Ohio State toughened up its defense to erase an eight-point second half deficit and then showed it’s not how you start the game, but how you finish that counts.

The Buckeyes closed with a 22-1 run Saturday, a stunning reversal that produced a 65-52 Big Ten victory over Northwestern.

“I’m pleased with the way we fought back and got back in the game,” said Ohio State coach Thad Matta. “Northwestern had really established itself, especially on the offensive end. We had to re-challenge ourselves to get back up and keep pressure on the basketball.”

J.J. Sullinger scored six of his team-high 15 points during the closing spurt as the Buckeyes (14-7, 3-4 Big Ten) countered a 13-2 run by Northwestern that had given the Wildcats (9-10, 2-5) their first lead of the game with 11:18 remaining.

The Buckeyes took a 52-51 lead they would not relinquish on back-to-back baskets by Sullinger and held Northwestern without a field goal over the game’s final 7:15.

“I couldn’t be happier for our guys,” Matta said. “I told them after the game that this was one of our best team wins. We came through this situation before and weren’t able to get over the hump.”

The Wildcats had led 51-43 after a three-point play by Vedran Vukusic, who scored a team-high 15 points. Davor Duvancic added 14 points for the Wildcats.

Matt Sylvester scored 12 points and Jamar Butler and Tony Stockman added 10 apiece for Ohio State, which won its second straight following a four-game losing streak.

Ohio State led 29-27 at halftime and widened the margin to 39-35 on Sylvester’s 3-pointer before Northwestern rallied to take an eight-point lead.

Northwestern, coming off a 75-74 overtime win over No. 23 Iowa, has lost five of its last six.

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Brandon Fuss-Cheatham more than doubled his average with 15 points to help Ohio State to a 68-62 win over Penn State on Wednesday night, handing the Nittany Lions their 27th consecutive Big Ten road loss.

Tony Stockman, scoreless in his last home game, led the Buckeyes (13-7, 2-4 Big Ten) with 17 points. Je’Kel Foster added 14 points, hitting 4-of-5 3-pointers. J.J. Sullinger chipped in with 10 points for Ohio State, which ended a four-game losing skid.

Geary Claxton scored 18 points and Mike Walker had 12 for the Nittany Lions (7-12, 1-5) , who have lost six of seven.

Aaron Johnson, leading the Big Ten in rebounding, had 13 rebounds but hit just one of his nine shots from the field and scored three points.

Penn State cut a 15-point Ohio State lead to four on Ben Luber’s 3-pointer with 8:06 left before the Buckeyes countered with a Fuss-Cheatham jumper and Foster’s fourth 3 of the game to make it 57-48. The Nittany Lions cut the lead to 60-54 on Danny Morrissey’s long 3-pointer, but Fuss-Cheatham’s shot behind the arc at the 3:04 pushed the lead back to nine points. It never fell below that until the final minute.

Fuss-Cheatham, averaging 6.1 points a game, hit 6-of-11 shots from the field including 3-of-5 3-pointers. He came into the game having made only four 3-pointers in Ohio State’s five previous Big Ten games.

Terence Dials, Ohio State’s leading scorer at 16.4 points a game, was held to five points in his head-to-head struggle underneath with Johnson.

Stockman scored 11 points in the first half as the Buckeyes built a 37-26 lead. Penn State missed its first seven shots from the field and trailed 11-1 before Johnson scored inside for the Nittany Lions’ first field goal, almost 5{ minutes in.

A 6-0 run brought the Lions as close as 22-16 before Stockman hit a 3-pointer and Foster made two more on consecutive possessions for a 31-18 lead.

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Junior Terence Dials notched his sixth double-double of the season and ninth of his career with an 18-point, 13-rebound effort in Ohio State’s 67-60 loss to Indiana. Senior Tony Stockman scored 14 points and sophomore Ivan Harris added 11.

Bracey Wright led all scorers with 23 points, including 18 in the second half, for the Hoosiers. The Buckeyes trailed 31-23 at the half but rallied to take a 37-35 lead with 15:19 to play in the second half on a 3-pointer by Harris.

Ohio State’s 12-2 run led to a back-and-forth shootout until Indiana took the lead for good at the 12:40 mark when a Wright jumper broke a 44-all tie. Ohio State stayed close and got to within one point at 55-54 at the 4:52 make but the Hoosiers slowly pulled away hitting eight-consecutive foul shots down the stretch.

Dials has led the Buckeyes in scoring 10 times this season and has been the top rebounder in 17 games. He leads Ohio State in both categories with 16.4 points and 8.4 rebounds a game on the season.

He has posted back-to-back double doubles twice this season, which includes a three-game streak earlier this year vs. Mercer, New Hampshire and St. Joseph’s. Dials scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Minnesota prior to the IU game.

The Buckeyes have played four of their last six games on the road and two overtime games in the last three contests.

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Dan Coleman followed his own miss with a tip-in with 22.4 seconds left in overtime to give Minnesota a 60-56 win over Ohio State on Wednesday night.

After Terence Dials missed a 12-foot fadeaway with 7 seconds remaining, Aaron Robinson rebounded for Minnesota (13-4, 3-1 Big Ten) and was fouled. He hit both shots to seal the outcome.

Vincent Grier led the Golden Gophers with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Minnesota had won 10 in a row until losing at Iowa 66-60 on Saturday.

Terence Dials scored 20 points and had 12 rebounds for Ohio State (12-6, 1-2), which lost its third in a row. Matt Sylvester added a career-high 17 points - scoring 11 Buckeyes points in a row at one point as Ohio State came back from a 10-point second-half deficit.

The Buckeyes, who hit 18-of-34 3-pointers in a 113-102 double-overtime loss at LSU on Saturday night, hit just 2 of 21 behind the arc against Minnesota.

Ohio State trailed 35-25 with under 14 minutes remaining, but went on a 17-2 run - with Sylvester leading the way - to forge a 42-37 lead.

Next it was Grier’s turn to take over, scoring nine Minnesota points in a row for a 51-49 lead. Sylvester scored the final points of regulation on a bank shot off an inbounds play with 55 seconds left.

Ohio State had a chance to win the game in regulation but Brandon Fuss-Cheatham’s off-balance 18-footer with 2 seconds left hit the front of the rim.

The teams traded baskets in the overtime before Coleman drove and his layup rolled off the rim, but he got a hand on the rebound to knock it in.

Minnesota’s starting center, Jeff Hagen, sprained his left knee late in the first half and was helped off the floor. He was going for an offensive rebound when Ohio State’s Dials fell backwards and rolled over his leg. Hagen did not return to the game.

The Golden Gophers led 19-8 at one point in the first half but failed to score on their next 10 possessions. They still were on top 24-18 at halftime, holding Ohio State to its lowest point total for a half this season.

The Buckeyes had just seven field goals in the opening half and misfired on all eight 3-point attempts.

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Brandon Bass scored 29 points, including 12 during a pair of overtime periods, as LSU beat Ohio State 113-101 on Saturday night.

Bass’ free throws initiated an 8-0 run to open the second overtime period as the Tigers, which had forced the first overtime on Darrel Mitchell’s 3-pointer at the end of regulation, finished with their highest scoring total since the 1994-95 season. The victory was also LSU’s first in a double-overtime contest since the 1986-87 season.

Bass, who also had 10 rebounds, was one of five LSU players in double figures. Mitchell scored 32 points, Antonio Hudson had 20, Tack Minor had 17 points and 10 assists, and Glen Davis added 15 and 11 rebounds.

LSU, which made 29 of 31 foul shots, was 7-of-8 on free throws at the end of the second overtime to ice the victory.

Ivan Harris and Je-Kel Foster led Ohio State with 20 points each. Foster shot 6-of-7 on 3-point attempts, including one that tied the score at 93 with three seconds left in the first OT. Terence Dials and Tony Stockman each had 17 points, J.J. Sullinger scored 13 and Brandon Fuss-Cheatham scored 10.

Ohio State shot 55.7 percent from the field, while LSU made 52.1 percent. The Buckeyes made 18 of 34 3-point attempts.

LSU outrebounded Ohio State 43-23 and outscored the Buckeyes 36-22 in the paint. The Tigers also had 27 points off 19 Ohio State turnovers.

Ohio State (12-5) shot almost 54 percent from the field in the first half, but hit a five minute chill in the second half. After Harris’ jumper at 17:44 put the Buckeyes ahead 50-49, Ohio State did not score again until Foster’s 3-pointer at 13:06. By that time LSU (8-5) had run off to a 59-50 lead.

LSU led by as many as seven inside the last five minutes of regulation, but a 3-pointer by Harris with 3:57 remaining pulled Ohio State to 75-71.

Stockman’s 3-pointer with 1:39 left tied it again at 77.

Davis fell rebounding the ball and was called for traveling. Ohio State came down court and gave it to Stockman in his favorite spot. He hit a 3-pointer to make it 80-77 Ohio State.

The Tigers got it to Hudson deep in the left corner but his 3-point attempt hit the rim and was rebounded by Jaman Butler for Ohio State with 28 seconds left.

The Buckeyes turned the ball over on a pass, and after a timeout, Mitchell hit a 3 to tie it at 80 with six seconds left to send it into overtime.

LSU jumped to a 6 point lead early in the first half, but Ohio State chipped away at the lead, tying it an 31 with 5:20 left. The Tigers were up 45-43 at halftime.

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Mike Wilkinson scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, as Wisconsin beat Ohio State 72-66 Tuesday night, extending the nation’s longest home winning streak to 37 games.

Clayton Hanson added 14 points and Sharif Chambliss had 11 as the Badgers (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten) won without leading scorer Alando Tucker, who sat out with an injured right foot suffered in practice Sunday.

Tucker’s status was listed as day-to-day. School officials said the problem wasn’t related to a right foot injury that caused Tucker to use a medical redshirt after he missed all but four games last season.

Terence Dials scored 15 points and Matt Sylvester added 14 for Ohio State (12-4, 1-2).

Wisconsin, which improved to 25-0 in Big Ten home games under coach Bo Ryan, took control of the game with a 26-9 run that stretched over both halves.

The Badgers led by as many as 13 points in the second half, but Ohio State used a 10-3 run to cut Wisconsin’s lead to 61-57 with 2:42 remaining after a basket by J.J. Sullinger.

Wilkinson answered with a 3-pointer with 2:08 left and Wisconsin’s Kammron Taylor hit a free throw to give the Badgers a 65-57 lead with 1:41 left.

But Ohio State scored the next four points, including a 3-pointer by Sylvester, to pull within 65-61 with 55 seconds left.

Hanson was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final 45 seconds as the Badgers held off the Buckeyes.

Dials scored 10 points in the opening 7:40 but spent much of the rest of the game in foul trouble. He sat out the final 6:08 of the first half after picking up his second foul, then committed his third and fourth fouls in the opening 4:14 of the second half. Dials eventually fouled out with 15 seconds left.

Ohio State led most of the first half behind Dials, who scored 10 of the Buckeyes’ first 14 points. But Dials didn’t score the final 12:20 of the half and Wisconsin used a 16-6 run to take a 31-26 halftime lead. Chambliss sparked the run with a pair of 3-pointers, and Michael Flowers had a tip-in at the buzzer for the Badgers.

The Badgers haven’t lost at Kohl Center since Dec. 4, 2002, when Wake Forest beat them 90-80.

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The Hawkeyes came into Big Ten play this week with a nine-game winning streak, but are now 0-2 in the conference after an 81-69 loss to Ohio State on Saturday.

“We were really playing well and now we look like a different basketball team,” coach Steve Alford said.

Iowa (12-3, 0-2), fell to Michigan on Wednesday, but now have a week off before its next game.

“We need the bye week,” Alford said. “Both Michigan and Ohio State played really well and we didn’t get the job done.”

Iowa is 0-2 in league play for the first time in 11 years.

“It’s unfortunate this came at the start of the Big Ten season,” the coach said, “but I told the guys that 0-2 is not the end of the season.”

Maybe not, but it doesn’t bode well that the Hawkeyes still have to play No. 1 Illinois twice, in addition to six other tough conference road games.

Terence Dials scored 22 points and drew attention away from Ohio State’s perimeter shooters as the Buckeyes (12-3, 1-1) never trailed.

“He attracts players,” Ohio State swingman Je’Kel Foster said of Dials.

Every time Dials touched the ball down low, Iowa players surrounded him. He frequently passed the ball back outside for an open shot.

“We didn’t want them shooting 3s and we tried to defend Dials at the same time,” Alford said. “We didn’t defend him, and their 3-point shooters shot well.”

A 12-0 first-half run allowed Ohio State to build a double-figure lead.

Dials hit 8-of-12 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. He had scored just seven points on 2-of-5 shooting in Wednesday night’s 84-65 loss to Illinois.

“We’ve learned to keep within our system,” Dials said. “I got a couple of big guys in foul trouble and the guards did a great job of getting me the ball.”

The attention to Dials opened things up on the perimeter.

Tony Stockman hit 5-of-7 3-pointers and added 19 points for Ohio State, which was 12-for-28 from behind the arc. Foster matched his career high with 12 points for the Buckeyes, hitting 4-of-7 3-pointers.

“We were successful with our 3-point shooting because they had to worry about Terence,” Stockman said.

Pierre Pierce had a career-best 31 points on a variety of drives to the hoop and outside shots with defenders draped over him. Greg Brunner added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawkeyes.

Down 47-32 at the half, Iowa cut the lead to nine with a 9-0 run - Brunner hitting two free throws and a basket in the surge. Ohio State coach Thad Matta slammed his open hand across the front of the scorer’s table - making a loud noise in an arena growing quieter by the minute - when Brunner’s offensive-rebound basket cut the lead to 59-49 a few minutes later.

The teams traded baskets for the next 8 minutes until Stockman tossed in a high arching 3-pointer from 5 feet behind the arc for a 70-57 lead with 5:16 left. Iowa never got closer than 11 points again.

The Buckeyes never trailed. With the score tied at 24 midway through the first half, the Hawkeyes began having trouble handling the ball.

Dials kicked off the 12-0 run with a quick move inside, before J.J. Sullinger dunked a follow off Brandon Fuss-Cheatham’s missed layup in traffic. After Iowa’s second consecutive turnover while trying to drive the middle, Matt Sylvester slashed from the left wing across the lane, hitting a finger roll while being fouled. His three-point play made it 31-24.

The Buckeyes got four shots from the field on their next possession - after yet another Iowa turnover - with Sullinger taking an alley-oop pass from Foster and hitting a reverse layup. Foster then added a 3-pointer to cap the run.

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