Ohio State is headed back to the Final Four. The No. 2 Buckeyes outlasted No. 1 seed Syracuse for a 77-70 victory in the East Regional final to punch their ticket.
Jared Sullinger paced the Buckeyes with 19 points and seven rebounds, despite only playing six minutes in the first half after early foul trouble.
Lenzelle Smith added 18 points, and William Buford (13 points) and Deshaun Thomas (14 points) each had nine rebounds, part of Ohio State's 37-22 advantage on the boards.
Syracuse struggled with foul trouble, picking up 28 fouls on the night and finishing with both Dion Waiters and James Southerland disqualified and three other players carrying four fouls. Brandon Triche had 15 points for 'Cuse, and Scoop Jardine added 14 points and six assists.
The Buckeyes will face the winner of Sunday's Midwest Regional final between North Carolina and Kansas in the Final Four in New Orleans.
For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com's complete scoreboard.
For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stick around SB Nation's NCAA Tournament hub. There you'll find a complete printable NCAA Tournament bracket and tons of analysis on each game as the road to the Final Four continues.
There are 0 Comments. Add Yours.
Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely.
C - Next Comment
X - Mark as Read
R - Reply
Z - Mark Read & Next
Shift + C - Previous
Shift + A - Mark All Read
Comment Settings
Live comment alert: Hide it!
Comments for this post are closed.