Ralph Sampson III scored 13 points for the sixth-seeded Golden Gophers (21-12), who reached the final for the first time. They'll play No. 7 Ohio State on Sunday for the championship.

Minnesota led 37-11 at halftime. It was the fewest points by Purdue in a half since the school started keeping track in 1950. Only a late layup by Patrick Bade allowed the Boilermakers to avoid the worst defeat ever in a Big Ten tournament game.

Colton Iverson scored 11 points and Devoe Joseph added 10 as Minnesota won its fourth straight and seventh of nine.

Purdue beat Minnesota twice in the regular season. The Boilermakers had won 13 of 14 and avenged their only loss during that stretch Friday against Northwestern.

JaJuan Johnson scored 17 points and D.J. Byrd added 11 for Purdue (27-5).

The Golden Gophers shot 48% from the field and outrebounded the Boilermakers 50-26.

Johnson shot 7-for-16 from the field, but his teammates were 9-for-42. The Boilermakers couldn't even score with no one guarding them, making just 8 of 18 free throws.

Minnesota started the game with a 9-2 run. After a bank shot by Chris Kramer, the Golden Gophers went on a 17-0 spurt to take a 26-4 lead. E'Twaun Moore missed his first eight shots, but finally scored to end Minnesota's run. Purdue went more than 11 minutes without scoring.

The Boilermakers barely reached double figures in the first half, getting there on a basket by Johnson.

Minnesota shot 61.5% in the first half and held Purdue to 5-for-27 shooting. Eight different Gophers joined in the fun by scoring before halftime, while only three Purdue players scored.

Moore, who tied a career high with 28 points in the quarterfinals against Northwestern, shot 1-for-12 in the first half. He hurt his left ankle on a drive with 18:21 left in the second half and was ineffective when he returned with 12:41 to play.

As the game approached the final seven minutes, Minnesota turned it into a dunk-off. First Sampson, then Devron Bostick threw down two-handed power jams to give the Gophers a 58-28 lead.

Lewis Jackson, Purdue's starting point guard, left the game with 6:21 remaining and was helped off the court, unable to put much pressure on his left leg.

Turner, Ohio State edge Illinois in double overtime

Evan Turner has accepted his mission at this year's Big Ten tournament.

He'll rescue No. 7 Ohio State from any sign of trouble.

One day after making a 37-foot buzzer-beater in the quarterfinals, Turner bailed out the Buckeyes again Saturday, scoring 12 of his 31 points after regulation to lead Ohio State past pesky Illinois 88-81 in double overtime.

"Coach (Thad) Matta and I always talk about if I get my teammates shots I might find myself open a little bit more, and you know maybe hitting more shots," Turner said. "Sometimes you just have to will your way and make things happen and that's it."

That's what the Big Ten player of the year did on a wacky day in Indianapolis.

The result: Ohio State will play in Sunday's title game against Minnesota, hoping to make its case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourney. The Buckeyes shared the regular-season title with Purdue and No. 11 Michigan State, which lost to Minnesota on Friday night.

Turner finished with a rare triple double — 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 of Ohio State's 18 turnovers. Turner also had six assists and two steals.

Still, Turner and the Buckeyes (26-7) almost didn't get their chance.

Twice Illinois had shots at the buzzer for the win. But Mike Davis didn't get a wide open layup off in time at the end of regulation, and D.J. Richardson missed a long jumper after the red lights lit up on the backboard at the close of the first overtime.

So when Turner got a third chance to save the Buckeyes, he didn't let them down. The junior swingman found Jon Diebler for an open 3 to start the second overtime, then made back-to-back layups to give the Buckeyes enough breathing room.

Turner played more than 14 minutes with four fouls and never went to the bench until he fouled out with a minute left in the game. He said afterward he still didn't need a break.

"We were in it to win it — we could have went for 80 minutes," he said. "We were going to win the game, however long it took."

Illinois (19-14) heads home to mull over another close call and whether its resume is strong enough to get one of the selection committee's 34 at-large bids.

"I don't know what's going to happen. Obviously, I think we had a good showing here, but that doesn't mean anything," said coach Bruce Weber, whose voice was hoarse. "Hopefully, the word got out because I think if we're one of the top 65 teams in the country and we get in the tournament, I think we can do some damage."

Turner was unstoppable when it mattered most.

He tied the score in regulation with a nifty drive down the baseline for a reverse layup. He scored the final eight Ohio State points in the first overtime, tying it with a layup with 22 seconds left, and then dominated over the final five minutes.

Diebler finished with 14 points, joining the Buckeyes' 1,000-point club. His fourth 3, just 15 seconds into the last overtime, gave him a school record 273. Jamar Butler held the previous mark of 272.

William Buford had 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Ohio State has won six straight, 12 of 13 and has not lost to an unranked team since Jan. 9.

Illinois was led by Demetri McCamey, who had 22 points, five assists and four steals. Richardson had 15 points, and Davis had 13 points and 18 rebounds, one short of Greg Oden's single-game tournament record (19).

It was almost enough.

Ohio State endured two long scoring droughts, more than 7 minutes in the first half and more than 4 minutes in the second half. The combination left the Buckeyes in a 45-35 hole.

That's when Ohio State started to rally around Turner. He scored seven points in a 20-0 run that gave the Buckeyes a 59-50 lead with 8 minutes left in regulation and seemingly had the them headed toward a rout.

Not so fast.

Illinois scored six straight points to get back in the game and took a 64-61 lead when McCamey hit a 3 with 1:17 to go. Buford tied the score with a layup, McCamey hit two free throws and Turner drove in for the reverse layup that tied it with 12 seconds left to force overtime.

Turner was just getting started.

"What a tremendous college basketball game and the turn of events, the changes of momentum," Matta said. "There were so many guys making great plays, I can't remember them all. They showed great toughness to win this basketball game.