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1 p.m. ET: Minnesota Visits Columbus Aiming To Sweep No. 20 Ohio State
Columbus, OH (Sports Network) - William Buford poured in 26 points and Evan Turner added 19, leading 20th-ranked Ohio State to an 85-63 victory over Minnesota at Value City Arena.
Jon Diebler also scored 19 points for Ohio State (16-6, 6-3 Big Ten), which has won five of its last six games and has captured five straight wins within the conference since a 73-62 loss at Minnesota on January 9. The Buckeyes' lone loss since that contest was a 71-65 setback to West Virginia.
Minnesota (13-8, 4-5), meanwhile, has lost four of its last five since that victory over the Buckeyes earlier this month. The Golden Gophers were coming off a 65-61 win against Northwestern on Tuesday.
Rodney Williams scored 13 points off the bench to lead the Gophers, while Ralph Sampson III chipped in 11. Minnesota entered the contest with the top field goal defense in the Big Ten at 38.6 percent, but the Buckeyes shot a blistering 63 percent from the field in the lopsided victory.
Minnesota kept it close for the first six minutes before a dunk by Buford put the Buckeyes ahead for good. It ignited a 12-2 run that Turner capped with a bucket for a 23-13 edge.
The Gophers clawed to within five at 27-22, but a Buford three-pointer started a 15-4 Buckeye burst. Two free throws by Diebler gave Ohio State a 42-26 cushion, and the Buckeyes went into the break with a comfortable 49-35 advantage.
Minnesota never challenged in the second half. Ohio State built a 61-41 margin on a three-pointer by Buford 4 1/2 minutes into the stanza, and the lead reached 27 a couple of minutes later on a dunk by David Lighty.
The Buckeyes cruised from there and eventually led by as many as 28.
Buford made 10-of-14 shots, including a 4-of-5 performance from three-point range...Diebler hit 5-of-9 three-point tries...Lighty finished with 11 points in the victory...Minnesota shot 51 percent overall...Ohio State improved to 13-0 at home this season, while Minnesota fell to 1-5 on the road...The Buckeyes lead the all-time series, 75-55, including wins in six of the last seven matchups at home...Ohio State honored its 1960 national championship team at halftime. Members of that squad included Bob Knight, Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek.
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