Ohio State Men's Basketball: Freshmen Propel Buckeyes to No. 1

1 - 15 - 11     vs. Penn State     W, 69-66     18 - 0

     As a result of Duke's loss at Florida State on Wednesday, the Penn State Nittany Lions were the only obstacle standing between Ohio State and the top ranking in the 2 major polls.

     Sensing something special was about to happen, 18,809 raucous fans packed into Value City Arena expecting to see a routine Buckeye victory.  However, PSU battled Ohio State for 40 minutes before succumbing to the heroic efforts of Jared Sullinger and Aaron Craft.

     At the 0:59.8 mark of the 2nd half, Sullinger muscled in a short jumper while drawing a foul to give OSU a 65-63 lead.  Sullinger then proceeded to can the free throw, and the Buckeyes' lead was 3.

     Incredibly, David Jackson did the exact same thing on the other end of the floor, evening the game at 66 with 44 seconds to play.

     Sullinger, though, had an answer.  The big freshman established position in the low post, received a pass from Jon Diebler, knocked home a right-handed shot, drew another foul, and cooly sank the charity toss.

Sullinger's clutch, game-winning shot

     It was now Craft's turn to shine.  Taylor Battle, Penn State's best player, tried to create an open 3-point shot in the closing seconds, but Craft never let Battle even get close to the arc.  Battle eventually launched an airball at the buzzer that was fittingly snagged by Sullinger under the basket.

     Sullinger and Craft both scored 19 points, and the Bucks' point guard also added 7 assists.

     Jackson (19 pts.) and Battle (15 pts.) led PSU in a losing effort.