Haven't We Met Before

Ohio State begins its Big Ten Tourney Title defense Friday afternoon. Their first opponent in the tournament? Their last of the regular season, of course. The Buckeyes play Michigan State for the second time in six days and the third time this season. The home team won each time. Bucknuts has a nice preview here.

The Buckeyes get a small break being the 5th seed, as opposed to 6th or lower, in that they do not have to play today. Because there is no home court advantage, both the Buckeyes and Spartans are each ostensibly 4th seeds.

If you care to get ahead of yourself, head over to Big Ten Fever for some interesting, homegrown Bracketology.

Ohio State’s all-time record in the Big Ten Tourney is 13-8, and they won the title twice: 2002, 2007. With that in mind, I thought I would look back at five memorable Ohio State performances in Big Ten Tournament.

1. Ohio State 94, Illinois 88 (2002): As a sign of unity, the Buckeyes shaved their heads prior to the tournament. It worked. Jim O’Brien collected his 100th win at Ohio State as he guided their first Big Ten Tournament Title Game. Each team was lights out from the floor (Ohio State – 57%; Illinois – 55%) but the difference came at the free throw line where the Buckeyes were 27-of-36, knocking down 19-of-24 in the second half.

2. Ohio State 58, Wisconsin 50 (2003): Ohio State limped into the conference tourney with a 15-13 record and snuck by Iowa in the opening round. The game started badly for the Buckeyes, who were big underdogs, but they abandoned the zone defense and went to man-to-man, and the Badgers couldn't figure it out. Wisconsin grabbed a lead early in the second half but the Ohio State defense held them scoreless for nearly five minutes to go ahead for good. Wisconsin had plenty of chances down the stretch but committed costly turnovers and could capitalize on OSU’s mistakes.

3. Ohio State 66, Wisconsin 49 (2007): Mike Conley and Ron Lewis led the Buckeyes to a deceptively easy win and their second Big Ten Tournament Title. The Badgers shot poorly and committed 12 turnovers and 17 fouls. Greg Oden only played 22 minutes but did not matter. OSU took a 4-2 lead a minute and a half into the game and never trailed.

4. Ohio State 81, Iowa 64 (2002): This game clinched Ohio State’s first tournament title. The Buckeyes forced a tournament-record 19 turnovers and Boban Savovic scored a career-high 27 points. As the Buckeyes dominated most of the game. Savovic, named tournament MVP, spurred a 21-8 second half run to put it away.

5. Ohio State 55, Michigan State 54 (2003): The Buckeyes continued the momentum from their victory over the top-seeded Badgers, but it almost did not happen. Ohio State avoided a huge collapse when Charles Bass banked in a free throw with 6 seconds remaining to give Ohio State its final lead. OSU led by as much as 19 in the first half as they held Michigan State to15 percent shooting. Ohio State returned the favor making just two field goals in the last 17:09, the final basket coming with eight minutes to play.

NCAA Basketball Pool: Feel like battling the rest of Buckeye Nation in an NCAA Tournament Pool? Here’s your chance. Buckeye Commentary has started a NCAA Pool on ESPN. Follow this link to join the group. It is a public group so you will not need a password.

Obviously, there is no entry fee to play and therefore no pot of money but do not let that deter you from signing up and making friendly wagers amongst yourselves. See you in Bracketville.