The 2011 Big Ten tournament semifinals begin on Saturday with a game between the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes and the fourth-seeded Michigan Wolverines. The Michigan basketball team used a 21-4 run at the end of its game against Illinois on Friday to win, 60-55, and advance to the semifinals. Ohio State, on the other hand, managed to hang on in overtime against Northwestern to advance on in search of a postseason Big Ten title to go along with its regular season one.
These two teams met twice during the regular season. The first game came back in January, and Michigan gave Ohio State all it could handle. The Buckeyes managed to hang on for a 68-64 win, handing Michigan another close loss to a top-ranked team (just days earlier the Wolverines lost in overtime to Kansas).
The second meeting between Michigan and Ohio State was in February in Columbus. Once again, Michigan gave OSU all it could handle, except this time it was only for one half. The Wolverines actually led at halftime by three points, but OSU pulled away in the second half for a nine-point win.
In the third meeting between Michigan and OSU, the Wolverines will try to get a win to advance to their first Big Ten tournament final since the inaugural one in 1998. Also, Michigan will try to get some revenge for OSU ending its season in the Big Ten tournament a year ago exactly on an Evan Turner buzzer beater.
Here is a look at the 2011 Big Ten tournament bracket for the semifinals:
No. 1 Ohio State (beat Northwestern, 67-61 in OT, in quarterfinals) vs. No. 4 Michigan (beat Illinois, 60-55, in quarterfinals)
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No. 7 Michigan State (beat Purdue, 74-56, in quarterfinals) vs. No. 6 Penn State (beat Wisconsin, 36-33, in quarterfinals)
For more on the 2011 Big Ten tournament, check out SB Nation Detroit's StoryStream.