Visit to their old home sparks Buckeyes' win

Last update: March 25, 2008 - 2:01 AM

• OHIO STATE 73, CALIFORNIA 56: Jamar Butler scored 20 points and spurred a 17-2 first-half run with three three-pointers, leading the Buckeyes past the Golden Bears in an NIT second-round game in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday night.

The game was contested before a capacity crowd of 13,276 at 52-year-old St. John Arena. The Buckeyes' home court, Value City Arena, was being used for a concert by Bruce Springsteen, so the game was shifted a few hundred yards away to where Ohio State (21-13) played its home games a decade ago.

"It was loud. The crowd got us going out there," Butler said. "That's what players want to do, to play in environments like this. They gave us a little boost to get us going."

The Buckeyes, fifth in the Big Ten, advance to a home quarterfinal game on Wednesday night against Dayton. It will be the first meeting between the Flyers and Buckeyes since 1988.

Kosta Koufos had 17 points and Othello Hunter had one of the best games of his career, grabbing a career-high 16 rebounds to go with 11 points.

"It was electric in there," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said of the wild atmosphere at St. John Arena. "They did a tremendous job for us."

The meeting was the first between the teams since the 1960 national championship game. Those Buckeyes pounded defending national champion Cal 75-55 at the old Cow Palace in San Francisco -- Ohio State's only national championship in men's basketball.

• DAYTON 55, ILLINOIS STATE 48: The Flyers used a 17-0 second-half run to break open a close game en route to a victory over the Redbirds in a second-round game in Normal, Ill. Brian Roberts led Dayton (23-10) with 16 points.

Dayton freshman forward Chris Wright, who had been out since Jan. 9 because of a broken bone in his right ankle, scored eight points.

• MISSISSIPPI 85, NEBRASKA 75: Zach Graham scored 10 of his 14 points in overtime as the Rebels (23-10) beat the Cornhuskers in Oxford, Miss., and advanced to the third round at Virginia Tech.

• VIRGINIA TECH 75, UAB 49: A.D. Vassallo scored 18 points, and the Hokies ran away from the Blazers in Blacksburg, Va., in a second-round game. The Hokies (21-13) will play a quarterfinal game at home Wednesday against Mississippi.

ASSOCIATED PRESS