Keyshawn Woods scored 18, Kaleb Wesson added 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, and Ohio State hung on to beat Indiana 79-75 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
Woods scored a key basket in the closing minute. Wesson provided a big lift inside in his return from a punishment for violating athletic department policy, helping Ohio State stop a three-game losing streak.
C.J. Jackson added 17 points and hit two free throws in the closing seconds to preserve the win for the Buckeyes (19-13) after a 20-point lead in the second half dwindled to two. Ohio State will face No. 6 Michigan State on Friday.
Devonte Green scored 26, nailing 8 of 10 3-pointers. But the Hoosiers (17-15) came up short after winning four in a row to jump into the NCAA Tournament picture.
Ohio State scored 10 straight to go up by 20 with just over seven minutes left in the game. But the Hoosiers responded with a 13-0 run, cutting it to seven with 4:20 left on De'Ron Davis' layup.
Jackson then nailed a 3 for Ohio State. Indiana kept coming, cutting it to 72-69 on Romeo Langford's layup with just under a minute remaining.
Woods answered with a short pull-up jumper in traffic. Davis had a layup wiped out by an offensive foul against Evan Fitzner, who pushed Kaleb Wesson, and Duane Washington Jr. dunked off a long inbounds to make it 76-69 with 16 seconds left.
Green then hit a 3 for Indiana. And after Andre Wesson made 1 of 2 free throws, Green nailed another 3 from about 30 feet to make it 77-75 with six seconds remaining.
But Jackson then hit two free throws to seal the win for Ohio State.
