Sunday, March 13, 2011
INDIANAPOLIS — Jared Sullinger had 15 points and 11 rebounds and No. 1 Ohio State defeated Penn State 71-60 in the Big Ten tournament final Sunday.
Sullinger, the tournament's most outstanding player, averaged 16.3 points and 14 rebounds in the tournament to help the top-seeded Buckeyes (32-2) repeat as champions.
William Buford scored 18 and Jon Diebler added 15 for the Buckeyes, who also won the regular-season title.
Talor Battle scored 24 and for Penn State (19-14), which reached the final for the first time.
The Nittany Lions had allowed 45.3 points per game in their three tournament wins, but Ohio State surpassed that with 13 minutes remaining. The Buckeyes shot 64 percent in the second half.
The Buckeyes won their seventh straight game and became the second team in conference history to play in the final three straight years. They became the first repeat tournament champion since Michigan State in 1999 and 2000.
"After the game if I told them we had to play another game, I think they'd do it tomorrow," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "There was no, like, 'Hoo, we did it!' It was just sort of, like, 'What's next?' That's what I love about this team."
Sullinger said he won't fill out a bracket: "I stopped filling out brackets after my eighth-grade year. I was terrible at it. I always went for the upsets. For some reason they never happened."
David Lighty said of finding out the Buckeyes would play close at home, in Cleveland: "Instantly I got about 30 text messages from people wanting tickets."
Atlantic 1O: Richmond wins first title 67-54
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Kevin Anderson capped a tournament MVP performance with 23 points and Richmond won its first Atlantic 10 title with a 67-54 victory over Dayton.
The third-seeded Spiders (27-7) won their seventh straight game and earned consecutive NCAA tournament berths for the second time in school history.
"To do what we did here is remarkable,'' said fifth-year Richmond senior Dan Geriot, who was part of an eight-win season as a freshman.
The defending NIT champion Flyers (22-13) fell behind by 15 and never could get back, failing to make the NCAA field.
USC: Coach Kevin O'Neill was reinstated by the school. On Thursday night O'Neill, his wife and an Arizona booster had a verbal altercation at the team hotel, leading a suspension.