Buckeyes Secure Road Victory, Share Of Big Ten Championship – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/4/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 4, 2000%^$
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – After a grueling final six games, Ohio State is perfectly%^$happy sharing the Big Ten basketball title with Michigan State.%^$
“We are thrilled that we were able to get at least a share of the%^$championship of this conference,” Ohio State coach Jim O’Brien said after the%^$Buckeyes beat Minnesota 82-72 on Saturday.%^$
“For our guys to get through these last three weeks is an incredible%^$accomplishment.”%^$
George Reese matched his career high with 25 points and Michael Redd scored%^$17 as the Buckeyes (22-5 overall, 13-3 Big Ten) won their fifth straight game%^$to win a share of the league title with No. 7 Michigan State, which beat%^$Michigan 114-63 on Saturday.%^$
“We’ll share it with them, sure,” said Redd, who scored 17 points, ending%^$a string of four straight 20-point games. “Who cares? Congrats to them, but we%^$won, too.”%^$
The Buckeyes have won 10 outright Big Ten titles, the last in 1992, and have%^$shared six.%^$
Ohio State lost at Michigan State 83-72 on Feb. 15, but then reeled off five%^$straight victories, including road defeats of Indiana and Penn State.%^$
Ohio State will be the top-seeded team in next weekend’s Big Ten tournament%^$by virtue of a tiebreaker formula.%^$
Redd said the Big Ten regular season crown meant nearly everything to him,%^$no matter what happens during the tournament in Chicago.%^$
“We only lost three conference games, that speaks a lot,” Redd said.%^$”This is better than anything except the Final Four.”%^$
“I think it’s more significant because you have to do it against everybody,%^$on the road and over the long haul,” O’Brien said.%^$
O’Brien said his players didn’t know the Michigan State score until after%^$their own game.%^$
“It was all about us versus Minnesota,” he said. “We didn’t talk about it%^$until after the game. Then everyone was happy and jumping around the locker%^$room.”%^$
The loss was the sixth straight for Minnesota (12-15, 4-12) and was its%^$second in three days to a top 10 team. Minnesota lost at Michigan State 79-43%^$on Thursday.%^$
“I think we feel a whole lot better than we did Thursday night,” Minnesota%^$coach Dan Monson said. “Nobody likes to lose, but these young men can be proud%^$of what they did against one of the top teams in America. Life isn’t about%^$everything being good for you.”%^$
Scoonie Penn added 11 points for Ohio State, including a 3-pointer early in%^$the first half that gave him 144 for his career, three shy of Neshaun Coleman’s%^$record.%^$
Shane Schilling led Minnesota with 16 points and Terrance Simmons had 15.%^$
The Gophers gave Ohio State all it could handle in the early going, tying%^$the game 21-21 at 9:35 on Kyle Sanden’s 3-point basket and trailing just 31-28%^$with five minutes to play.%^$
The Buckeyes scored 11 of the final 13 points in the half, six by Reese, to%^$lead 42-31.%^$
Mitch Ohnstad and Simmons hit back-to-back 3-pointers in a 14-3 run early in%^$the second half as Minnesota closed to 48-45.%^$
Redd then scored five straight points in an 18-2 run that gave the Buckeyes%^$a 66-47 cushion.%^$
“Well, they’re good,” Monson said in explaining how Ohio State roared%^$back. “Good teams are going to make runs. The difference tonight was that it%^$(the deficit) didn’t turn into 25. It went back to 10.”
