Indianapolis, IN – The third-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes will look to return to the title game for the fourth straight season as they take on the second seeded Michigan Wolverines in the semifinals of the Big Ten Conference Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
This is the third meeting of the season between these two teams, as each team defended its home floor in the season series. The Buckeyes hold a 91-71 lead in the all-time series. The Buckeyes had won the last six meetings before Michigan's 56-51 victory in Ann Arbor in Feb. 18. The rivals finished the season tied with each other and Michigan State for first place in the Big Ten standings.
Thad Matta is looking to lead the Buckeyes to their third straight Big Ten Conference Tournament title. Ohio State began its postseason on Friday with an 88-71 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers. The Buckeyes shot 61 percent from the floor to post their second-best scoring output of the season and held a 39-28 advantage in the rebounding battle with the Boilermakers. Ohio State has seem to recovered and returned to its championship contender form. The Buckeyes have found success this season on both ends of the floor as they are ranked second in the Big Ten in both scoring offense (75.0) and scoring defense (58.9).
Michigan did not have an easy time with the 10th-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Wolverines came back to earn a 73-69 overtime victory after Tubby Smith's team threatened their tourney title hopes. Coach John Beilein will need his team to submit a much better rebounding effort in this one, as the Golden Gophers held a decisive 37-25 advantage in the rebounding battle. Although Michigan has been great overall this season, it is just 9-7 in games away from home. Four Wolverines played 40 minutes or more in Friday's victory.
The Buckeyes' quarterfinal victory over Purdue was powered by their star forward Jared Sullinger. The sophomore sensation scored a season-high 30 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the contest. Sullinger carries team- leading averages of 17.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Point guard Aaron Craft has increased is scoring output at the right time. Craft scored in double figures in four of the last five games, which is icing on the cake considering he already led the team in assists and earned the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award. William Buford and Deshaun Thomas will need to continue their strong offensive play for OSU to advance.
Craft will have the task of slowing down Trey Burke. The Wolverines' freshman point guard scored 30 points on Friday in his postseason debut. Burke came up big when it mattered most, as he scored nine of his 30 points in the overtime period. His backcourt mate Tim Hardaway Jr. added 20 points in the victory as well. Evan Smotrycz only had three points on Friday, but they were the most important three points of the game for Michigan, as he made his only shot of the game to tie up the score with 12 seconds left to send it into overtime.
