National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Ohio St. 68, Michigan 61
When: 1:40 PM ET, Saturday, March 12, 2011
Where: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials: # Ed Hightower, # Gene Steratore, # Ted Valentine
Attendance: N/A

Jared Sullinger had 14 points and 13 rebounds and top-ranked Ohio State used two big runs to pull out a 68-61 victory over Michigan in a Big Ten semifinal at Indianapolis on Saturday.

William Buford and Jon Diebler scored 16 apiece for the top-seed Buckeyes (31-2), who will play Penn State in Sunday's final.

Darius Morris scored 16 and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 15 for the fourth-seeded Wolverines (20-13), who most believe have done enough to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The Buckeyes appear to have locked up the overall No. 1 seed in next week's tournament.

Ohio State used an 11-0 run which started at the end of the first half and carried over into the second to take a an 11-point lead. Sullinger started the burst with a power layup inside, and Diebler ended the first-half scoring with a layup down the lane after he blocked a shot by Morris.

DeShaun Thomas opened the second-half scoring with a 3-pointer, Sullinger added another power hoop inside and Buford drained a pull-up jumper to provide Ohio State a 38-27 lead with 16:12 left.

Morris and Hardaway started picking up the pace, scoring seven apiece as Michigan closed within 47-45 with 9:53 left before Ohio State scored 16 unanswered points to build some cushion.

Buford had six points in the burst and Aaron Craft, who spent most of the first half on the bench in foul trouble, drained a 3-pointer and two free throws that capped the spurt with 4:45 to play.

Sullinger, who was double-teamed on the low block by the smaller Wolverines all afternoon, shot 5 of 13 from the floor and 4 of 10 from the foul line.
Top Game Performances
 
Michigan   Ohio St.
Darius Morris 16 Scoring Jon Diebler 16
Darius Morris 3 Assists Aaron Craft 3
Zack Novak 6 Rebounds Jared Sullinger 13
Tim Hardaway, Jr. 3 Free Throws Made Aaron Craft 4
Jordan Morgan 1 Steals Jared Sullinger 2
Jordan Morgan 2 Blocks Dallas Lauderdale 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Michigan 61 37.3 9-29 8-10 10 27 2 4
Ohio St. 68 46.3 5-14 13-23 11 34 6 5