Local Teams

Duane Washington Jr. scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half and No. 9 Ohio State booked a spot in the Big Ten tournament title game by escaping with a 68-67 semifinal victory over No. 4 Michigan on Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis.

E.J. Liddell tallied 13 of his 18 points in the second half to help the fifth-seeded Buckeyes (21-8) reach the Big Ten title game for the first time since 2013.

Ohio State faces second-seeded Illinois (ranked No. 3) in Sunday's title game. The Fighting Illini defeated Iowa 82-71 in the other semifinal.

Hunter Dickinson recorded 21 points and eight rebounds and Eli Brooks added 12 points for the top-seeded Wolverines (20-4), who made a late surge that fell short when Mike Smith's 3-pointer caromed off the rim with under two seconds remaining. Smith scored 10 points but was just 1-of-11 shooting.

Michigan was without standout Isaiah Livers, who aggravated a right foot injury during Friday's quarterfinal victory over Maryland. The school said Livers is out indefinitely.

Ohio State also was without a key player in Kyle Young, who sustained a concussion during Friday's win overtime win over Purdue.

The Buckeyes were 12-of-22 from 3-point range -- Washington made 5-of-10 attempts -- and shot 42.1 percent from the field.

The Wolverines shot just 35.1 percent and were 6-of-19 from behind the arc.

Michigan made a late run after falling behind by 13 points with 4:19 left.

Dickinson later scored on a putback with 1:39 left and followed with a steal and a layup to pull Michigan within 68-64 with 1:29 to play. Chaundee Brown made it a one-point game by drilling a 3-pointer with 46.8 seconds remaining.

A turnover by Ohio State's CJ Walker set the Wolverines up for a comeback win but Smith wasn't able to convert.

The Wolverines held a 43-42 edge with 11:40 left before Washington put Ohio State ahead for good when he drained a trey to start an 11-0 run. Liddell followed with a three-point play, Zed Key made a short turnaround and Walker converted a three-point play as Ohio State took a 53-43 lead with 10:21 remaining.

The lead reached 13 when Liddell made two free throws with 4:19 left.

Michigan led 27-26 at the break as both teams shot poorly. The Wolverines shot just 29.6 percent while Ohio State was only slightly better at 30.3.

--Field Level Media