Ohio State avenged its regular-season loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
Just over two weeks after losing their only regular-season matchup with Minnesota, the fifth-seeded Buckeyes punched their ticket to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals with a 60-55 win over the No. 4 seed Gophers in Indianapolis.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #5 OHIO STATE | 16 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 60 |
| #4 MINNESOTA | 18 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 55 |
Elsa Lemmilä and Jaloni Cambridge both scored 17 points to lead Ohio State in scoring. Lemmilä added 11 rebounds for a double-double while Cambridge led the Buckeyes with six assists. Chance Gray contributed 13 points for the Buckeyes while Kennedy Cambridge made six steals and scored five points.
After Minnesota led for most of the game’s first 15 minutes, Ohio State took a 32-26 lead with a 12-4 second-quarter run in which Jaloni and Kennedy Cambridge combined for all 12 Buckeye points. Ohio State led for the rest of the game from there.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | MINNESOTA |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | POINTS | 55 |
| 26-64 (40.6%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 23-54 (42.6%) |
| 6-26 (23.1%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 4-18 (22.2%) |
| 5-8 (62.5%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 2-5 (40%) |
| 27 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 44 |
| 9 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 13 |
| 18 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 31 |
| 0 | BENCH POINTS | 7 |
| 17 | ASSISTS | 15 |
| 11 | TURNOVERS | 21 |
| 3 | BLOCKS | 1 |
| 12 | STEALS | 7 |
The Buckeyes led by as many as eight in the second half but never pulled away from the Gophers, who trimmed Ohio State’s lead down to three points several times in the fourth quarter. But the Buckeyes never allowed Minnesota to even the score.
The win likely secures a spot on the top four seedlines of the NCAA Tournament for the Buckeyes, which would mean hosting NCAA Tournament games at the Schottenstein Center for the fourth straight year. Ohio State is now 6-6 against ranked opponents this season with an overall record of 26-6.
A massive test awaits the Buckeyes in Saturday’s Big Ten Tournament semifinals as Ohio State will face No. 1 seed UCLA, who’s 29-1 on the season and the second-ranked team in the country. The Bruins defeated the Buckeyes, 82-75, in their only regular-season matchup at the Schottenstein Center on Dec. 28.
Saturday’s game tips off at 2 p.m. and will be televised by Big Ten Network.
