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Minnesota goes for season sweep of Ohio State

Feb 7, 2009 - 1:01 PM No. 19 Minnesota (18-4) at Ohio State (16-5) 8:00 p.m. EST

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- Ohio State will look for its second win over a ranked team this week when it hosts 19th-ranked Minnesota on Saturday.

The Buckeyes (16-5, 6-4 Big Ten) also hope to avoid a season sweep at the hands of the Golden Gophers, who captured a 68-59 victory in Minneapolis on January 3.

After opening the season by beating the first two ranked opponents it faced, Ohio State dropped four of its last five against teams in the Top 25 before beating Purdue on Tuesday.

Evan Turner filled the stat sheet with 26 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, William Buford scored 22 and freshman B.J. Mullens had one his most impressive outings of the season, collecting 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench in an 80-72 triumph.

While the Buckeyes have won three straight, the Gophers (18-4, 6-4) have lost three of five and are coming of an embarrassing loss Wednesday.

Devoe Joseph was the lone Minnesota player in double figures with 11 points and leading scorer Lawrence Westbrook had just six on 2-of-7 shooting. The Gophers shot 29 percent (15-of-52) from the field while allowing the Spartans to shoot at a 51 percent (26-of-51) clip.

In the first meeting between the teams, Westbrook scored 15 and the Minnesota bench outscored the Ohio State bench, 26-12. Turner scored 21 points and Jon Diebler scored 15 on five 3-pointers for the Buckeyes.