Ohio State Buckeyes go for Big Ten title vs. Minnesota
The Minnesota Golden Gophers had a very disappointing ending to the regular season, putting their hopes for an ncaa tournament bid in peril after a promising start. All will be forgiven though if they can knock off the Ohio State Buckeyes on the Big Ten Championship Game today, thus earning the automatic berth. They may be catching Ohio State at a good time to, as the Buckeyes have struggled the last two games.
It’s been a trying year for Tubby Smith and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. But they can make it all go away Sunday; the Gophers are one win away from the Big Ten championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. All they have to do is beat the No. 5 team in the AP rankings, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
They’ve already done it once this year. These two teams split their regular-season series home and away, with the home side winning handily both times. But the Gophers (21-12 SU, 17-15 ATS) nearly disappeared off the map after their 73-62 triumph over the Buckeyes (+4) back on January 9. Minnesota followed that up by going 2-6 SU and 0-8 ATS, including an embarrassing 85-63 loss at Ohio State (-7).
The Buckeyes (26-7 SU, 16-17 ATS) had more than just homecourt advantage going for them in that second meeting. This is junior swingman Evan Turner’s first year at point guard, and he’s handled the move remarkably well with 19.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game.
Although Turner is also a premium defender, it’s taken him some time to adjust to the position switch, and Turner lost most of December to fractured lumbar vertebrae. His first encounter with the Gophers was just his second game back in uniform.
Both Turner and Ohio State have taken off since that Minnesota loss at 15-2 SU (9-8 ATS). However, wrapping up the Big Ten regular-season title early meant that the Buckeyes went into the conference tournament rusty after a full nine days off. It nearly cost them. Turner had to hit the game-winner from nearly 40 feet out to beat the Michigan Wolverines (+9) 69-68 in the quarterfinal. Then the Buckeyes had to sweat through two overtimes before earning an 88-81 victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini (+7.5) in the semis.
Meanwhile, no rust on the Gophers – they finished the regular season 4-2 SU and 5-1 ATS, then took the standard three days off before entering the Big Ten tourney as the No. 6 seed. All 11 teams in the conference get to play, so Minnesota warmed up against the No. 11 Penn State Nittany Lions in the opening round.
The Gophers (-5.5) brushed aside the Lions 76-55, then pulled off a pair of upsets against the Michigan State Spartans (-4) and the shorthanded Purdue Boilermakers (-2.5). If you believe in momentum, Minnesota has all of it.
There shouldn’t be any concern about the Gophers being overworked, either. Smith has used his depth all year long to overcome the loss of blue-chip recruit Royce White to theft charges. None of Minnesota’s players has come close to logging 30 minutes per game this season. Thad Matta is at the opposite end of the spectrum, leaning heavily on his starting rotation – only two of the 347 teams in Division I have used their reserves less than the Buckeyes.
Turner (34.8 minutes per game) is one of four Ohio State players playing well over the 30-minute mark. However young and fresh these legs may be, playing three games on three days takes its toll, especially on a team of shooters that rarely get to the line. The Gophers already have the advantage in this department regardless of rest.
They’re No. 8 in the nation in 3-point shooting at 40.5 percent (Ohio State is No. 26 at 38.3 percent), splitting the airborne duties among their three-guard set of Lawrence Westbrook (42.1 percent), Devoe Joseph (39.0 percent) and specialist Blake Hoffarber (48.0 percent).
This could be a very big problem for Ohio State on Sunday. Turner’s perimeter defense has improved with every game, but the Buckeyes still rank No. 172 in Division I by allowing opponents to hit 34.1 percent of their threes. The Gophers were 11-of-23 from downtown in their first game against OSU and 4-of-11 in their second. Something in between should be enough for Minnesota to grab the cash in the rubber match.
The first betting odds on the board after Saturday’s action had the Buckeyes laying four points at Conseco Fieldhouse with a total of 130. Tip-off is at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on CBS.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers had a very disappointing ending to the regular season, putting their hopes for an ncaa tournament bid in peril after a promising start. All will be forgiven though if they can knock off the Ohio State Buckeyes on the Big Ten Championship Game today, thus earning the automatic berth. They may be catching Ohio State at a good time to, as the Buckeyes have struggled the last two games.
It’s been a trying year for Tubby Smith and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. But they can make it all go away Sunday; the Gophers are one win away from the Big Ten championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. All they have to do is beat the No. 5 team in the AP rankings, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
They’ve already done it once this year. These two teams split their regular-season series home and away, with the home side winning handily both times. But the Gophers (21-12 SU, 17-15 ATS) nearly disappeared off the map after their 73-62 triumph over the Buckeyes (+4) back on January 9. Minnesota followed that up by going 2-6 SU and 0-8 ATS, including an embarrassing 85-63 loss at Ohio State (-7).
The Buckeyes (26-7 SU, 16-17 ATS) had more than just homecourt advantage going for them in that second meeting. This is junior swingman Evan Turner’s first year at point guard, and he’s handled the move remarkably well with 19.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game.
Although Turner is also a premium defender, it’s taken him some time to adjust to the position switch, and Turner lost most of December to fractured lumbar vertebrae. His first encounter with the Gophers was just his second game back in uniform.
Both Turner and Ohio State have taken off since that Minnesota loss at 15-2 SU (9-8 ATS). However, wrapping up the Big Ten regular-season title early meant that the Buckeyes went into the conference tournament rusty after a full nine days off. It nearly cost them. Turner had to hit the game-winner from nearly 40 feet out to beat the Michigan Wolverines (+9) 69-68 in the quarterfinal. Then the Buckeyes had to sweat through two overtimes before earning an 88-81 victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini (+7.5) in the semis.
Meanwhile, no rust on the Gophers – they finished the regular season 4-2 SU and 5-1 ATS, then took the standard three days off before entering the Big Ten tourney as the No. 6 seed. All 11 teams in the conference get to play, so Minnesota warmed up against the No. 11 Penn State Nittany Lions in the opening round.
The Gophers (-5.5) brushed aside the Lions 76-55, then pulled off a pair of upsets against the Michigan State Spartans (-4) and the shorthanded Purdue Boilermakers (-2.5). If you believe in momentum, Minnesota has all of it.
There shouldn’t be any concern about the Gophers being overworked, either. Smith has used his depth all year long to overcome the loss of blue-chip recruit Royce White to theft charges. None of Minnesota’s players has come close to logging 30 minutes per game this season. Thad Matta is at the opposite end of the spectrum, leaning heavily on his starting rotation – only two of the 347 teams in Division I have used their reserves less than the Buckeyes.
Turner (34.8 minutes per game) is one of four Ohio State players playing well over the 30-minute mark. However young and fresh these legs may be, playing three games on three days takes its toll, especially on a team of shooters that rarely get to the line. The Gophers already have the advantage in this department regardless of rest.
They’re No. 8 in the nation in 3-point shooting at 40.5 percent (Ohio State is No. 26 at 38.3 percent), splitting the airborne duties among their three-guard set of Lawrence Westbrook (42.1 percent), Devoe Joseph (39.0 percent) and specialist Blake Hoffarber (48.0 percent).
This could be a very big problem for Ohio State on Sunday. Turner’s perimeter defense has improved with every game, but the Buckeyes still rank No. 172 in Division I by allowing opponents to hit 34.1 percent of their threes. The Gophers were 11-of-23 from downtown in their first game against OSU and 4-of-11 in their second. Something in between should be enough for Minnesota to grab the cash in the rubber match.
The first betting odds on the board after Saturday’s action had the Buckeyes laying four points at Conseco Fieldhouse with a total of 130. Tip-off is at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on CBS.
