Big Ten Tournament 2013: Wisconsin, Ohio State battle for conference championship

The second half was back and forth with no team leading by more than three points until an eight-point run by Ohio State gave the Buckeyes a 47-41 lead with under three minutes to play.

In the first half, a 14-point Wisconsin run gave the Badgers a 20-13 lead, but Ohio State answered back. The Buckeyes closed the half on an 8-point run of their own led by Thomas to close the gap at the break to one point, 24-23.

The two teams split their regular season series, with the home team winning both times. In the last matchup, Wisconsin shut down Craft, who made only 2 of 9 field goals, and won 71-49. It’s that kind of withering defense that will make the Badgers a threat to make serious noise in the dance.

Time and TV listing: 3:30 PM ET, CBS

Wisconsin, the No. 4 seed playing the top-seeded Hoosiers, have now won 12 games in a row in the series. It’s a streak that dates back to Kelvin Sampson’s tenure as Indiana’s coach, and current coach Tom Crean is now 0-10 against the Badgers. The Badgers held Indiana, which averages over 80 points a game, to its lowest output of the season. The 12-point loss was Indiana’s worst of the year.

“We knew we were capable of having success against this team if we stuck to our rules and played our style of basketball,” center Jared Berggren said.

Coach Tom Crean has never figured out Wisconsin’s grind-it-out style of play as the Badgers beat the Hoosiers for the 12th consecutive time. It is the longest win streak anyone has had against Indiana since 1919, and once again made sure the Hoosiers wouldn’t win their first Big Ten tournament title.

The Badgers will go on to face the winner between Michigan State and Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament championship final on Sunday.

The Badgers aren’t even that great a team scoring the ball, but Ryan’s patented swing offense spreads the ball evenly and leads to methodical opportunities. On Friday, they were a tale of two halves, coming out completely stagnant and managing only 17 points, then busting out for 51 in the second half as they pulled away for a 68-59 win over Michigan. If they can do their job against Indiana’s unreal offense, they have a shot of moving on to the finals.

Here’s the info on Saturday’s match-up:

Game time, TV: 4 p.m. ET, CBS

Location: United Center, Chicago, Ill.

Iowa was up, 47-35, with 10:26 left in the second half before the Wolverines’ offense came to life with a 22-2 run that included the Harris three pointer.

Iowa shot 46 percent from the floor without a single player recording double figures, helped by 24 bench points. They held Michigan State’s offense under 40 percent from the field, but also allowed 14 offensive rebounds.

Nebraska kept the game competitive for the first 20 minutes, trailing by only five after the first half. Ohio State ran away from Nebraska during the second half, outscoring the Cornhuskers 26-5 during the first eight minutes.

Ohio State turned in an extremely efficient offensive performance, shooting 59 percent from the field overall while sinking nine of their 17 shots from behind the three-point line.

Friday’s quarterfinal started slowly, but No. 3 Indiana soon took control of the game, using Zeller and stifling defense to grab a 35-21 halftime lead. The Illini finally got their offense going in the second half, but they had little answer for the Hoosiers’ offense and size advantage. Indiana shot 54.0 percent from the field and outrebounded Illinois, 33-20.

Indiana all but locked up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with the victory, and they will play the winner of Wisconsin and Michigan in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Illinois is safely in the NCAA Tournament despite the loss.

Fifth-seeded Michigan will look to avenge that heartbreaking loss on Friday afternoon when they take on fourth-seeded Wisconsin in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago. The Badgers have won 12 of the last 13 meetings between the two teams.

Despite finishing the regular season with a 26-6 record and a No. 6 ranking, the Wolverines were forced to play in the first round of the tournament due to finishing tied with the Badgers in conference with a record of 12-6. Michigan easily handled the 12th-seeded Penn State Nittany Lions 83-66 on Thursday, avenging a stunning defeat on Feb. 17. The Nittany Lions only won two Big Ten games all year, with their first coming against the Wolverines.

The Big Ten Tournament is likely only going to get better the longer it goes, and Friday’s quarterfinal round offers the biggest display of some of the country’s high-tier teams.

In their only regular season meeting of the season, Illinois stunned Indiana with a last-second layup to win, 74-72, on Feb. 7.

The Big Ten has been college basketball’s most competitive conference for the duration of the 2012-13 season. That being the case, it’s only fitting that the opening game of the league’s postseason tournament was decided at the final horn.

Following a Minnesota turnover, No. 8 seed Illinois took over possession with just under 16 seconds to play. Head coach John Groce elected not to call timeout, and instead allowed star guard Brandon Paul to make a play on his own. It’s a decision that greatly pleased Gus Johnson, and the rest of the viewing public.

via Rob Dauster

After being dominated in the first 20 minutes, scoring a season-low 16 first-half points, the Gophers came alive in the second half to take the lead. Paul found his shot in the final seconds, though, hammering home a mid-range jumper to ignite a celebration in the United Center.