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No. 5 Ohio State pounded Minnesota 90-61 on Sunday
in the Big Ten championship game.


      Ohio State (27-7) made nine 3-pointers in the second half to
pull away after leading by just three points at halftime. David
Lighty scored 20 points and Jon Diebler added 19 for the Buckeyes,
who tied the record for largest victory margin in a Big Ten
tournament game.


      Lawrence Westbrook scored 17 points and Devoe Joseph added 14
for Minnesota (21-13), which had beaten Purdue by 27 on Saturday.


      Evan Turner did a little bit of everything. He made four 3-pointers
and several acrobatic layups, and had six assists. After one layup,
during which he was fouled, Ohio State fans started chanting M-V-P.
He averaged 27.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists in the
tournament.


      Minnesota had won four straight games and seven of nine, but
struggled defensively for the first time in the tournament. The
Golden Gophers held their first three opponents to combined 36
percent shooting in the tournament, and had locked down Purdue in a
69-42 victory on Saturday. Ohio State shot 58 percent on Sunday.


      Minnesota beat No. 11 Michigan State and No. 6 Purdue to reach
the final. The sixth-seeded Golden Gophers were trying to become
the second team to win four games in four days to win the title.
Sixth-seeded Iowa did it in 2001.


      Consecutive 3-pointers by Turner and Diebler gave the Buckeyes a
24-18 lead and forced Minnesota to call time out.


      A steal and two-handed jam by Diebler gave the Buckeyes a 28-21
lead, but Minnesota came back with a 3-pointer by Joseph at the
halftime buzzer to cut the Buckeyes' lead to 33-30. Both teams shot
poorly for most of the first half, but warmed up toward the end.


      The Buckeyes opened the second half with an 8-0 run.
Three-pointers by Turner and Buford helped Ohio State take a 41-30
lead


      Minnesota responded with a 7-0 spurt, highlighted by a 3-pointer
by Joseph, to trim Ohio State's lead to 41-37 just over 4 minutes
into the second half.


      Turner hit another 3-pointer, then Lighty made consecutive
layups to push the Buckeyes' lead back to 11 points midway through
the second half, and the rout was on.

Gallery

Gophers basketball rolls past No. 6 Purdue 69-42

Sports

No. 5 Ohio State pounded Minnesota 90-61 on Sunday
in the Big Ten championship game.


Gophers drop Big Ten title game

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