Buckeyes Beat Mississippi 81-69

The Ohio State Buckeyes may possibly have another chance to win the title this season after a display of good performance in recent games.

Both Evan Turner and Jamar Butler scored 17 points. Using an early 14-0 run and a buckling half-court trap the Buckeyes beat Mississippi 81-69 Tuesday night in the NIT semifinals. Ohio State plays Massachusetts in the championship on Thursday. Luckily for the Buckeyes, the Minutemen beat the Florida Gators 78-66. The Gators have been their arch enemies this season, passing over Ohio State to win the 2007 BCS championship game and then the Buckeyes at the Final Four in Atlanta for a 2nd consecutive basketball title.

Ohio State will instead play a Massachusetts team that has been incredibly resilient in going from 2nd half deficits of 12 against Akron, 22 against Syracuse and 9 against the Gators to the NIT championship. Chris Warren hit a 3 pointer and Trevor Gaskins got 2 free throws, which were the first points by a nonstarter for Ole Miss. Afterwards, Kenny Williams converted a turnover by Butler to make it 56-45 with 12 minutes remaining.

Warren hit 3 three pointers for the Rebels on consecutive possessions getting within 75-68 with only 1:32 left on the clock. However, Butler scored on a driving lay-up winning the game. Warren scored 18 points for Ole Miss. Williams scored 11 points, Dwayne Curtis got 12 points and 15 rebounds and David Huertas scored 16 points.

The Rebels cooled down after a grim first half. The Buckeyes picked them up at the mid-court line and pressured them into turnover after turnover. The game was tied when the Buckeyes went on their big run, scoring 8 of 14 consecutive points off turnovers, taking a 27-10 lead on a jumper by Turner with 10:20 left.

Both Kosta Koufas and David Lighty got 16 points each for the Buckeyes. Ohio State had previously lost Daequan Cook, Mike Conley Jr.and Oden to the NBA last season. Although, they still had an RPI of 42 with wins over NCAA tournament teams Purdue and Michigan State last month. It looked like they had a good chance of making the tournament until the final name was decided on Selection Sunday.

The Buckeyes regrouped and beat Dayton, California, and UNC-Asheville, reaching Madison Square Garden. Unlike last season, they now have a chance to end it with a win.