The Ohio State Buckeyes playing the Penn State Nittany Lions for a Big Ten Championship. That sounds more like football than basketball, but those will be the two teams battling it out for the 2011 Big Ten Tournament championship Sunday afternoon thanks to Penn State's 61-48 beatdown of Michigan State in the second semifinal game at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Talor Battle and Tim Frazier combined to score 47 points, as the Penn State Nittany Lions beat the Michigan State Spartans, 61-48, in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
Battle had 25 points and seven rebounds, while Frazier registered 22 and eight with six assists.
Penn State (19-13), seeded sixth, reached the championship game for the first time. The program's reward is a date with top-seeded and top-ranked Ohio State on Sunday.
Kalin Lucas poured in 16 points to pace seventh-seeded Michigan State (19-14), which started the game on a 14-4 run.
Penn State slowly chipped away and Battle converted a layup to give the Nittany Lions their first lead at 23-21. The teams entered halftime deadlocked at 26, then Penn State opened the second half on a 16-7 run to take control.
Jeff Brooks nailed a three-pointer and Penn State led 49-35 with just under 9 1/2 minutes remaining. The outcome was never in doubt down the stretch.