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Buckeyes battle streaking Golden Gophers for Big Ten title

Sun 14th, March 2010

Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - An unlikely matchup will take place at Conseco Fieldhouse, as the sixth-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers will battle the top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes in the championship game of the Big Ten Conference Tournament.

Minnesota is one step away from claiming its first-ever Big Ten Tournament championship, and even though the top-seeded Buckeyes stand in the way, the Golden Gophers are riding a tremendous wave of momentum. The Gophers dominated Penn State in the opening round (76-55), but that was nothing compared to the team's next two wins. In the quarterfinals, the Golden Gophers defeated the third-seeded Michigan State Spartans, 72-67, in overtime, and if that was not impressive enough, Minnesota completely dominated the second-seeded Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday, winning by a 69-42 margin.

Ohio State, which claimed the Big Ten regular season title with a 14-4 league record, is looking to erase the memory of last season's loss to Purdue in the championship game. Ohio State has won this event twice however, with the last title coming in 2007. The Buckeyes avoided disaster in the quarterfinals with a last second, 69-68, victory over Michigan, and followed that win with an 88-81 decision over Illinois in double overtime on Saturday.

In regard to the all-time series between the two schools on the hardwood, the Buckeyes own a commanding, 75-55 edge over Minnesota. Earlier this season the Golden Gophers defeated Ohio State, 73-62, but the Buckeyes responded with an 85-63 victory over Minnesota on January 31st. The two teams have never clashed on a neutral site, but when ranked, the Buckeyes are an outstanding 21-3 against Minnesota.

The Golden Gophers used the perfect time of the season to put forth their best showing at the defensive end of the court, as Minnesota held Purdue to just 42 points in the semifinal victory. Minnesota simply dominated the Boilermakers in the first half, limiting Purdue to just 11 points on a horrific 18.5 percent shooting effort. Overall, the Gophers held Purdue to a woeful 27.6 percent clip from the floor and that included an equally poor 2-of-14 showing from behind the arc. At the other end of the floor Minnesota shot 48.0 percent overall and was paced by Ralph Sampson III, who finished with 13 points. Colton Iverson added 11 points off the bench, while Devoe Joseph tallied 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists. On the season however, the Gophers have been led by Lawrence Westbrook, who is averaging 12.5 ppg. Blake Hoffarber is contributing 10.5 ppg, while Damian Johnson is posting 10.1 ppg.

The Buckeyes needed double overtime, but eventually Ohio State was able to avoid another scare by pushing past Illinois, 88-81. Ohio State shot 47.8 percent from the floor in the matchup, and also connected on 9-of-25 shots from behind the arc. Evan Turner continues to show why he is one of the best players in the nation, as the guard poured in 31 points, to go along with 10 rebounds. However, Turner was not flawless in this contest, as he finished the game with 10 turnovers. William Buford also finished with a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Jon Diebler and David Lighty helped out with 14 and 12 points, respectively. While the Buckeyes possess a few options offensively, the team is clearly led by Turner, who comes into this title game pacing the squad with 19.9 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 160 assists and 49 steals. Buford is contributing 14.5 ppg and has also dished out 104 assists for Ohio State, which as a whole is producing 73.8 ppg on the season.