William Buford (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Wow. After scraping past Wisconsin yesterday, not only did the Buckeyes upset the Michigan State Spartans today, but they handily defeated them. Going in nearly a double-digit underdog, Evan Turner’s second half provided the 12-point win for the Scarlet and Gray as they head into the conference finals to play the winner of Purdue/Illinois.
As I mentioned in a response to the guys at Eleven Warriors (via Twitter), I think Ohio State would be able to win the rubber match against the Boilermakers.
Illinois guard and assists/steals leader Chester Frazier is slated to miss the rest of the tournament with a hand injury. Perhaps both Purdue and Ohio State could capitalize on this one.
Some numbers to mention:
- Evan Turner’s 18 points all came in the second half. He also added 10 boards, five assists, a steal and two blocks.
- Michigan State guard, and Big Ten Player of the Year, Kalin Lucas scored 17, but only managed one assist while turning it over twice.
- Jon Diebler was big from downtown, draining five of his 10 three-point shots to finish with 17 points of his own.
- And we had a B.J. Mullens sighting, as the big man notched 12 points and two blocks in 15 minutes off of the bench.
A big win, no doubt. Let’s keep it going through tomorrow and on to the NCAA tournament.
