Whatever the sport, by now you should expect a classic finish whenever the Wisconsin Badgers and the Ohio State Buckeyes square off. Sunday was obviously no exception, with the Badgers avenging a home loss earlier this month with a 63-60 win in Columbus.
No. 16 Wisconsin Vs. No. 8 Ohio State: Badgers Pull Out Upset On The Road
The Wisconsin Badgers scored an upset over the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday, thanks to some timely 3-point shooting from 7-footer Jared Berggren.
Ohio State’s loss gave Michigan State at least a share of the Big Ten title.
In their previous meeting, Jordan Taylor accounted for just 12 points, and the Badgers shot 18.5 percent from beyond the three-point arc in a 58-52 loss. Poor shooting from long range has been Wisconsin's nemesis for much of the season, but they were sharp Sunday, connecting on 8-of-21. As for Taylor, he turned in arguably his best performance of the season with 19 points (including 6-of-7 from the free throw line) and four rebounds while matched up with one of the country's best defenders in point guard Aaron Craft.
After taking a 42-41 lead midway through the second half, Wisconsin went 4:20 without a point. The Buckeyes went on a nine-point run for their largest lead of the night, 50-42, before Jared Berggren hit a three-pointer to end the drought and spark a comeback. Jordan Taylor hit a three and a jumper to help put the Badgers up 52-51 with 3:50 left in the game.
The two teams traded blows until the final minute of the game. Jared Sullinger hit a turnaround shot over the 7'0 Berggren to put the Buckeyes up two with 49 seconds to go. Berggren redeemed himself immediately on the next possession, however, drilling a three-point dagger to put the Badgers up for good.
Berggren was then fouled while pulling in the defensive rebound off of a missed DeShaun Thomas three-pointer. He made his free throws to account for Wisconsin’s final five points of the game. He finished with 18 points on the day, 10 of which came in the final eight minutes of the game.
Sullinger, who left the game briefly late in the second half with what appeared to be a calf issue, was held to just eight points and six rebounds. Thomas led the Buckeyes with 23 points and William Buford (15 points, nine rebounds) continues to play well since his dud against Michigan last week.
The Badgers close out the regular season with home games against Minnesota and Illinois on Wednesday and Sunday. The Buckeyes played their final home game, and will hit the road to face Northwestern on Wednesday and Michigan State on Sunday.
For more on the Badgers, head over to the SB Nation blog Bucky’s 5th Quarter. For more on the Buckeyes, check out Along The Olentangy. Stay tuned to our college basketball hub for more news and results from around the country.
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