The first two meetings between Ohio State and Wisconsin were dragged-out slugfests that left plenty of doubt as to who was the Big Ten’s best team.

On Sunday, the Buckeyes erased any doubt.

The Buckeyes turned the Big Ten Tournament final into a track meet, outdistancing Wisconsin for a relatively easy 66-49 win.

“They have a lot of athletes on their team and they like to get up and down,” Wisconsin guard Kammron Taylor said. “The first two times we played them, we kind of controlled that and I think we got away from that today.”

Wisconsin got Ohio State’s Greg Oden in foul trouble early and kept him off the scoreboard in the first half, but 12 Badger turnovers let the Buckeye guards get out in transition and race to a 26-20 halftime lead.

Wisconsin scored just two points in the first seven and a half minutes of the game.

“We were just trying to keep it close,” Ohio State guard Mike Conley Jr. said. “Without (Oden) in the game, a lot of things are a lot harder. The bench really came into play with Greg out of the game.”

Oden came alive after halftime, scoring 12 points and grabbing eight of his ten rebounds.

He added four blocked shots and a pair of backbreaking put-back dunks.

Fellow freshman Conley, added 18 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Buckeyes.

Wisconsin’s star forward Alando Tucker struggled to find his shot in the final minutes.

He scored just 10 points on 4-13 shooting and on several occasions found his trips to the lane stymied by the towering Oden.

Taylor added 15 for the Badgers, but hit on only 33 percent of his shots.

The Badgers as a team shot just 37 percent for the game.

“For most of the game we were trying to play from behind,” Tucker said.

“We were taking a lot of jump shots because that’s what was open, that was what was available. On the first ten or so possessions we had six or seven turnovers and it’s hard to establish a rhythm,” he said.

Wisconsin looked to be climbing back into the game several times in the second half, but the Buckeyes always had an answer.

The dagger came after Taylor hit a three-pointer to pull Wisconsin within seven points with just over 7 minutes left.

The Buckeyes drained most of the shot clock before Jamar Butler picked up a loose ball near midcourt, dribbled forward and drained a leaning three-pointer to stretch the lead to ten.

The Badgers would never get as close for the rest of the game.

After the game, with both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in its grasp and a No. 1 seed, Ohio State coach Thad Matta told the Buckeye crowd to keep watching through March.

“We’re not done yet,” Matta said.

For more Big Ten Tournement coverage:

Illinois gets No. 12 seed in NCAA

Oden dominates Big Ten as Illini guards, free throw shooting struggle

Column: Uncross your fingers, Illinois: You’re in the bracket

‘Empty possessions’ end Big Ten run