Hunter finally got a chance to show his ups.
Ohio State got back on the winning track against lowly Northwestern 65-47 Wednesday night, putting four players in double figures and giving Thad Matta his 200th career victory (200-61). After a sluggish first half, Ohio State finally decided to look inside and outscored Northwestern 36-22 in the second, with 17 of those points coming from the Big Boys.
Northwestern's defense lived up to its conference worst hype, allowing Ohio State to shoot 53 percent from the floor and 41 percent from downtown. While it was a good shooting night for Thad's team, it was just as disturbing to see the sloppy play leading to 18 turnovers.
The first half saw two teams who are offensively challenged exchange turnovers and random buckets, accounting for 8 lead changes and a combined 21 turnovers. The Buckeyes made 48 percent of their shots in the first, including 4-11 from deep and committed 10 miscues. Thankfully their defense continues to impress as they held Northwestern to 43 percent shooting and 11 turnovers, closing out the half on an 11-6 run over the last nine minutes.
Koufos and Hunter took advantage of their size and combined for 13 points on 6-7 shooting, while also grabbing 10 rebounds in the first half. Butler lead Ohio State at half with nine points (all on threes), but Lighty and Turner combined to shoot 2-8.
Ohio State came into this game as one of the top defensive teams nationally and held their 20th straight opponent to under 45 percent shooting. Thad's team held the hapless Cats to 37 percent shooting and leading scorer Kevin Coble, to four points on 2-7 from the floor. The Buckeyes used a 17-2 run late in the second to pull away from Northwestern.
Kosta Koufos continued his recent strong play recording his fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. I think Koufos is an 11W reader, as he has scored 10+ points for the seventh straight game since Chris wrote this. His running mate Othello Hunter finally got a chance to touch the rock, making 6 of 8 shots for 14 points and five rebounds. Hunter has taken 7 or more shots in only five conference games. I swear if he would get more looks, he could be all-conference.
Even though he scored only three points in the second, Jamar Butler had a banner night. Dr. Smooth became the all time leader in assists at Ohio State with 517, eclipsing Kelvin Ransey's 28 year old mark. Jamar finished with 12 points and 6 assists, but seemed to continue a recent trend of being careless with the ball, causing concern of burnout. Butler and Matt Terwilliger also tied the mark for most wins in an Ohio State career with 98 victories and will look to break the 45 year old mark Sunday at Ann Arbor.
Evan Turner seemed to be over his recent wrist problems starting after half, hitting all three of his shots and finishing the game with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 turnovers. Jon Diebler also continued his latest shooting streak by hitting 3 of 6 from deep and finishing with nine points. These two are going to be the key in any type of late season run Ohio State may have, because it definitely is not going to come from David Lighty, who finished with 2 points and 4 turnovers.
Ohio State will get a chance to go 2-0 on this mini road trip on Sunday. A win at Michigan would push the Bucks to 9-4 within conference play and creep them closer to a possible four seed in the Big Ten tourney. I still haven't given up on tournament hopes, in Thad I trust and this team may just peak a bit later than normal.
Comments
is it just me (without researching) or does it seem that Diebler has had quite a few games where his only points were behind the arc and maybe a free throw or two? I look at him and see potential, but I'm sure as hell don't see a solid all around player. 40+ points/gm in high school is one thing, but I can't imagine all of those came from behind the arc. I just hope his overall offensive game improves with time, and I think it will.
Who is the most disappointing?
a. David Lighty
b. D-Lite
c. David Lighty's parents' son
d. Ohio State's sophmore starting guard
It must be some kind of adjustment to go from high school basketball to Big T(elev)en basketball. When I played football in D-III, I was having trouble making the transition, and that was only at the D-III level. I can't imagine what D-I is like.
I didn't really expect Diebler to come in and drop 40+ per game as a freshman, but I did expect him to get a solid 15 or so, get half-a-dozen boards, a couple of assists, and play scrappy defense. I'm hoping that he'll eventually develop into a Jay Burson-type - tough defender who overcomes his slow foot speed with effort and headiness, and good (eventually) for 20 a night.
The one thing with which I'm most disappointed in Diebler is his defense. He's getting better, but he looks awfully slow and heavy-legged. (Which is a funny thing for a former O-lineman to say.)
Wasn't Lighty a stud this past summer on the Team USA U-19 squad? I thought he was averaging in the teens in scoring. Sure would be nice to see him assert himself during this last part of the season.
On another note, I am so F***ing tired of having to read the Dispatch and blogs (no offense - I am a fan really) to find out what happened in our basketball games. I, like many others, remain without the godforsaken Big Ten Network. It was one thing during football season when, for a few games, I had to trudge to the sports bar to watch. But those were all on Saturdays when I didn't have to be productive the next day. There have been so many bball games on the BTN that I haven't seen, I feel little connection to this team and have had a hard time staying engaged. I officially hate the BTN and Time Warner Cable. Sorry for the rant.
I'm starting to think it was the U-19 (months) team and his crossovers were breakin' toddlers ankles.
The rants are only starting to begin regarding BTN if the Big10 gets 4 teams in the tourney. I don't think that will happen, but with lack of exposure you never know. When is the last time that happened? The Wisky-IU game was pretty entertaining and no one saw it.
Last night's game was interesting. I was about to give up on this squad after the first half. What a disgrace, but they rallied and played well in the 2nd. The ball security alone is enough to give me panic attacks. When Northwestern's guards are blocking shots and getting steals you've got some serious issues. The only thing worse than NU's offense is their defense. I'm glad the first must win game of the season was against a purple team. Now on to Li'l' Detroit.
I second that, Kyle. I've only been able to watch a handful of games (mostly the weekend games on cbs or espin). It almost seems like there was no basketball season this year.
I was ready to pull my hair out over all those turnovers. I felt like the game should have been played in fast motion with the Benny Hill music in the background. Wow. Somehow they need to get that under control. Lighty should clearly not be handling the ball in a press. He's going to cost them a game.
I assume the entire Big 10 Tournament will be on the BTN as well?
They have 2 2nd round games, according to their website.
http://www.bigtennetwork.com/C...
[...] just 43-40 lifetime in Evanston. Thad Matta is a perfect 7-0 against the ‘Cats including a pair of double digit wins last season that featured strong performances from Evan Turner and Jon [...]