Written by David Regimbal

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Jared Sullinger dominated for the second consecutive day, this time scoring 22 points and six rebounds in a 77-55 rout of the No. 10 Michigan Wolverines. The victory gives Ohio State a chance to win its third consecutive Big Ten tournament title, but the Buckeyes will have to earn it against No. 8 Michigan State in the championship game Sunday afternoon.

Ohio State’s semifinals matchup hardly looked like a clash between two teams that shared the conference title. The Buckeyes dominated every step of the way -- building a 10 point lead in the first half that it never lost in the second. The Buckeyes shot 52% from the field and held Michigan to just 28% with 18 turnovers.

Michigan coach John Beilein had no choice but to give Ohio State credit, "I've seen some really good teams that have played some really good games," Beilein said. "That's as good of a game as I've ever seen a college team play."

Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas continued to do the most damage, combining to score 46 of Ohio State’s 77 points. They were a collective 19-29 from the field -- and with that kind of efficiency from the frontcourt -- it’s hard for shooting teams like Michigan to keep pace.

The Buckeyes’ were also flawless in the defense of standout point guard Tre Burke. Burke, who earned Freshman Player of the Year honors last week, was stifled by Craft all game. Burke scored just five points (10 under his season average) and didn’t hit his first shot from the field until the seven minute mark in the second half. That was a wild departure from the 30 points he scored in an overtime victory over Minnesota in the quarterfinals. Burke also had a career-high eight turnovers against just four assists.

Craft deflected the credit to his teammates, "It was definitely a team effort tonight. I tried to not make it about me against him," Craft said. “Everyone did a good job of zoning out, but not giving up easy baskets. He is a great player and fortunately enough today, he didn't make too many shots."

Michigan struggled behind the 3-point line as well, hitting just four of their 25 shots behind the arch. When you combine that with Ohio State’s domination in the paint, Michigan never had a chance in this one.

It was all Ohio State in the first half. Sullinger got things going early for the Buckeyes, just like he did against Purdue, and scored eight of Ohio State’s first 10 points. Michigan connected on their first shot -- a jumper from Tim Hardaway Jr. -- but the Wolverines went cold after that. Ohio State’s defense stifled the Wolverines’ attack as they went eight scoreless minutes from the field. During that stretch, Michigan missed nine straight shots and turned the ball over three times as the Buckeyes built a 16-3 lead.

The Wolverines got going a bit and scored six straight points to make it 16-9, but the Buckeyes stayed true to their game-plan and forced the ball into the paint. Sullinger and Thomas continued to dominate down low as they combined to score 24 of Ohio State’s 34 first half points. Sullinger was the hot man though, hitting an array of low post shots on his way to 16 first half points.

The Buckeyes shot 52% from the field while holding Michigan to just 28% shooting through 20 minutes. In fact, the Wolverines had more turnovers (8) than they did field goals made (7) as the Buckeyes entered the locker room at half time with a 34-21 lead.

Ohio State kicked off the second half with a quick 10-3 run that pushed the lead to 20. The Wolverines struggled to get anything going, scoring just six points in the first eight minutes of the second half. During that stretch the Wolverines shot just 2-10 with seven turnovers. Matta and the Buckeyes coasted through the final 12 minutes of the game for the easy 22 point victory.

The Buckeyes are set to play a surging Michigan State team in the championship game today at 3:30. The Spartans have beaten their two opponents (Iowa and Wisconsin) by an average of 15 points, and these two teams are clearly the class of the conference. No team on Ohio State’s schedule guards Sullinger better than the Spartans, so Ohio State’s perimeter players will have to hit some shots in order to give the Buckeyes its third consecutive tournament title.

(Photo credit - Jim Davidson - TheOzone.net)

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