MILWAUKEE — Nobody got a bigger boost than Ohio State when mighty Kansas tumbled and the Midwest Regional suddenly went up for grabs.
No way, then, that Evan Turner was going to have another bad game.
Turner shook off one of the worst shooting nights of his career by coming within an assist and a rebound of his third triple-double of the season, lifting Ohio State to a 75-66 victory over sloppy Georgia Tech on Sunday.
Turner, a leading candidate to add national player of the year to his Big Ten honors, finished with a game-high 24 points.
“The better he plays,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said, “the better we play.”
The deeper into the tournament the Buckeyes (29-7) play too.
With No. 1 Kansas, No. 3 Georgetown and No. 4 Maryland all eliminated, Ohio State has its best chance of returning to the Final Four since Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. took the Buckeyes there in 2007.
“It’s good to get a win out of the way,” Turner said. “Now you just have to focus on the next one.”
Jon Diebler added 20 points and David Lighty had 18 for the Buckeyes.
The Yellow Jackets (23-13) had 21 turnovers, eight more than they had in Friday night’s victory over Oklahoma State.
The Buckeyes weren’t exactly careful with the ball, either — they had 18.
