National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Ohio St. 67, Northwestern 61
When: 12:00 PM ET, Friday, March 11, 2011
Where: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials: # Mike Sanzere, # Gerald Williams, # Terry Wymer
Attendance: N/A

Jared Sullinger had a rough day shooting from the floor but nailed all 10 of his free throws in overtime as No.1 Ohio State survived a scare from Northwestern, 67-61, in a Big Ten quarterfinal matchup Friday.

Sullinger shot just 2 of 12 from the floor, but his size was too much to overcome on the low box, as the Buckeyes (30-2) repeatedly fed the burly power forward down the stretch. The Big Ten Freshman of the Year converted 16-of-18 free throws overall, and the Buckeyes advanced to Saturday’s semifinal against the Michigan-Illinois winner.

Sullinger hit six free throws and sharpshooter Jon Diebler hit his only 3-pointer with 2:22 left in overtime to give Ohio State a 61-55 edge with 2:22 left. Sullinger hit four more shots from the charity stripe to close it out. He finished with 20 points and 18 rebounds. Aaron Craft added 17 points and seven rebounds.

John Shurna scored 23 points to lead the Wildcats (18-13), and Michael Thompson, who scored a career-high 35 against Minnesota on Thursday, added 15.

Ohio State closed the first half on a 9-0 run to forge a 28-23 lead. Five points would also be its biggest lead of the second half. Northwestern’s biggest lead was 49-46 with 4:48 remaining in regulation.
Top Game Performances
 
Northwestern   Ohio St.
John Shurna 23 Scoring Jared Sullinger 20
Michael Thompson 3 Assists Aaron Craft 2
Drew Crawford 10 Rebounds Jared Sullinger 18
John Shurna 6 Free Throws Made Jared Sullinger 16
Alex Marcotullio 1 Steals William Buford 2
John Shurna 2 Blocks David Lighty 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Northwestern 61 37.3 7-21 16-18 7 24 6 2
Ohio St. 67 32.2 3-15 26-32 3 41 7 4