Second-seeded Ohio State had Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas combine for 49 points, and the Buckeyes went on a 17-1 second-half run to roll to a convincing 81-66 victory over No. 6 Cincinnati in the second East Region semifinal at TD Garden.
The Buckeyes (30-7) now face top-seeded Syracuse in the regional final Saturday at 7:05 p.m. It’s the Buckeyes’ first trip to the Elite Eight since 2007, the year they reached the NCAA title game.
“We just read the defense really well tonight,” Sullinger said of the Buckeyes’ 17-1 run. “We were just trying to attack the basket.”
Pesky Cincinnati (26-11), which beat Syracuse in the Big East tournament just two weeks ago before losing to Louisville in the title game, was leading, 52-48, after a three-point play by Yancy Gates with 11:34 left, and it started to look like an all-Big East regional final was in the making. But Ohio State, which had built a 37-25 halftime lead, got rolling again.
A free throw by Sullinger (23 points, 11 rebounds) started it, and Lenzelle Smith (15 points) and Aaron Craft (11) each knocked down three-pointers in the run. By the time Sullinger capped it with a jumper with 5:51 to play, the Buckeyes were in control at 65-53 and the Bearcats never got closer than 10.
“It feels good to be in the Elite Eight,” Sullinger said. “But we have one more game on our schedule and we have to focus on that. Hopefully the train doesn’t stop here.”
Afterward, Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin could only lament his team’s sloppy play. “We gave ourselves no chance to win,” Cronin said. “They’re hard enough to guard, but with 18 turnovers, we just gave ourselves no chance.”
Thomas led Ohio State with a game-high 26 points. Cashmere Wright led Cincinnati with 18 points while Sean Kilpatrick, out of White Plains, added 15. Gates finished with just seven points in his final college game while Dion Dixon closed out his career with eight.
-nydailynews
