COLUMBUS, Ohio—On Senior Day in Columbus, it was a freshman that came up big for the Buckeyes. And his name was not Greg Oden.
Freshman guard Mike Conley Jr. hit a floater in the lane to give Ohio State a 49-48 lead with 3.9 seconds left in regulation. After UW head coach Bo Ryan called two timeouts to set up a final shot, OSU senior guard Ron Lewis blocked Kammron Taylor's last-ditch 10-footer and sealed the one-point victory for the Buckeyes.
The win gave No. 1/2 Ohio State (14-1 Big Ten, 26-3 overall) its second consecutive Big Ten regular season championship and dashed any hopes the No. 1/2 Badgers (12-3, 26-4) had to share the crown.
""It's sad after a loss like this,"" Wisconsin senior forward Alando Tucker said. ""It's disappointing after you take a bump like this, especially after the game was in your hands.""
Although Tucker led UW with 12 points, the Buckeyes limited the senior sensation to only four points in the second half.
Ryan credited Ohio State's defense for slowing the Badgers' main scoring threat.
""They're very athletic at the wing positions,"" Ryan said. ""It makes it hard when he does try to get to the rim ... there's somebody usually there waiting for him.""
OSU may have held Tucker in check, but the Badgers received solid contributions from their bench.
Junior big men Greg Stiemsma and Brian Butch gave the Badgers a lift when they entered midway through the first half. Steimsma snagged an offensive rebound and scored on a putback, while Butch hit an open jumper from the wing.
Butch's stint was short-lived, however, as he suffered a serious elbow injury less than three minutes after stepping onto the court.
Despite losing Butch for the game and most likely the season, Stiemsma's second jumper stretched the Badger lead to 15-9 with 9:37 remaining.
The Buckeyes dominated the rest of the half. Baskets by Oden and Lewis cut into the deficit and five straight points by senior Ivan Harris gave OSU a 19-15 lead. Tucker's wild runner in the paint ended a 10-0 run for the Buckeyes.
The half ended on a high note for the Badgers as freshman guard Trevon Hughes drove the length of the court and found fellow freshman Jason Bohannon cutting to the hoop for a layup as time expired.
""It gave us a little bit of momentum going into the second half,"" Bohannon said. ""It got a lot of guys pumped up.""
After the Badgers fell behind in the second frame, Ryan again called on Bohannon to spark UW. The freshman delivered, nailing three 3-pointers and finishing the game with 11 points.
""I was just trying to find some space,"" Bohannon said. ""Sometimes where I came off the backside there was an open shot right there, so I just took what they gave me.""
Taylor also came to life, knocking down back-to-back jumpers. Yet when the Badgers had the ball and a 48-47 lead with less than a minute remaining, the senior guard missed the front end of a 1-1 bonus. This opened the door for Conley's heroics.
A distraught Taylor found finding words difficult after the game.
""It feels bad, it hurts,"" Taylor said. ""We've just got to bounce back and get ready for the Big Ten Tournament.""
Wisconsin suffered consecutive losses for the first time this season, but Tucker said the Badgers are looking forward to taking on Michigan State Saturday at the Kohl Center.
""It's disappointing for us to let these games slip away out of our hands,"" Tucker said. ""But as players, the good thing about basketball is you have to bounce right back and play again.""
