By: Dennis Punzel (Madison.com) -- INDIANAPOLIS -- The University of Wisconsin women's basketball team will attempt to go where no UW team has gone when it faces top-seeded Ohio State tonight in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Badgers are in the semifinals for the third time in the 16-year history of the tournament. They've never advanced any further. Wisconsin lost to Penn State 76-62 in the 2002 semifinals and last year they fell to Purdue 70-56. The Badgers' track record ... Read More

By: Curt Cavin and Phillip B. Wilson (IndyStar.com) -- Top-seeded Ohio State got off to a shaky start Friday night in opening its portion of the Big Ten women's basketball tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse, but it settled down enough to advance, which is the key at this point in the season. The 66-55 victory over Illinois pushed the nation's No. 10 team into tonight's semifinals against Wisconsin. Buckeyes coach Jim Foster thought the difference was a frequent switch to a zone defense that ... Read More

By: Ryne E. Hancock (BleacherReport.com) -- In order to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, in my opinion, you have to do the following: * Win more than four games against top-50 teams in the RPI, both before Jan. 1 and after. * Dominate your conference. * Be consistent. If you’re a Kansas State fan and reading this, then close this window right now, because it doesn’t apply to you. Same with Duke fans and intramurals commish Brittney Plowman as well. While we all know that ... Read More

By: JOHN P. WISE (BleacherReport.com) -- It's March and everyone's talking about college basketball. Is your team on the bubble? While all the talk is about teams and brackets and seeds, let's not forget about some of the top individual players who hope to lead those squads deep into the NCAA Tournament. So let's get started with my five leading candidates to win the coveted Naismith Award, which honors the best player in men's college basketball (stats through Feb. 28): + Evan Turner, Jr, G, ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Terrelle Pryor wanted to know the score. "I hope Purdue loses," the Ohio State quarterback said Sunday afternoon. Told the Boilermakers were trailing Michigan State, Pryor said, "That's good then." "I'm just happy the girls are in and now we need the guys coming in. I'm sure they'll get it done," Pryor said. Actually, Pryor and the football Buckeyes were in first, winning their fifth straight Big Ten title in the fall. Then the OSU women's ... Read More

By: Adam Biggers (BleacherReport.com) -- The Big Ten is a guard-heavy conference—everyone knows that. The league boasts some of the best men in the business: Michigan State's Kalin Lucas, Purdue's Etwaun Moore, and Illinois' Demetri McCamey. All three men are certainly in the mix for the league's prestigious "player of the year" honor, but there's another name that has stood out for the last half of the season: Ohio State's Evan Turner. After his superb showing in East Lansing last Sunday (74-67 OSU win) while fighting ... Read More

COLUMBUS -- After being unranked five weeks ago, The Ohio State Men's Basketball team have now cracked the top ten in both the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today Polls.  The Buckeyes took the number nine slot in the latest polls released today after defeating No. 11 Michigan State 74-67 in Big Ten action Sunday.  Four days earlier, Ohio State fell to conference foe Purdue  60-57.  The Boilermakers are holding on firm the the number 3 spot in both polls and leads ... Read More

By: Bill Livingston (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Ailing and heavy-legged, his shot missing and his team behind in the final minutes, Evan Turner lifted himself and Ohio State to victory in hostile surroundings Sunday. It is what he has done before and what he will have to do again, if the Buckeyes are to gain a high NCAA Tournament seed and make a deeper run in March than anyone expected. When Turner has been on the road in showcase Big ... Read More

BY: KIRKLAND CRAWFORD (Detroit Free Press) -- Evan Turner had 20 points and 10 rebounds and William Buford added 17 as No. 11 Michigan State lost to No. 9 Ohio State, 74-67, today at Breslin Center. Turner rested in the bleachers while the rest of the Buckeyes took shooting practice Saturday night. Turner got a plateful of food — then didn’t eat it — Sunday morning. “He did a tremendous job of battling through it,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said of his ... Read More

From: AP via SI.com -- COLUMBUS, Ohio -Moments after his fourth-ranked Boilermakers' huge win at No. 9 Ohio State on Wednesday night, Purdue coach Matt Painter declined to celebrate. The victory kept his team in the thick of the Big Ten race. But he was well aware there was no time to relish it. "We knew we had to do something special if we were going to fight to get in this race,'' he said. "We've been able to do that. You get a huge ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- Ohio State's Jon Diebler was angry at himself after Sunday's win at Illinois. He'd gone to the bench in the final minutes of the game grimacing slightly and holding his right wrist. While taking a charge against the Illini, he'd attempted to break his fall with his right hand, his shooting hand, what he called a stupid mistake. And now it hurt. "I'll be all right," Diebler said Sunday. "I've got tough bones. I drink a lot ... Read More

By: Kurt Mews (BleacherReport.com) -- When one thinks about Ohio State and National Titles, they usually assume football! BUT, this year's Ohio State men's basketball squad CAN win it all, and that's not being unrealistic or a product of just wishful thinking.  Here' why; 1. EVAN TURNER: Arguably the best if not one of the top 5 players in the nation, he leads the surging Buckeyes. He can dribble, pass, drive, shoot and has the athletics to dominate the floor. In tight games he can be a ... Read More

From: AP via FoxNews.com -- COLUMBUS, Ohio — Evan Turner stayed up late on Saturday night, watching Michigan State lose to turn the Big Ten race into a free-for all. Then he got up early on Sunday morning to make sure No. 13 Ohio State stayed in the mix. Turner matched his career high with 32 points, leading the Buckeyes past Iowa 68-59 on Sunday and stretching the their Big Ten winning streak to seven straight. "We got here at 7:45 in the morning," Turner said ... Read More