The No 3 seed Ohio State Buckeyes took care of business in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday thanks to a strong second-half finish, beating the Purdue Boilermakers, 88-71.
Ohio State's win set up a semifinal matchup with the the No. 2 seed Michigan Wolverines. Michigan survived a possible early exit with an exciting overtime win over Minnesota in the quarterfinals. Michigan will look to carry over that momentum into their matchup with the Buckeys.
The rival schools will now square off at Bankers Life Fieldhouse with a chance to advance to the final game and play for an automatic NCAA tournament bid, which should also improve the seeding in the Big Dance for the winner. The two teams each won on their home floor during the conference regular season so the season series will now be decided on a neutral floor with a shot at the Big Ten Tournament championship at stake.
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Game Time: Saturday, 4:05 p.m. ET (approximate, as the official start is 25 minutes after the end of Michigan State vs. Wisconsin, which tips at 1:40 p.m. ET)
Television: CBS
Go here to check out the current 2012 Big Ten tournament bracket, and make sure to check out more tourney coverage in our StoryStream.
For more on the Ohio State Buckeyes, go to Along The Olentangy. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NCAA Basketball hub at SBNation.com/NCAA-Basketball.