Ohio State Defeats Penn State For Second Straight Big Ten Tournament Title

Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) – William Buford led the way with 18 points and Jon Diebler finished with 15 points and six rebounds, as top-ranked Ohio State won the Big Ten Tournament title with a 71-60 decision over Penn State.

Freshman sensation Jared Sullinger posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards for No. 1 seeded Ohio State (32-2), which beat Minnesota in last year’s Big Ten championship game. Diebler made 3-of-5 from three-point range and added six rebounds.

The Buckeyes, who were playing in their fifth Big Ten title game in the last six seasons, earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. But as the No. 1 team in the country, they were going no matter what.

Talor Battle ended with a game-high 24 points for sixth-seeded Penn State (19-14), which had downed Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan State to earn its first-ever appearance in the conference title game. Jeff Brooks was the only other Nittany Lion to score in double-figures, finishing with 19 points and six boards.

Big Ten Tournament Bracket: Penn State Faces Ohio State In Championship Game

The Penn State Nittany Lions will continue their cinderella run and try to cement their place in the NCAA tournament as they face the nation's #1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in the final of the Big Ten tournament today at 3:30 PM on CBS. This is the first ever Big Ten tournament finals appearance for Penn State, who are looking to qualify for their first NCAA tournament berth in a decade.

While the Nittany Lions could take away any selection sunday suspense by winning the Big 10's automatic bid today, there's a good chance that their strong conference tournament run might already have done enough to punch their ticket to the big dance. Their wins in the past three days over Indiana, Wisconsin & Michigan State gave them the quality wins away from home their resume lacked.

Ohio State is looking for its league leading fourth Big 10 conference tournament and second in a row. This is their third straight appearance in the Big 10 title game, a conference record, and their fifth appearance in the past six seasons. After earning a first round bye the Buckeyes have knocked off Northwestern and Michigan en route to the final.

OSU has won 15 straight games over Penn State and bring the Big 10's top offense, defense and shooting percentage into the final. Oddsmakers have installed the Buckeyes as a 10.5 favorite.

Big Ten Tournament Bracket: Penn State Upsets Michigan 61-48

The Penn State Nittany Lions upset Michigan State in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament and may very well have punched their ticket to the big dance as well. Just one day after they managed just 36 points in a win over Wisconsin, the Penn State offense looked far more effective as they scored an emphatic 61-48 upset win over the Spartans.

Talor Battle led the Nittany Lions again with 25 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Tim Frazier also had a big night with 22 points, 8 boards and 6 assists. After ending the first half tied at 26, Penn State came storming out with a 16-7 run to open the second half. They never relinquished that lead and down the stretch the game was never really in doubt.

The win means Penn State secures its first ever Big Ten championship game appearance. They will face the conference and the nation’s #1 seed Ohio State. With a win, Penn State earns the conference’s automatic bid tot he NCAA tournament. However, their performance in the tournament may have already earned them an at large bid even if they lose.

Big Ten Tournament Bracket: Semifinals Preview

The Big Ten Tournament rolls in in Indianapolis this weekend as the semifinals get underway at 1:40 today. The first matchup features the #1 overall team in the nation, Ohio State, taking on Michigan. They've already met twice this year with the Buckeyes winning both, however both games were competitive with Ohio St winning by 4 in Ann Arbor and 9 at home. Michigan is hot coming into the Big 10 tourney having won 9 of 12, but almost no one is hotter than Ohio State, winners of 30 of their last 32.

Penn State advanced with a win over the #13 ranked Wisconsin Badgers in a game that the Big 10's official blog referred to as a 36-33 "thriller." Not sure whether they meant that tongue in cheek or not, since it's hard to describe a game where the winning team scored 36 points as "thrilling." Maybe in football...

Michigan State surprised Purdue to give them their 4th win over a ranked opponent this year. Coach Tom Izzo said he was proud of the way his team bounced back on short rest.

"I’m really proud of this team for what they came back from. I thought last night, you know, they were so tired when we got back, and I felt like we’ve been emotionally drained… I thought my assistants and my players did an incredible, incredible job of prepping for this game with personnel."

Here's today's schedule.

Saturday March 12

Ohio State Buckeyes vs Michigan Wolverines 1:40pm CBS

Michigan State Spartans vs Penn State Nittany Lions following game one CBS

Big 10 Tournament Bracket: Penn State Beats Wisconsin Despite Scoring Only 36

Penn State set a record and just may have punched their tournament ticket all in one night, although that doesn’t mean Nittany Lion fans will be celebrating. Penn State beat Wisconsin to advance in the Big 10 tournament by a score of 36-33. That’s no joke. That was the score. At the end of the game. Really.

Penn State went into the locker room with a 20-16 lead and the two teams would combine for just 33 points in the second half. To say it was an ugly game is an understatement to say the least. Penn State shot just 33.3% from the floor, which was only slightly better than the 29.4% the Badgers shot. No Nittany Lion even score in double figures with Talor Battle leading the way with 9. They didn’t get a single point from their bench.

The question is what if anything the win means for Penn State’s tournament chances? Coming into the Big 10 tourney they were on the very outside of the bubble needing a strong run to get into the dance. Well, a trip to the semifinals qualifies as a pretty strong run. As Black Shoe Diaries noted today, Penn State’s tournament resume had one major hole.

At this point, the Lions’ resume is pretty complete. It boasts solid RPI and Strength of Schedule numbers and has enough quality wins to wow the selection committee. The glaring hole is the lack of a big road/neutral site win, and should Penn State achieved on against the No. 13 Badgers on Friday, it will have gone a long way toward filling it.

They got the win and the hole is filled, but does that mean they’ll go dancing? Nothing is guaranteed yet, but a win over Michigan State tomorrow in the semifinals just might do the trick.

Big 10 Tournament Bracket: Penn State Beats Indiana 61-55 To Advance

Penn State Basketball made an important addition to their tournament resume with a 61-55 win over Indiana in the first round of the Big 10 tournament. The Nittany Lions, who are on the very edge of the bubble, need a strong showing in their conference tournament to secure an NCAA tournament bid. In fact, one more win just might be enough to get them dancing.

Senior forward Jeff Brooks led the way for the Nittany Lions with 15 points and 7 boards, while Talor Battle and Andrew Jones supplied 13 and 12 respectively. Christian Watford was the only Hoosier in double figures with 15.

Penn State advances to face the #3 seeded Wisconsin Badgers tomorrow at 9 pm on the Big Ten Network. The Nittany Lions beat the Badgers 56-52 in State College earlier this year, but lost by 10 when the two met in Madison. So this is a big opportunity in a game Penn State can really win with a tournament berth likely on the line.