Big Ten Tournament 2012: Michigan to Face Ohio State
While teams across the nation are getting ready for the NCAA tournament, teams in the Big East Conference are fighting it out to see who will get the automatic bid for winning the Big East Championship.
All the top seeds are playing on Saturday, but it was not that easy for Michigan who almost fell to a tough Minnesota team during their quarterfinal game in the Big Ten tournament Friday.
Michigan Big Ten freshman of the year Trey Burke scored 30 points to push the Wolverines past Minnesota in the 73-69 win.
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The win for Michigan means that they will face the third seed Ohio State on Saturday.
"Well, the coaches just tell me to take whatever the defense gave me. We [saw] that in the first half. They had a little trouble guarding the pick-and-roll action, so the top of the key was kind of open for an 8-foot jump shot," Burke said as reported by ESPN.
He continued to explain how he was able to make the difference in the ball game. "Towards the second half, they were kind of making me not use the screen…Like we say we knocked down big shots when it mattered."
Zack Novak of the Wolverines told ESPN that being able to win a close game is what is needed this time of year when teams are desperately trying to get a NCAA tournament bid.
"They came to play and they played very well. To be able to come out of this game with a win is huge, and that's what you gotta do at this time of the year."
Their next opponent, Ohio State, also had a big game from one of their leaders Jared Sullinger. Sullinger helped the Buckeyes defeat Purdue by putting up 30 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
The Wolverines will have to make stopping Sullinger a priority if they want to advance in the tournament.
Tip-off time for the game is 1:05 p.m. and can be watched on CBS.
