Buckeyes bust Badgers

Mike Conley Jr. stepped out of Greg Oden’s lengthy shadow at just the right time.

Conley drove the lane and made a runner with 4 seconds left to give No. 2 Ohio State a 49-48 victory over top-ranked Wisconsin on Sunday in Columbus, Ohio, clinching the Buckeyes’ second consecutive Big Ten title.

The game marked the first time Big Ten teams have met in a 1 vs. 2 game.

Alando Tucker, Wisconsin’s candidate for conference player of the year, had given the Badgers the lead with just under a minute left when he scored inside off Jason Chappell’s dump pass.

Chappell then blocked a shot by Ron Lewis before Wisconsin’s Kammron Taylor was sent to the line in the bonus situation with 20.3 seconds left. Taylor’s first attempt spun off the rim.

After a timeout, the Buckeyes (26-3, 14-1) passed around the perimeter before Conley, a freshman who has spent his career in the shadow of 7-foot high school and college teammate Oden, scissored through the lane and tossed up a soft shot that balanced on the rim before falling.

“If you’ve got a point guard like Conley, he’s going to try to penetrate,” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. “We were trying to make him take a tough shot.”

The Badgers (26-4, 12-3), who lost both games this week after becoming No. 1 for the first time, inbounded to Taylor who drove the length of the floor and tried an off-balance 15-footer at the buzzer. Oden got a piece of it before Lewis, a senior playing his final home game, swatted it away.

“I didn’t know I was going to block it until he put it right in my face,” Lewis said with a wide grin while wearing a Big Ten championship hat and T-shirt.

Taylor looked to the officials, hoping to hear a whistle. But there was no call and within seconds a capacity crowd flooded the court in celebration.

Maryland 89, (5) North Carolina 87: At College Park, Md., D.J. Strawberry scored a career-high 27 points, and the Terrapins (22-7, 8-6 ACC) rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half to beat the Tar Heels (24-5, 10-4).

North Carolina had a chance to force overtime with 3.5 seconds left, but Brandan Wright missed the first of two free throws and the Tar Heels failed to control the rebound of his second misfire.

(7) Memphis 77, Houston 64: At Memphis, Tenn., Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 19 points to lead the Tigers (25-3, 14-0 Conference USA) to a victory over the Cougars (15-13, 9-5), extending the nation’s longest winning streak to 17.

Joey Dorsey added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers, who also won their 29th consecutive home game.

(17) Vanderbilt 67, Kentucky 65: Nashville, Tenn., Derrick Byars grabbed a rebound off his own missed foul shot and scored to give Vanderbilt its first lead with 25.5 seconds left and the Commodores (19-9, 9-5 SEC) held off the Wildcats (19-9, 8-6).

Byars finished with 26 points and Shan Foster added 20.

(18) Duke 67, St. John’s 50: At New York, Greg Paulus scored 19 points and DeMarcus Nelson added 14 points and seven rebounds to lead the Blue Devils (22-7) to a win over the Red Storm (15-14).

(20) Louisville 76, Connecticut 69: At Hartford, Conn., Terrence Williams scored 17 points and freshman Derrick Caracter came off the bench to score 16 to lead the Cardinals (21-8, 11-4 Big East) to their fifth straight win, over the Huskies (17-11, 6-8).