Creighton Wins MVC Tourney on Doug McDermott's 33 Points; William Buford Leads Buckeyes to Win, Three-way Tie in Big Ten

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 4, 2012

There were two really big games on Sunday that mattered in terms of upcoming seeds n the NCAA tournament. The first was a barn-burner of a Missouri Valley tournament final and the other resulted in a three-way tie for the Big Ten regular season championship.

In St. Louis, #25 Creighton was pushed to overtime by a stubborn Illinois State squad intent on winning their way into the NCAAs. In the end, however, it was the Bluejays chasing off the Redbirds, 83-79 in OT behind likely MVC player of the year, Doug McDermott who paced all scorers with 33 points on 12 of 18 shooting, including three 3-pointers and a perfect 6-for-6 from the line. Creighton's leading scorer also grabbed six rebounds in his 41 minutes of floor time.

Illinois State had knocked off Wichita State on Saturday to get to the final, but fell just short. Creighton takes the automatic bid, while #15 Wichita State will have to be patient for a week to find out where they are seeded.

With a win at home against #10 Ohio State in their final regular season game, the 5th-ranked Michigan State Spartans could have claimed the Big Ten title outright, and the Spartans built a 15-point lead midway through the first half as the Buckeyes struggled to find their marks.

Despite the struggles of their star, Jared Sullinger, who was just 5-for-17 from the field and spent much of the last eight minutes on the bench with four fouls but still finished with a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds, the Buckeyes never quit and eventually got the go-ahead bucket on a long jumper by William Buford with one second remaining in regulation.

Buford finished with one of his best games of the season, fitting for the only senior on the Ohio State squad, scoring a game-high 25 points on 8 of 14 shooting with three boards, three steals and an assist.

The Spartans had one last fling at the basket as time expired, but the ball never went near the hoop, as Ohio State took the 72-70 decision.

The result tied the Buckeyes with Michigan State and Michigan - who had topped Penn State earlier in the day - for the conference regular season lead, all three teams finishing with identical 13-5 records.

Michigan State will be the top seed in the Big Ten tournament which opens Thursday, with Ohio State #2 and Michigan the #3 seed.

William Buford Lifts Buckeyes with Career High 29 Points

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, February 7, 2012

With their star player, Jared Sullinger, on the bench in the final minutes due to fouls and a late injury, senior William Buford stepped up and saved the game for #3 Ohio State as they held off a pesky Purdue squad, 87-84.

Buford, one of the best scorers ever to don a Buckeye uniform, will probably finish his four-year stint as #3 or #4 on the Ohio State career points list, picked the team up with a career high 29 points, scoring the seven points for the Buckeyes down the stretch, punctuating the win by tipping a loose ball ahead off a mad scramble in Purdue's end and taking the ball home with a thunderous dunk that put the Buckeyes ahead, 83-76, with 42 seconds left. Buford scored 21 in the second half, as the Buckeyes battled the Boilermakers from a 40-40 half time deadlock.

Buford was 10-for-17 from the field with three 3-pointers and was perfect at the line, making all six free throw attempts. He also led Ohio State with seven rebounds.

It was the second straight close call at home for Ohio State, which improved to 21-3 and 9-2 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes defeated Wisconsin, 58-52, this past Saturday. Ohio State leads 7-3 Michigan State by 1 1/2 games in the standings and will host the Spartans this Saturday in a crucial conference test.

NOTABLE: Top-ranked Kentucky extended the nation's longest home winning streak to 49 straight games with a 78-58 win over the Florida Gators. The game was close only for the first ten minutes. Once the Wildcats stretched their lead beyond ten points, they extended it with exceptional defense and a dunk display that kept the Gators at bay.

#17 Creighton lost its second straight game - both on the road - in a 65-57 loss to Evansville. The Bluejays dropped a 65-62 decision at Northern Iowa on Saturday.