Ohio State keeps lead in Big Ten
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Call him a Lenzelle-of-all-trades.
Lenzelle Smith Jr. scored 17 points and had a career-high 12 rebounds as No. 4 Ohio State flexed its muscles inside to beat No. 20 Michigan 64-49 on Sunday, giving the Buckeyes a half-game lead in the Big Ten.
Ohio State, Michigan and idle Michigan State all entered the day 6-2 in the conference, and the Buckeyes broke the deadlock on a day when big man Jared Sullinger was limited by foul trouble and his teammates didn't hit many shots.
Smith powered the Buckeyes (19-3, 7-2) on the boards and on defense. His eight offensive rebounds were two less than all of the Wolverines (16-6, 6-3) combined. Those eight boards resulted in 13 points and five free throws -- enough to tilt the game in the favor of the two-time defending Big Ten champions.
"That's big-game 'L' for you," Sullinger said of Smith's games against Indiana (28 points) and Michigan. "When Lenzelle's rebounding the ball and he's in tune with the defense, he's pretty darned good."
Sullinger had 13 points, and William Buford and Deshaun Thomas both had 12 for Ohio State, which ran its winning streak over its archrival to six straight.
Wolverines coach John Beilein, whose team hosts the Buckeyes on Feb. 18, said his team will relish the rematch.
"It goes both ways, but we'll be looking forward to that," he said. "We circle every game on the calendar."
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points to lead the Wolverines. Trey Burke, the conference's top freshman point guard, returned to his hometown to play for the first time against Sullinger, his former high school teammate, and finished with 13 points.
Leading by three points at halftime, the Buckeyes pulled away with a 14-2 run midway through the second half.
AROUND THE NATION
■ BARNES LIFTS NO. 7 TAR HEELS -- At Chapel Hill, N.C., Harrison Barnes scored 23 points, and No. 7 North Carolina (18-3, 5-1 Atlantic Coast) hit 10 3-pointers in a 93-81 victory over Georgia Tech (8-13, 1-6) that ended a four-game losing streak to the Yellow Jackets.
■ ZELLER POWERS NO. 16 HOOSIERS -- At Bloomington, Ind., freshman Cody Zeller scored a season-high 26 points to lead No. 16 Indiana (17-5, 5-5 Big Ten) to a 103-89 win over Iowa (11-11, 3-6).
■ IRISH RISING, UCONN FALLING -- At Hartford, Conn., Eric Atkins scored 13 points, and Jerian Grant hit three free throws late as Notre Dame (14-8, 6-3 Big East) gained its third straight win and handed No. 24 Connecticut (14-6, 4-4) its third straight loss, 50-48.
