D’Angelo Russell scored 23 points, Shannon Scott had 21 and Ohio State beat Minnesota 79-73 in the Big Ten tournament on Thursday night.
Russell also had five rebounds and four assists as the sixth-seeded Buckeyes (23-9) bounced back from Sunday’s 72-48 loss to No. 6 Wisconsin in the season finale. Marc Loving scored 12 points, and Sam Thompson finished with nine points and seven rebounds in his return to his hometown.
Thad Matta became the winningest coach in Ohio State history as the Buckeyes advanced to a quarterfinal matchup with third-seeded Michigan State. It was Matta’s 298th win since he moved to Columbus, passing Fred Taylor for the top spot on the school list.
DeAndre Mathieu scored 16 points for 11th-seeded Minnesota (18-15), and Andre Hollins scored 13. Carlos Morris added 12 points.
The Buckeyes and Golden Gophers were tied at 42 before Russell scored five straight points on a layup and 3-pointer, sparking a 10-2 run. Jae’Sean Tate’s foul shot made it 52-44 with 14 minutes left.
Russell ran along the baseline to get open for another 3 with 11:53 remaining, lifting Ohio State to a 57-46 lead. The Big Ten Freshman of the Year went 3 for 5 from long range in the second half after missing each of his five 3-point attempts in the first 20 minutes.
After Minnesota pulled within two on Mathieu’s three-point play, Russell passed to Loving for a layup, blocked Maurice Walker’s shot and made two foul shots to make it 69-63 with three minutes left.
The Buckeyes shot 50 percent from the field and outrebounded Minnesota 35-28 in their fourth victory in the last five games.
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