With March approaching and a highly contested Big Ten race about to reach its climax, the Buckeyes needed to keep winning.

They did again, 66-55, on Saturday against rival Michigan at the Schottenstein Center, avenging a loss to the Wolverines in Ann Arbor earlier in the season without junior guard Evan Turner, when Ohio State was arguably at its lowest point, starting 1-3 in conference.

Now, after beating every team in the Big Ten and setting its sights on a league title, Ohio State is at its highest.

OSU (23-7, 13-4) had two large scoring runs of nine in the first half and eight in the second to neutralize the Wolverines. Ohio State is now in the driver’s seat after Michigan State’s victory Sunday over Purdue.

“It’s a win if we want to stay in the hunt,” junior center Dallas Lauderdale said. “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing against, rival or no rival. We’re just trying to get wins.”

Sophomore guard William Buford led the Buckeyes with 24 points on nine-of-15 shooting. Turner began the day six-of-six from the field and finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

Turner started immediately with a precise baseline jumper on the first possession. The Buckeyes used the momentum to gain a quick nine-point lead. Buford, junior forward David Lighty and junior guard Jon Diebler all knocked down their first attempts. The Wolverines missed their first five shots before sophomore guard Zack Novak finally buried a 3-pointer to get Michigan its first points with 15:45 remaining in the first half.

Michigan would use the rest of the first half to claw its way back and take a one-point lead at halftime.

“I thought we got off to a good start,” OSU coach Thad Matta said. “Michigan held the ball on each possession and we probably got a little impatient defensively. I thought in the first half our biggest problem was carelessness with the seven turnovers because they were converting them on the other end. We wanted to continue to attack and rebound, and we executed pretty good and guys made big plays for us down the stretch.”

The Buckeyes came out in the second half and, like in the first, forced Michigan to play with a quicker pace.

One sequence in particular turned the tide for the Buckeyes and gave them the momentum the rest of the way.

With OSU leading 43-37, Michigan guard Manny Harris missed a jumper from behind the arc. OSU tried to turn the miss into quick points on a fast break, but a big rejection by Michigan forward DeShawn Sims on a Buford layup again gave Michigan a shot to cut into the lead.

Turner, however, had different ideas. On the ensuing fastbreak by the Wolverines, Novak tried for a layup, but the Player of the Year candidate snatched the ball off the backboard.

Diebler missed a 3-point attempt, but Turner finished his great effort with a putback to push the lead to eight.

It’s been those kinds of plays that have earned Turner national attention this season and could potentially give him several accolades when the season is finished.

“Turner certainly is one of the few guys that you can just give him the ball at 17 feet and he can make a shot over somebody at 10,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “There’s not a whole lot of defenses for that.”

Lauderdale, who isn’t known to be much of an offensive threat, gave the Buckeyes some tough points down low, tying his career-high of 14 points. He doesn’t miss often around the basket, finishing mostly with high-percentage shots and dunks.

A one-handed, alley-oop dunk highlighted the day for Lauderdale. It elevated the fans in attendance to their feet as he threw-down a high pass from Turner — a pass that looked as if it wasn’t reachable.

“I tell my teammates to just throw it and I am going to go get it,” Lauderdale said with a smile. “My teammates usually just call me ‘go get it.’ They just throw the ball wherever in the air and I just go get it.”

Ohio State, now first in the Big Ten, hosts Illinois Tuesday at 9 p.m. in its final regular season tune-up before the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes can clinch a share of the Big Ten regular season title with a win.