COLUMBUS — Tom Izzo has taken Michigan State teams to the last three Final Fours, so he's got a pretty good handle on what it takes to succeed in a big game.

        “When it's one-and-done time, you'd better be mentally and physically tough, because you don't get any second chances,” Izzo said Monday. When No.18 Ohio State enters tonight's game at home against Izzo and Michigan State, the Buckeyes aren't facing elimination. But they are facing what could be a last chance to grab a piece of the title.

        Ohio State (19-6, 10-4) shares the conference lead with Indiana (18-9, 10-4). The Buckeyes owe a huge thank you to Michigan State, which edged the Hoosiers 57-54 on Sunday to knock them back into a tie with the Buckeyes.

        It's the second time in two weeks that Indiana has taken a one-game lead only to lose the next time out.

        Just last Wednesday, the Hoosiers handled the Buckeyes physically and mentally to win 63-57 and take the upper hand in the conference — for four days.

        “When we talked before our game against Indiana, it was clear to me with the remaining games on everybody's schedule, that the winner of that game was not going to be out of the woods and the loser was not going to be out of the picture,” OSU coach Jim O'Brien said.

        Heading into the final week of the season, Ohio State has games at home against Michigan State tonight and at Michigan on Saturday. Indiana plays at No. 15 Illinois tonight then hosts Northwestern Saturday.

        No. 23 Connecticut 75, Boston College 61
       

        BOSTON — Caron Butler had 24 points and 15 rebounds and Emeka Okafor set a school shot-blocking record of 116 for a season for UConn.

        CONNECTICUT (20-6) — Butler 11-23 1-1 24, Selvie 7-12 0-2 14, Okafor 1-2 0-0 2, T.Brown 3-5 5-5 11, Robertson 1-4 6-9 8, Gordon 5-6 2-2 15, J.Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Hazelton 0-0 0-0 0, Hayes 0-1 1-2 1, Tooles 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-53 15-21 75.

        BOSTON COLLEGE (18-10) — Agbai 8-15 3-5 19, Walls 1-12 0-0 2, Doornekamp 0-1 0-0 0, Bell 4-15 2-2 11, Sidney 6-14 0-0 13, Watson 2-5 3-4 7, Bryant 2-6 0-0 6, Ross 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 24-69 8-11 61.

        Halftime—Connecticut 38, Boston College 20. 3-Point goals—Connecticut 4-5 (Gordon 3-3, Butler 1-2), Boston College 5-22 (Bryant 2-3, Ross 1-1, Sidney 1-4, Bell 1-9, Watson 0-1, Walls 0-4).

        Missouri 72, No. 12 Oklahoma St. 69
       

        COLUMBIA, Mo. — Arthur Johnson had 18 points and 14 rebounds as Missouri overcame a 10-point first-half deficit.

        Missouri ended a three-game losing streak against Oklahoma State, beating the Cowboys for only the second time in seven games.

        OKLAHOMA STATE (22-7) — Jonzen 7-13 2-2 16, McFarlin 2-6 1-4 5, V.Williams 8-17 3-4 19, Gadson 5-8 0-0 12, Sanders 4-7 0-0 10, Baker 3-6 1-2 7, Broxsie 0-0 0-0 0, A.Williams 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 29-58 7-14 69.

        MISSOURI (20-9) — Bryant 4-8 0-1 8, Paulding 10-12 0-1 21, Johnson 8-16 2-3 18, Gilbert 3-13 0-0 6, Rush 3-15 2-2 10, Stokes 0-0 0-0 0, Gage 1-1 2-2 4, Kroenke 1-2 0-0 3, Ferguson 1-3 0-0 2, Echols 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-70 6-9 72.

        Halftime—Oklahoma St. 38, Missouri 29. 3-Point goals— Oklahoma St. 4-11 (Gadson 2-3, Sanders 2-5, Baker 0-1, V.Williams 0-2), Missouri 4-18 (Rush 2-8, Paulding 1-1, Kroenke 1-2, Gilbert 0-7). Fouled out—Sanders. Rebounds— Oklahoma St. 32 (McFarlin 9), Missouri 42 (Johnson 14). Assists—Oklahoma St. 18 (Gadson 5), Missouri 10 (Rush, Stokes 3). Total fouls—Oklahoma St. 16, Missouri 16. A— 12,374.

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