No. 4 Ohio State beats No. 20 Michigan 64-49

[January 30, 2012]  COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Lenzelle Smith Jr. scored 17 points and had a career-high 12 rebounds as No. 4 Ohio State flexed its muscle inside to beat No. 20 Michigan 64-49 on Sunday, keeping the Buckeyes in a first-place tie in the Big Ten.

Jared Sullinger added 13 points and William Buford and Deshaun Thomas both had 12 for Ohio State (19-3, 7-2), which ran its winning streak over its archrival to six straight and eight of nine.

Tim Hardaway Jr. had 15 points for the Wolverines (16-6, 6-3). 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.

Michigan fell to 1-5 on opponents' home courts this season.

The Buckeyes extended their home-court winning streak to 38, the second-longest in the program's 100 years.

[Associated Press; By RUSTY MILLER]

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