Buckeyes get 20th win, likely NCAA tourney bid

COLUMBUS (AP) — The day after Ohio State lost its captain and most experienced player, coach Thad Matta walked into a staff meeting and wrote a magic number of wins on the blackboard.

Almost three months later, and still without David Lighty, his Buckeyes met that lofty goal.

Evan Turner hit two jumpers down the stretch and Jon Diebler added two clinching free throws as Ohio State beat Northwestern 52-47 on Sunday to hang on for its 20th win and likely grab a NCAA tournament berth.

The Buckeyes (20-9, 10-8), who nearly blew a 12-point second-half lead, will be the No. 5 seed and Northwestern No. 9 at the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.

“Don’t repeat this,” Matta joked after the win. “We got the staff in and I drew the No. 20 up. And I said, ‘Fellows, we’ve got to find a way to get 20 wins in the regular season with this team.’

“It’s kind of been a joke as we’ve been inching through the season. They’ve been saying, ‘We remember the number you wrote.’ ”

The number was particularly special for Matta, since it kept his streak of 20-win seasons intact.

He’s now 9-for-9 as a head coach. He also believes his team deserves to be in the NCAA tournament no matter what happens this week at the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.

“You start with the non-conference and what we tried to do, from the standpoint of who we played,” he said before listing several opponents the Buckeyes beat who may already be in the NCAA tournament.

“Most importantly, we got 20 wins and didn’t play in a [tournament] this year. I don’t know how many teams across the country who have 20-plus wins can say that.”

Turner had 17 points, Diebler and William Buford 11 apiece and B.J. Mullens 10 for the Buckeyes, who had no seniors to honor at their final home game of the year.

Asked if the Buckeyes were in the NCAA field, Turner said, “I’m not really worried about it, but I don’t see why not.”

Craig Moore scored 18 points — including a late four-point play — for the Wildcats (17-12, 8-10). Kevin Coble added 13 and Michael Thompson 12.

“They hung in there,” coach Bill Carmody said of his players after they ended up tying for the most regular-season wins at the school. “Things weren’t going their way but they figured out a way to get the game right down to the last play. We’ll go from here.”

The Buckeyes barely survived several Northwestern chances to force overtime.