Big Ten First Round Recap

(8) Indiana 81, (9) Ohio State 69
Mike Davis has been increasingly frustrated with the way his Indiana Hoosiers have been playing the last month. IU’s 2-8 record in their last ten games did not look too favorable when they opened the Big Ten tournament against Ohio State. Two unlikely heroes emerged for Indiana to defeat the Buckeyes.

Mark Johnson played only ten minutes and scored just eight points throughout the season. He nearly doubled both those outputs versus the Buckeyes. Johnson finished with 13 points in 20 minutes of action and hit three of his six threes. Ryan Tapak had a career high 11 assists as the Hoosiers grabbed an almost improbable victory. As they have all year long, A.J. Moye and Bracey Wright led the way. Moye finished with 19 points and eight rebounds and Wright had 20.

It looked like Ohio State was going to control this one early. The Buckeyes jumped out to a 21-10 lead, but the Hoosiers did not wilt. IU went on a 21-4 run to close the half punctuated by a Moye three with one second left. They then used a 10-0 run in the second half to put the game away.

Terence Dials had 22 points and nine rebounds, J.J. Sullinger had 18 and six boards and Velimir Radinovic had 13. OSU’s leading scorer Tony Stockman who had been hot at the end of the season finished with eight points on three of 13 shooting.

(10) Minnesota 63, (7) Purdue 52
After an abysmal half in which Minnesota shot only 22 percent and Purdue hit 34 percent, the Boilers and Golden Gophers were tied at 19.

The Gophers who’s only shot at a post season birth is to win the Big Ten tournament, played with a greater sense of purpose in the second half. Both offenses woke up after halftime, but Minnesota was the better team after the intermission. After Purdue began the final 20 minutes with a 5-0 run, the Gophers answered with a 9-0 run of their own. They held the Boilermakers scoreless for four minutes during the run and never trailed after that.

Kris Humphries was able to overcome a four for 21 afternoon from the field by hitting 11 of 13 from the line for 20 points and grabbed a career high 15 rebounds to pace the Gophers. Michael Bauer extended his career at least one more game with 16 points and Aaron Boone had 13 points and six rebounds.

David Teague and Brandon McKnight were the only Boilermakers who were able to get going offensively with 16 each. Kenneth Lowe had a frustrating afternoon with only six points on three of ten shooting in his final Big Ten game.

(6) Northwestern 57, (11) Penn State 52
Northwestern came into the Big Ten tournament with wins in five of their last eight games, a sixth place Big Ten finish and a .500 record. Penn State was in a ten game losing streak. The Lions were not expected to put up much of a fight after Northwestern blitzed Penn State with a 30-2 run to win going away in their last meeting.

The Wildcats fell behind early then used a similar formula to advance to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament for just the third time. Penn State jumped out to a 22-12 lead in the first half. The Cats answered with a 14-0 run, holding Penn State scoreless for eight minutes. An Aaron Johnson basket cut the Northwestern lead to two at the half. Northwestern then held Penn State scoreless for another four minutes to begin the second half and extended the lead to seven.

Penn State wasn’t ready to quit and NU didn’t seize control until a late 7-0 run clinched the victory. A dreadful offensive performance on both ends was the story of the game. Northwestern was able to overcome 36 percent shooting by forcing 26 Penn State turnovers, 20 in the first half. Twenty of those turnovers came directly from steals. Jitim Young had a Big Ten tournament record with eight, and Vedran Vukusic tied the record with six. Penn State was able to stay in the game by out rebounding NU 48-28 and making 44 percent of their shots.

Vukusic paced Northwestern with 16 points, Young had 14 and Mohamed Hachad 13. Aaron Johnson 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Nittany Lions, Marlon Smith matched Johnson’s 14 and Rob Summers had 10.