Ohio State's Jared Sullinger had Michigan on the ropes. Sullinger, a bruising 265-pound forward, scored 8 of Ohio State's first 10 points to set the tone. When Michigan started double teaming to compensate, Sullinger's teammates took over. “When I feel that, I understand that my teammates are going to come down to me,” Sullinger said. “I think it's awesome when you can keep a defense on its toes.” Sullinger finished with 24 points and Deshaun Thomas added 22 to help No. 7 Ohio State defeat No. 10 Michigan, 77-55, Saturday in Indianapolis in the Big Ten tournament semifinals. The third-seeded Buckeyes (27-6), advanced to play No. 8 Michigan State in the final Sunday. Michigan State defeated No. 14 Wisconsin, 65-52, in the other semifinal to set up what amounts to be a unification bout for the conference crown. Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan tied for the regular-season title. Atlantic Coast Conference Kendall Marshall, who set the ACC single-season assist record this season, made the winning basket, a bank shot that helped North Carolina beat North Carolina State, 69-67, in the conference semifinals in Atlanta. Tyler Zeller, the ACC player of the year, led Carolina with 23 points, but he fouled out. The next best offensive option late in the game was Harrison Barnes, but he was bottled up with 20 seconds left when he passed to Marshall. Marshall reset the offense, lowered a shoulder to knock back North Carolina State defender Alex Johnson and banked his shot in. There was no foul called, which went against the tenor of the game. Zeller and North Carolina State's C.J. Leslie had fouled out, and four others had four fouls. Nevertheless, the No. 4 Tar Heels (29-4) will play Florida State in Sunday's championship game. The 17th-ranked Seminoles (23-9) beat sixth-ranked Duke, 62-59, in the other semifinal. Missouri wins Big 12: Missouri is leaving the conference on top. Kim English capped his strong conference tournament with 19 points, Phil Pressey added 15 points and 8 assists and No. 5 Missouri beat No. 12 Baylor, 90-75, in Kansas City, Mo. Southeastern No. 1 Kentucky (32-1) outlasted Florida, 74-71, in a conference semifinal in New Orleans, extending its winning streak to 24. In the other semifinal, John Jenkins scored 23 points as Vanderbilt (23-10) beat Mississippi (20-13), 65-53, to earn its first trip to the SEC championship game since 1951, when the Commodores beat Kentucky, 61-57. Colorado wins Pacific-12: The freshman Spencer Dinwiddie scored 14 points, and Colorado, in its first year in the conference, beat Arizona, 53-51, to win the tournament in Los Angeles. Memphis wins Conference USA: Marshall, playing the conference's regular-season champion on its home court, lost by 87-53, to Memphis (26-8). Marshall (21-13) was led in the final by DeAndre Kane, who had 16 points. But the Tigers, led by Will Barton's 18 points and 13 rebounds, won their seventh straight. (AP) Atlantic 10: Tu Holloway scored 21 points as Xavier (21-11) advanced to the conference title game with a 71-64 victory over St. Louis (25-7). In the final Sunday in Atlantic City, the Musketeers will face St. Bonaventure (19-11), which beat Massachusetts, 84-80. Elsewhere: Miss. Valley St. wins SWAC with a 71-69 victory over Texas Southern; Norfolk State wins MEAC beating Bethune-Cookman (18-17), 73-70, in Winston-Salem, N.C.; New Mexico wins Mountain West overpowering No. 18 San Diego State 68-59; Ohio wins MAC Ohio beating Akron 64-63; Lamar wins Southland beating McNeese State 70-49.
