CHICAGO, March 9 (UPI) -- Greg Oden scored 22 points Friday in pacing the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes to a 72-62 Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal win over the Michigan Wolverines.
It was the third time this season that Ohio State (28-3) beat the archrival Wolverines (21-12). The Buckeyes have won 15 consecutive games and are in line for a top seed in the NCAA tournament. Michigan's post-season plans are up in the air.
Ohio State led nearly the entire game. A three-pointer by Lester Abram got Michigan within 52-49 with about eight minutes to play. But Oden scored the next five points and Ron Lewis added a free throw and the Buckeyes were up by nine points two minutes later to end the threat.
Oden connected on 8-of-12 of his shots as Ohio State shot 50 percent from the field. Lewis ended up with 16 points for the Buckeyes.
Michigan, which shot 27 percent in beating Minnesota Thursday, managed 33 percent shooting against Ohio State. Leading scorer Dion Harris was 1-of-13 from the floor. Abram led Michigan with 13 points and Jerrett Smith added 12 for the Wolverines.
