Ohio State 73, Gonzaga 66: Aaron Craft had 17 points and a season-high 10 assists as the Buckeyes edged the Bulldogs to move into the Sweet 16 for the third straight season.

Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas each added 18 points for No.2 seed Ohio State (29-7), which will face either Florida State or Cincinnati in the regional semifinal.

Trailing by as many as seven points in the first half and with Sullinger on the bench with foul trouble, Ohio State turned to Thomas as the sophomore scored 12 straight points the Buckeyes to tie the game at 37.

Craft sent Ohio State into the break with a rare first-half lead with a late jumper and continued his scoring outburst with the first seven points for the Buckeyes in the second half.

With the defensive attention focused on his offense, Craft assisted on the next two baskets – 3-pointers from Thomas and William Buford – as the Buckeyes raced out to a 52-42 advantage.

Craft forced freshman Kevin Pangos, the Bulldogs’ leading scorer, into a 3 of 14 shooting performance, holding him to 10 points.

But No. 7 seed Gonzaga (27-6) refused to wilt as fellow freshman Gary Bell Jr. hit a 3-pointer to fuel a 13-3 run, tying the game at 61 with 4:05 remaining.

However, Sullinger broke a long field-goal drought with two jumpers to increase Ohio State’s advantage to 66-61.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Ohio State, which finished last in the Big Ten in 3-pointers, went 9 of 24 beyond the arc. … Both of Craft’s double-digit assist games have come in the third round of the NCAA tournament. He had 15 assists against George Mason last season. … Sullinger went 3 of 3 from the field over the first 2:30 of the game, but did not hit his next shot until the 3:38 mark of the second half. He finished 5 of 9 from the field. ... Gonzaga shot 38.6 percent from the field, its second-worst shooting effort of the season.