CHICAGO (AP) — Sean McNeil scored 17 points, Justice Sueing added 16 and 13th-seeded Ohio State held on to defeat 12th-seeded Wisconsin 65-57 on Wednesday night to open the Big Ten Tournament.

The Buckeyes (14-18), who had a 27-point lead with 15 1/2 minutes to play, face fifth-seed Iowa in the second round on Thursday.

Bruce Thornton added 15 points for Ohio State, which went 1 for 8 from the field in the final 10 minutes and missed six free throws, including the front end of two 1-and-1’s in the final four. Brice Sensabaugh had nine points and 11 rebounds.

Tyler Wahl had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Connor Essegian scored 11 for the Badgers (17-14), who were 8 of 31 through almost 35 minutes before going 12 of 23 when they closed within 57-52 with 2:13 to go.

Ohio State turned it over, but Max Klesmit missed a 3-point attempt that could have cut it to two. McNeil made two free throws with 1:20 left for the Buckeyes. After that they were just 4 of 8 until Roddy Gayle Jr. made a pair with 11.2 to play to seal it.

Wisconsin, which has been to 22 of the last 23 NCAA Tournaments, went 1 of 8 in the final two minutes and finished at 34%, going 4 of 22 from 3-point range. Ohio State was 6 of 13 from long range and shot 52% overall but had 16 turnovers and allowed Wisconsin 15 offensive rebounds.

Thornton had 13 points as the Buckeyes shot 68% to race to a 36-18 halftime lead. The Badgers missed all seven of their 3s and shot 30% (7 of 23) for their biggest halftime deficit of the season.

When Felix Okpara and Sueing opened the second half with baskets for the Buckeyes for a 40-18 lead, Wisconsin had its largest deficit of the season. When Sensabaugh hit a 3-pointer it was 57-20 with 15:31 remaining.

Both teams had their worst seed ever for the Big Ten tourney.

FG	FT	Reb
OHIO ST.	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	PTS
Sensabaugh	29	4-10	0-0	2-11	0	2	9
Sueing	32	5-8	5-8	1-5	0	4	16
Okpara	31	1-2	1-2	1-4	0	1	3
Gayle	21	1-3	2-2	0-4	3	2	4
Thornton	38	6-12	2-4	0-4	2	2	15
McNeil	27	6-8	2-2	0-1	0	1	17
Likekele	12	0-1	1-2	2-4	2	3	1
Brown	10	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	3	0
Totals	200	23-44	13-20	6-33	8	18	65

Percentages: FG .523, FT .650.

3-Point Goals: 6-13, .462 (McNeil 3-4, Sueing 1-1, Sensabaugh 1-3, Thornton 1-4, Gayle 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 2. Team Turnovers: None.

Blocked Shots: 3 (Okpara 2, Sensabaugh).

Turnovers: 16 (Thornton 4, Sensabaugh 3, Sueing 3, Brown 2, McNeil 2, Gayle, Likekele).

Steals: 8 (Gayle 2, Okpara 2, Thornton 2, Brown, Sueing).

Technical Fouls: None.

		FG	FT	Reb
WISCONSIN	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	PTS
Crowl	24	3-9	2-2	1-1	1	0	8
Wahl	37	8-16	2-4	6-10	3	4	19
Essegian	27	4-13	2-2	2-8	0	3	11
Hepburn	29	2-9	1-2	0-1	3	4	6
Klesmit	28	0-3	2-4	0-1	0	2	2
Davis	20	3-6	0-0	3-4	1	2	7
Gilmore	19	0-1	2-4	0-2	0	3	2
McGee	10	1-3	0-0	0-1	0	0	2
Lindsey	6	0-1	0-0	0-1	0	0	0
Totals	200	21-61	11-18	12-29	8	18	57

Percentages: FG .344, FT .611.

3-Point Goals: 4-22, .182 (Wahl 1-2, Davis 1-3, Hepburn 1-6, Essegian 1-7, Crowl 0-1, Lindsey 0-1, Klesmit 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 3. Team Turnovers: None.

Blocked Shots: 2 (Davis, Wahl).

Turnovers: 10 (Crowl 3, Hepburn 2, Klesmit 2, Wahl 2, Essegian).

Steals: 8 (Wahl 3, Hepburn 2, Davis, Gilmore, Lindsey).

Technical Fouls: None.

Ohio St.	36	29	—	65
Wisconsin	18	39	—	57