Buckeyes Set for B1G Semifinal vs. No. 4 Michigan State Saturday

The Basics

The Ohio State men's hockey team will take on No. 4-ranked Michigan State in a Big Ten Tournament semifinal game at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Mich.
The Buckeyes are the No. 7 seed, with the Spartans the No. 1 seed. Ohio State upset No. 2 Wisconsin in a three-game quarterfinal series last weekend, while the Spartans had a quarterfinal bye after winning the regular season title.
The semifinal game will be televised by BTN and available through the Fox Sports app. Ohio State Radio will carry the action on 1460 AM and the Ohio State Buckeyes app. Live statistics can be linked from OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
The series winner will advance to the Big Ten Tournament final, set for March 23 and hosted by the highest remaining seed. An Ohio State win would send the Buckeyes to the winner of the other semifinal between No. 3 seed Minnesota and No. 4 Michigan.
Ohio State is 14-19-4 on the year and Michigan State is 22-9-3 this season.

Buckeye Notes to Know

In the regular season, the Buckeyes were 1-3 vs. the Spartans. Michigan State posted a sweep in Columbus Nov. 3-4 (6-0, 6-4). In East Lansing Feb. 23-24, the teams split, with a 6-2 Buckeye win and 5-2 Spartan victory.
The Buckeyes are 4-0 vs. Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament, with quarterfinal wins in 2014 and 2016 when the tournament was single-elimination at neutral sites and a quarterfinal series sweep in 2018 in Columbus.
Ohio State won games one and three 3-1 at Wisconsin last weekend, with a 4-2 loss in the second game. It was the third year in a row the Buckeyes faced a game three, with a loss vs. Penn State in 2022 and a win vs. the Nittany Lions in 2023.
The Buckeyes' game three win at Wisconsin was the 1,000 victory in program history.
Defenseman Scooter Brickey is second among NCAA defensemen with 13 goals this year. He is the first Buckeye blueliner with 10+ goals since Ryan Root in 1997-98.

Buckeyes In the Big Ten Tourney

The Buckeyes are 15-12 all-time in Big Ten Tournament action.
Ohio State was the first No. 7 seed to win a game (and series) last weekend at Wisconsin.
Ohio State is 2-2 in true road games in B1G Tournament play, with the series last weekend and a 2023 semifinal loss at Michigan.
The Buckeyes have now advanced to the semifinals nine times (with the 2020 game canceled), with a 2-5 record. Last year Ohio State advanced with a game-three quarterfinal series win vs. Penn State.
Ohio State has never won the Big Ten Tournament, reaching the title game twice (2014, 2018).
The program has two conference postseason tournament titles, winning the CCHA in 1972 and 2004.

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