Buckeyes Win Big Ten Tournament Championship – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 10, 2002%^$
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%^$%^$Final Stats%^$%^$
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J. O’Brien I%^$ J. O’Brien II%^$ B. Brown and B. Savovic
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By DAN GELSTON
Associated Press Writer%^$
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The heads of the Ohio State basketball players were%^$shiny and round. So was the Big Ten championship trophy they hoisted over their%^$cropped craniums.%^$
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Boban Savovic scored a career-high 27 points as No. 21 Ohio State beat Iowa%^$81-64 Sunday to win its first Big Ten tournament championship.%^$
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The Buckeyes (23-7) finished in a four-way tie for first in the regular%^$season with Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. They had won only one game ever in%^$the conference tournament before defeating Michigan and No. 10 Illinois to%^$reach their first championship game.%^$
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The Buckeyes are seeded fourth in the NCAA tournament’s West Regional and%^$will play 13th-seeded Davidson (21-9) in Albuquerque, N.M.%^$
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Each Buckeyes player shaved his head before the tournament as a sign of%^$unity and a shared commitment toward breaking free of the logjam atop the%^$conference standings.%^$
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“We wanted to prove that of the four teams that won a championship, we were%^$truly the outright champion,” said Brian Brown, who was named to the%^$all-tournament team. “We made a big statement by shaving our heads, and we%^$wanted to back it up with big play.”%^$
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Savovic came up with one of the first big plays against Iowa (19-15),%^$opening the game with a 3-pointer. However, he only made one of his next five%^$3-point attempts, leading to a halftime lecture from coach Jim O’Brien. Ohio%^$State went 4-for-13 from 3-point range in the half.%^$
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“We became too 3-point happy,” O’Brien said. “We took a bunch of quick%^$3’s, and I don’t think we made them guard us enough. If you’re going to take%^$those shots, you can knock them out. The downside is when those shots are not%^$going, you give them a chance to stay in it. I asked them to be more%^$selective.”%^$
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An early 14-point lead was sliced to 37-29 at halftime. The Hawkeyes,%^$knowing a tournament title was the only way they would make the NCAA%^$tournament, opened the second half with six straight points, pulling to 37-35.%^$
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Luke Recker, the hero of Iowa’s wins over Wisconsin and Indiana, hit two%^$2-pointers and Brody Boyd added one to keep Iowa within three with 9:55 left.%^$
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But there were no more comebacks for the Hawkeyes, who had won seven%^$straight tournament games. Fatigue and sloppy play set in, and Ohio State%^$jumped all over them. The Buckeyes pressed and forced a championship-game%^$record 19 turnovers.%^$
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Ohio State got two 3-pointers from a more patient Savovic, the tournament%^$MVP, and went on a 21-8 run to put the game away.%^$
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“The first half, I took a lot of bad shots and coach let me know that I%^$needed to keep my composure and wait for a good opportunity,” said Savovic,%^$who went 8-for-14 from the field.%^$
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Iowa coach Steve Alford said the Buckeyes had more energy down the stretch%^$than his physically and mentally fatigued team.%^$
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“We had made a run up to that 10-minute mark,” he said. “I thought we%^$were making a pretty good run at them. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”%^$
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Brent Darby scored 14 points for Ohio State and Terence Dials added 11.%^$Savovic, Brown and Darby were named to the all-tournament team from Ohio State.%^$
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Recker scored 21 points and Reggie Evans had 13 for Iowa. Both rounded out%^$the all-tournament team.
