Buckeyes bounce Wolverines

Jared Sullinger scores 24 points to help advance Ohio State to Big Ten title contest

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS

In less than five minutes, Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger had Michigan on the ropes.

The bruising 265-pound forward scored eight of Ohio State’s first 10 points to set the tone. Once Michigan started double teaming to compensate, other Buckeyes took advantage.

Sullinger scored 24 points, Deshaun Thomas scored 22 points and William Buford added 10 to help No. 7 Ohio State defeat No. 10 Michigan 77-55 on Saturday in the Big Ten tournament semifinals.

Sullinger sensed he was breaking Michigan’s spirit with his early success.

“When I feel that, I understand that my teammates are going to come down to me,” he said. “I started passing it out and [Michigan] didn’t know what to do. I think it’s awesome when you can keep a defense on its toes.”

Ohio State’s performance left an impression on Michigan coach John Beilein.

“I’ve seen some really good teams that have played some really good games,” he said. “That’s as good of a game as I’ve ever seen a college team play.”

The third-seeded Buckeyes (27-6), advanced to play No. 8 Michigan State in the final this afternoon.

Michigan State defeated No. 14 Wisconsin 65-52 in the other semifinal on Saturday to set up what in boxing lingo is a title unification bout.

Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan tied for the conference regular-season title. Michigan has been knocked out of the tournament, and now, just two remain, each with the chance to claim both the regular-season and tournament titles and become an undisputed champion.

There’s more. With No. 3 Kansas and No. 6 Duke already having lost in conference tournaments, the door to a No. 1 seed might be open for the winner.

“I really don’t care,” Sullinger said. “The NCAA — if we’re No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3, we just want to get there. We just want to play.”

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 while being guarded primarily by Aaron Craft, the conference’s defensive player of the year.

“It was definitely a team effort tonight,” Craft said. “I tried to not make it about me against him. Everyone did a good job of zoning out, but not giving up easy baskets. He is a great player and fortunately enough today, he didn’t make too many shots.”

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.