ST.LOUIS—Ohio State was beaten by Tennessee 76-73 when Chicago’s Evan Turner,pretty much a one man team in the second half had his last second three point shot blocked just before the final buzzer.The Buckeyes,who led 42-39 at halftime,were putrid on defense during much of the game,especially the second half. The Vols led 68-63 but Ohio State rallied to take leads of 70-69 on a David Lighty three pointer and later 73-72 when Turner hit a three of his own with :42 left,but Tennessee scored the last four points of the game. Brian Williams tipped in a missed shot,then after a miss by Turner,and a Kyle Madsen turnover,Bobby Maze hit two free throws.Turner then had his possible game tying three pint try blocked.The Buckeyes screamed that Turner was fouled,but the three Officials ran off the floor like jack rabbits. Turner had all but nine of the OSU second half points and finished with 31,including 21 of the Buckeyes 31 after halftime. Coach Thad Matta has to be questioned for using what looked like a tired Lighty who was tossing up bricks,and until he hit a couple of late shots(including a three pointer)he was a liability. Jeremie Simmons from Chicago’s Von Steuben played 14 minutes in the first half and scored 9 points a trio of three pointers(missing just one),but Matta never got him off the bench in the second half. Turner shot a sub par(for him)10-23 and Ohio State got killed on the boards 41-29.Tennessee got 20 offensive rebounds while Ohio State had just 16 defensive boards,meaning they did not box out all evening.

In game two of the night, Michigan State became the last Big Ten team still standing as they came from a seven game halftime deficit to beat stubborn Northern Iowa 59-52. With Purdue’s loss to Duke, the Spartans get a chance to return to the Final Four if they can beat Tennessee Sunday.  Korie Lucious played 39 steady minutes in place of Karlin Lucas and hit a whirling jumper with 91 seconds left, Durrell Summers had 19 points and the Spartans held the No. 9 seed Panthers to 10 free throws and no field goals over the final 10:21 to send the Heartland heroes home. Adam Koch had 13 points and Kwadzo Ahelegbe 12 for UNI, but Ali Farokhmanesh ran out of magic. The early-round star was just 1 for 6 from 3-point range and finished with nine points as the Panthers’ deepest run in the NCAA tournament came to a close.

LES