Jared Sullinger never really found his shooting touch from the field while in Indianapolis, but he did find his way to the foul line and the backboards, as the talented freshman led his teammates to a 71 -60 victory over a gritty Penn State team for their second straight Big Ten tournament title, and in the process, securing the overall No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.
The Buckeyes were given all they could handle in the first half as Penn State, despite shooting poorly from the field, was down by just three, before Jon Diebler hit from behind the three point arc at the buzzer to send OSU to the locker room up 29-23.
The second half would belong to the Buckeyes as they would shoot 64 percent from the field while holding the Nittany Lions to just 45 percent. Ohio State’s William Buford would come up big hitting for 18 points, but it was the relentless Sullinger that would make the difference on this day.
“While we are excited to be the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourney, we have a lot of work to do,” claimed the ultra talented first year player from Columbus, Ohio. “Everyone in this program has a winning mentality,” he said.
Penn State was led by Talor Battle with 24 points, who was candid afterwards about what he took away from the game. “The one positive about this loss is that we see what we must improve upon for the NCAA tournament,” said the senior from Albany, N.Y. “Give credit to Ohio State, they are the overall No. 1 seed for a reason.”
Danny Bridges, who thinks the PSU Nittany Lions proved they are not just a football school with their great run, can be reached at (317) 578-1780 or at Bridgeshd@aol.com.
