Nittany Lions First Hurdle In Buckeyes’ Big Ten Title Quest – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/10/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 10, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio State is poised to finally come up big in the Big Ten tournament.
The first step of the journey begins Friday at the United Center against Penn State in the quarterfinals.
The fourth-ranked Buckeyes (22-5) have had little success in the two previous Big Ten tournaments, winning just one game. However, this is the first time in the tournament’s three-year history Ohio State enters as the top seed, and it faces a Penn State team it has already beaten twice this season.
The Buckeyes took down the Nittany Lions 88-75 at home, and last week in Happy Valley, 79-73, giving Ohio State an 11-10 advantage in the all-time series. The latter win snapped a five-game losing streak on the road against Penn State.
After reaching the Final Four last year, Ohio State earned a piece of the conference’s regular-season title this season, tying fifth-ranked Michigan State. With a Big Ten tourney title, Ohio State could all but assure itself of an all-important No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
“If you can go through this league and co-champ it and then go through your postseason tournament and win that, how much more can you do as a member of one of the elite conferences?” Buckeyes coach Jim O’Brien said. “I think that in itself should give us some consideration.”
But Ohio State can ill-afford to look past Penn State, which is seeded ninth. Last year, 11th-seeded Illinois arrived in Chicago and upset three Top 25 teams before losing to Michigan State in the title game.
The Nittany Lions advanced to the quarterfinals with a 76-66 win over Michigan on Thursday, behind Joe Crispin’s 22 points.
Gyasi Cline-Heard added a season-high 18 as Penn State benefited from Michigan’s overly aggressive play. For the seventh time this season, Michigan had more personal fouls (27) than field goals (23).
