Vets take center stage in Purdue-Ohio St. game

Posted February 15, 2010 10:00 pm

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- For three years in a row, Ohio State coach Thad Matta started each season building a team from scratch.

Kids leaving for the NBA after just one season, graduations and transfers decimated his roster. Continuity and unity took a beating.

This year, for the first time in several, the Buckeyes returned almost everyone from the previous season's team. They hang around together, live together, laugh together Ã¢â‚¬â€ť and play pretty well together, too.

The ninth-ranked Buckeyes (20-6, 10-3) meet No. 4 Purdue (21-3, 9-3) on Wednesday night, with the loser falling a game off the pace in the Big Ten race. Ohio State has won its last nine conference games, the Boilermakers their last seven.

Purdue starts three juniors, Ohio State four. Both have grown accustomed to big games.

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