Ohio State Buckeyes advance with Big Ten Tournament win

No. 5 seed Ohio State held serve Thursday afternoon, opening its time in the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament with a 79-75 win over No. 13 Minnesota at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The Buckeyes led 13-0 before Minnesota finally scored nearly seven minutes into the game.

The Golden Gophers, who entered the postseason on a seven-game losing streak but beat Northwestern on Wednesday night in the first round of the tournament, did not go away quietly.

They stayed within about 10 points for most of the game before getting within one with 15 seconds to play, but the Buckeyes held on.

Ohio State entered the tournament on a four-game losing streak but still projected to be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament next week.

Their win earned them a matchup Friday afternoon with Purdue, the No. 4 seed.

The winner of that game will play Michigan or Maryland on Saturday afternoon.

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