OSU wins Big Ten tourney
Published 4:37am Monday, March 15, 2010INDIANAPOLIS — Evan Turner didn’t need any late-game heroics on Sunday.
When it appeared there was nothing more he could do to make his Big Ten tournament performance better, the junior had 31 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 5 Ohio State over Minnesota 90-61 in the championship game.
Turner hit a 37-foot shot at the buzzer to beat Michigan in the quarterfinals, then scored 12 of his 31 points after regulation in a double-overtime win against Illinois in the semifinals. He topped it by setting the tournament record for points in a championship game and was the obvious choice as the tournament’s most outstanding player.
Ohio State (27-7) made nine 3-pointers in the second half to pull away after leading by just three points at halftime. David Lighty scored 20 points and Jon Diebler added 19 for the Buckeyes, who tied the record for largest victory margin in a Big Ten tournament game.
Ohio State coach Thad Matta said Turner’s weekend was as good as he has seen. The point guard averaged 27.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists in three games.
Matta told Turner to take over the game, and he responded with 22 points in the second half.
“When you look at the body of work over the weekend, I mean, this has to go down as probably — I know I’ve been in this league for six years,” Matta said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
