Butler Scores 27 As Buckeyes Hold Off Golden Gophers, 76-60

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Tubby Smith won't forget his first game against Ohio State.

The Minnesota coach was called for a critical technical foul and Ohio State's Jamar Butler scored 27 points as the Buckeyes pulled away late to beat the Golden Gophers 76-60 on Saturday night.

"It probably did cost us (in) that run there," said the veteran coach, who is in his first year with Minnesota. "One of our kids over in the far corner there looked like he went down and I think it was a traveling call. That's the way it goes."

Minnesota, down 19-3 at the outset, scratched and clawed to get back to 44-41 on two free throws by Jonathan Williams at the 13:14 mark of the second half.

But the Buckeyes slowly pulled away, thanks to the curious call which led to the technical foul. Smith, who is 399-150 in 17 seasons at Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky and Minnesota, was stopped on his third try at his 400th career coaching win. It was the first time he had ever taken a team up against Ohio State.

Butler hit a 14-foot jumper on the left wing, then later tossed an over-the-shoulder alley-oop pass to Matt Terwilliger for a dunk to make it 48-42.

At the 9:52 mark, Travis Busch had the ball for Minnesota in the left corner when it appeared Terwilliger pushed him to the floor from behind. Instead of a foul on Terwilliger, Busch was called for traveling. That set off Smith, who was whistled for the technical as he ranted on the sideline.

"That kind of gave us a little momentum there," said Ohio State coach Thad Matta, who said he was blocked off and didn't have a good view of the play.

Butler, hitting 96 percent of his free throws this season, then hit both technical foul shots.

"We fed off the crowd," Butler said of the 19,049 at Value City Arena. "The crowd was great tonight and gave us a lot of juice and energy. When we got on that run, it was huge for us."

On Minnesota's next trip down the floor, Terwilliger tipped the ball away and Evan Turner saved it from going out of bounds near midcourt, passing behind his back to Jon Diebler for a breakaway dunk.

Diebler then stole the ball the next time Minnesota came down the court and fed Turner for another dunk and a 54-42 lead.

Butler, who had a streak of 38 consecutive made free throws end, also had nine assists in 38 minutes. Turner added 17 points and Kosta Koufos had 15 for the Buckeyes (14-6, 5-2 Big Ten), who won their second in a row after dropping three straight.

"Jamar is probably the best 3-point shooter in the nation," Koufos said. "He frees up our offense. We're fortunate to have such a great shooting guard ."

Dan Coleman led the Golden Gophers (12-6, 2-4) with 14 points with Lawrence McKenzie adding 10. They have lost their last three.

Moments after the Buckeyes' run, Butler bumped into a Minnesota player as the teams crossed paths during a timeout and was assessed a technical - setting off Ohio State coach Thad Matta during the timeout. Butler declined to comment about his technical.

The Buckeyes maintained their lead after that wild minute-and-a-half segment.

"The crowd was going crazy and that was the jolt we needed," Matta said.

Smith said people treated him well and he praised the arena. He wasn't nearly so pleased with how his team played.

"It wasn't a very pretty game for us but our kids fought hard," he said. "It was still a seven-point game with 7 minutes to go. But the bottom fell out. When you're pressing and trying to get back, you expend a lot of energy."

Not to mention the energy spent arguing with referees.