No. 3 Ohio State trying to avoid a repeat of 2011

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)

Among the hundreds of games fighting for position in Aaron Craft's mind, one stands out.

And the thing he remembers most from Ohio State's stunning upset loss last year at Wisconsin is that runaway torrent of cardinal flowing right at him from all directions.

''It was the first time I've ever had a court stormed on me,'' the Ohio State point guard said of the then-No. 1 Buckeyes' 71-67 loss in Kohl Center last Feb. 12. ''You look up and it's almost like `deer in the headlights' - what's going on? You're shaking hands and (then just trying) to find the way to the locker room.''

When the third-ranked Buckeyes (19-3, 7-2) put the top spot in the Big Ten on the line Saturday in Madison, Wis., they don't want to get caught in the crush again.

The Buckeyes had sliced through every opponent before having their perfect season end after 24 games last year in Madison, Wis. This year they hold a slight lead over three teams with three losses - No. 19 Wisconsin (18-5, 7-3), Michigan and Michigan State.

The Badgers, who have won their last six, feel as if a lot of teams are rooting for them.

''We're playing for the whole conference, in a way,'' said Jordan Taylor, who scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half of last year's victory over the Buckeyes. ''It's a big game. I'd be lying to you if I said it wasn't. But we're going to approach it just like any other game.''

Ohio State coach Thad Matta doesn't like to elevate one game - oh, my gosh, they're rivals! - from others on his schedule. He tries to be short-sighted, dealing only with the opponent at hand. And he tries to pass that attitude on to his team, to prevent it from losing track of the task at hand.

But even Matta, who is 0-6 at Wisconsin in his eight years at Ohio State, is itching to end that losing skid.

''I don't drive to work in morning saying, `This is the biggest game of the year. We have to do this ...''' he said. ''It's more like, `Hey, we're playing a great basketball team, a top-20 team.'''

He hesitated for an instant before adding, ''The fact that we haven't won there as a program, it does make you want to definitely win.''

After Wisconsin stormed back from a 15-point deficit and then stormed the court, Ohio State's All-American forward, Jared Sullinger, said a fan spit in his face. Badgers coach Bo Ryan said there were surveillance cameras around Kohl Center which may have picked up the alleged expectoration, although no proof was ever presented one way or the other.

He ended up discounting the alleged incident, adding, ''Deal with it.''

Ohio State's fans chanted that phrase during the rematch in Columbus in which the Buckeyes coasted to a 93-65 win.

But Buckeyes forward Deshaun Thomas said Sullinger has not talked anything beyond routine game preparation this week.

''He really doesn't discuss it,'' Thomas said of Sullinger. ''He just goes on to the next game. He's a guy who's focused right now.''

Moments after the Badgers beat Penn State 52-46 on Tuesday night, Ryan was already thinking about the Buckeyes, who have won their last four.

''We know what Ohio State has. We know what they bring,'' he said. ''Things are going to really have to jell to (beat) a team like that.''

Matta doesn't believe his players are talking about how Wisconsin has won the last nine home meetings with Ohio State. With a couple of difficult games most weeks, there's not much time or effort left over for vendettas or revenge.

''My biggest thing is do they know why we haven't won there?'' he said.

Asked if he knew why, he said, ''There's a lot of reasons. And they've had really good teams up there.''

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