kammron Taylor was sent to the line in the bonus situation with 20.3 seconds left. Taylor's first attempt spun off the rim.
After a timeout, the Buckeyes (26-3, 14-1) passed around the perimeter before Conley, a freshman who has spent his career in the shadow of 7-foot high school and college teammate Oden, scissored through the lane and tossed up a soft shot that balanced on the rim before falling.
"If you've got a point guard like Conley, he's going to try to penetrate," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "We were trying to make him take a tough shot."
Tough week for Wisconsin
The Badgers (26-4, 12-3), who lost both games this week after becoming No. 1 for the first time, inbounded to Taylor who drove the length of the floor and tried an off-balance 15-footer at the buzzer. Oden got a piece of it before Lewis, a senior playing his final home game, swatted it away.
"I didn't know I was going to block it until he put it right in my face," Lewis said with a wide grin while wearing a Big Ten championship hat and T-shirt.
Taylor looked to the officials, hoping to hear a whistle. But there was no call and within seconds a capacity crowd flooded the court in celebration.
"I was just trying to get to the basket and draw some contact but it didn't work out," Taylor said. "It feels bad. We worked so hard, and then to have it go through your hands like that -- it hurts."
Ivan Harris led the Buckeyes with 13 points, with Oden and Conley each scoring 11.
Crowd pleads with Oden
Amid speculation he might turn pro after his freshman year, the crowd serenaded Oden with a chant of "One More Year!" as the Buckeyes assembled on the floor to accept the conference championship trophy.
"I thought they were talking about Ivan!" Oden cracked.
Pressed for an answer, he said, "That's a decision that's going to be made later on in the year."
Tucker, averaging 20.2 points, was held to 12. Reserve Jason Bohannon went 3-for-3 from 3-point range and finished with 11 points. Taylor scored 10.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.