Buford: Double figures in 13 of last 15 (AP: Gilliam)Ohio State earned a season split against #19 Minnesota and moved into third place in the conference (7-4) after posting a 64-58 victory tonight in the Schott.
The Buckeyes again used a balanced attack placing five in double figures led by Evan Turner's 18 points and 10 boards. Turner's night included a 10/12 effort from the stripe including 6/7 in the final 64 seconds to keep Minnesota at bay.
A decisive 14-5 run capped by back to back threes from Jeremie Simmons and Jon Diebler helped Ohio State increase a 32-31 lead to 46-36 with 8:50 to play.
The 10 point cushion would shrink to three at 55-52 with 3:46 remaining thanks to Minnesota's Blake Hoffarber. The lefty outscored Ohio State 16-9 over the five minute span hitting six triples and a free throw for a four point play.
Fed up with Hoffarber torching the zone, Matta switched to a box and one with Dielber and Wil Buford doing the chasing. The move paid off as Hoffarber took just one more shot the rest of the way, a missed three, while his mates combined to shoot a shaky 2/10 allowing Turner's free throws to secure the W.
Admittedly a personal whipping boy of mine at times this season due to a lack of consistent play, Diebler had a strong all around game with six rips, four steals and two assists to go along with 11 points on a chilly 4/11 from the field (3/10 treys).
Wil Buford added 11 points (5/14 FG), five rebounds and four steals and was instrumental in a 14-2 first half run with seven points helping OSU turn a 13-7 hole into a 21-15 lead with a little over six minutes remaining before intermission.
The Buckeyes would take a 29-26 lead into the locker room on the back of 9/14 shooting over the final 10 minutes of the half following a 3/14 effort to start the game.
Bigs Dallas Lauderdale and B.J. Mullens did their Casper impression early combining for two points and zero boards, each picking up two fouls before the 8:24 mark of the opening session.
Lauderdale never turned it around playing just 12 minutes though Mullens did get on track in the second half scoring eight of his 10 points plus six boards. Normally, I cringe at the thought of Kyle Madsen playing eight minutes but if Lauderdale continues to play uninspired ball, I have no issue with Matta sitting Dallas down in hopes of motivating him to action.
I don't expect Lauderdale to light up the scoreboard but he's failed to score more than five points in seven straight games and he grabbed more than five rebounds only once in 11 conference games. I'm not impressed.
Moving back outside, Simmons bounced back from a zero point showing Tuesday against the Boilers with 10 points on 4/5 shooting in 22 turnover free minutes while P.J. Hill turned it over twice with zero points in 17 minutes.
Though the Buckeyes were out rebounded 37-30 they did manage to hold the Gophers to 40% shooting including the aforementioned 2/10 clamp down in the final minutes helping cap a 2-0 week against ranked opponents. That should be enough to vault Matta's squad back into the Top 25 with a week off before heading to Madison next Saturday night.
What's the prevailing opinion out there? Myself, I think this is a bad time for a week off considering the momentum generated from a four game winning streak but Turner could certainly use a breather after playing 40 minutes in six of the last seven games (37 in the other).
With seven conference wins in hand, Ohio State should need just two more wins, three max, to earn a trip to the dance.
Who's left to play you ask? @Wisconsin, @ Northwestern, Illinois, Penn State, @ Purdue, @ Iowa and Northwestern. I think I see at least two damn-near-locks in there (@ Iowa, Northwestern) with a chance to win all the others though @ Purdue is probably the longest shot.
You gotta like the position the Buckeyes find themselves in considering Lighty's injury and to a much lesser degree Crater's transfer.
Speaking of Lighty, he didn't sound confident in the possibility of returning this season when asked before the game:
“I hope so,” Lighty said when asked if he thought he would, “but I doubt it. (It's) taking longer (to heal) than I thought.”
Personally, this doesn't faze me much. He needs to redshirt and get ready for next year.
Comments
this kids are playing way over there head.... and i love it.
Go easy on Diebs...he may not be a consistent scorer but he gives solid minutes and makes smart decisions (usually). And when get gets hot...look out.
Respectfully disagree, the kids are starting to reach their potential....and i love it.
Diebs will be a beast in his Jr and SR years.
Didnt see the game, but I plan to watch the DVR later. I really dont have much to complain about, although id like to see BJ become more dominant. This is kinda what I expected from DL, although it would be nice to see him get his defensive groove back.
I dont like the week off either considering where the Bucks are heading for their next game. Wisconsin has been very dissappointing this year, and if they want a chance at the dance, they will be looking at this game as a must win. Scary.
All in all, there seem to be plenty of chances to pick up three or more wins and missing out on the dance would require a huge collapse right now. With the balanced attack our boys employ, this seems highly unlikely.
Only question now is where we will be seeded??
I would have to believe somewhere between 5 and 10. Vague, I know.
Way to state the obvious Bob Hunter, I guess someone has to keep the senior citizens filled in. I wasted 2 minutes of my life on this??
http://www.dispatch.com/live/c...
Line of the night "Go get it big guy!" I love it when JJ can no longer pretend to be impartial.
It was even cooler when I wrote the same thing 10 months ago:
http://www.elevenwarriors.com/...
From 1980 to 2008, 17 of the 28 NFL number 1 picks are from "warm weather schools", and Im sure if you look at the full drafts from those years, the stats would follow suit.
This tells me there's always been talent in the south, evident by Fla. St. and Miami's dominance in the 80's and 90's.
So why is everyone acting like there is some mass exoudus of talent, to the south? There isnt, its just ESPN selling the SEC.
I think it's a combination of the two...and I love it.
Its hard for Mullens to be real dominant offensively when they other guys don't know how to throw an entry pass. This team, with outside shooters like Diebler and Buford, could be very dangerous if they worked the inside-out game.
Yes and no. If you look at demographics, more people are moving from traditional rustbelt states (i.e. Ohio, Michigan, Pa) to the South and Southwest. Logic would follow that those two areas would start producing more blue chip talent as their population grows. That being said, it isn't like you can't find great talent in the Midwest and Northeast.
Some of that is hype, but there is some truth to it. It forces OSU to work a little harder on out of state guys.
I love it when SEC fans and media turn into sociologists and label the gap between Big Ten and SEC talent a result of a general move south. Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania is still more populous than Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, South Carolina and all these other supposedly talent-rich southern states, and only marginally less populous than Florida. What are we supposed to believe, that all the talented kids move south while the slow kids "stay" north, as if the south is some uncharted backwater Oasis of speed?
I find quite a bit of these claims predicated on racism - "black families move south, so all the athletes move south" and thus the north no longer has athletes by some twisted logic. The fact is, Southern high school football is far more important to southerners, and thus, they demand better coaches, conditioning and talent, and that feeds into southern football programs. Fans in Ohio, California, Texas and to a lesser extent parts of the Northeast (Penn State territory) share similar passions and demands, and that is why college teams from those states remain comparatively talented laden. You do not find the same sorts of demands placed on high school programs in Nebraska, Michigan, and North Dakota, for a variety of reasons (money being the primary one).
I think what gets lost way too much is not the talent between the North and South it's the time spent playing football at the high school level, Florida, Texas, and California all have Spring Football practice and Summer leagues for 7 on 7's. Ohio, PA, etc. their player either lift weights or play baseball or another sport, while all the sothern schools have significantly more football practices, it's not talent, it's experience. Combine that with the fact that Northern Colleges have to field a team that can win in 90 degrees and win in 10 degrees, Southern Colleges never have to worry about EVER playing in cold temperatures. Level the playing field and you'll see EQUAL talent!!! Actually if you think about it we should be proud to be able to accomplish what we can with the clear disadvantages we face, just goes to show Ohio is the coaching hotbed of the country.
Its a fact that most of the great athletes of all time come from lower income families and neighborhoods.
So in an on average economically depressed south, sports are viewed as a way out.
Also being able to play outdooors virtually year round helps too.
Id say the majority of good basketball players come from the north for this reason.
I forgot to mention this is why there is no discussion of the difference between the talent in North and South when it comes to BASKETBALL, why? Because basketball is played indoors, which means highschool players have the same amount of time to practice and play and have to play in the same weather conditions. AND when the Postseason arrives EVERY team has to travel, there isn't a Florida team that hasn't played a postseason game out of their home state in 5+ years, there isn't a California team that has played it's past 6 postseasons in it's own home town, and there isn't an Ohio team that in 120 years have never played 1 postseason game not only in their own state, but not even in a bordering state.
If we're talking economics, have you seen the Midwest lately? I don't buy into that explanation either; I think the degree of importance placed on high school football in a given state by fans, the media, and the actual athletes, will determine how much D-1 talent that state produces.
Florida and Texas are both absolutely batshit about high school football. Attending a game between two good schools in either state is just as fun to watch and attend as an actual college football game. Michigan, Connecticut, Indiana, Minnesota? Not so much. Basketball and sometimes even hockey are totally different stories, however.
But I do agree wholeheartedly with the climate concept - it isn't easy to get kids used to the sunny beaches of Florida or the year-round awesome that is Texas to come north to the frozen tundra of Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin et al
I love you.
I don't normally do this, but....
+1
Bob Hunter has been worthless for years. Every now and then he writes something worth reading, but mostly it's stuff like "OSU fans shouldn't expect the team to win every game". If I wanted to be lectured on an obvious point, I'd go see my wife's 90+ year old grandfather.
You're starting to sound like someone over at your blog.
Good point, BTW, have you seen the chicks in Gainseville???
[...] Don’t look now, but with the win over the Minnesota Gophers, Ohio State hoops is in third place within the Big Ten. Could they somehow find themselves with an at-large bid next month? [Chris/Eleven Warriors] [...]
The other factor is weather. I think this gets lost more than anything because weather dictates style of play in the North much more so than the South. Big Ten Teams, along with some Big XII and Bid East teams have to adjust their style of play in mid-October to a strong ground game and opportunistic passing because of crappy (windy, rainy, snowy, bad grass) conditions. There is a major philosophical shift in game planning because of conditions.
further South they don't have such considerations and can continue working on whatever it is they do best.
When bowl time comes around the Notrthern teams find themselves shifting back to their preferred style of play without the actual game reps the Southern teams have enjoyed.
There are no excuses. Just the realities of the situation. Northerrn teams need to get it done on the field regardless. Until then it will be a steady beating over the head of slow, slow, slow, slow Northern plodders.
I swear that I thought the same thing this morning when I read this....Hunter is struggling to put together relevant material these days.. he needs to retire.
Another good point. Having sixteen beautiful women hanging off you 24/7 is an added bonus.
In the Big Ten, that's only realistically going to happen at Ohio State, maybe Wisconsin. Indiana if you're on the b-ball team (but not this year)
Key word there is beautiful women. Beautiful women don't exist in Michigan or Pennsylvania, that's science
"further South they don’t have such considerations and can continue working on whatever it is they do best."
Totally agree, especially with high school (and younger) football and baseball players. Being able to tone your skills year around is one hell of an advantage. Up here x-box and playstation rule in winter.
funny you bring this up because as I watched the pro bowl last night they said NO one from the state of florida was in the game.
[...] a win over Minnesota on Saturday, the Buckeyes now have a week off before they take on Bucky at the Kohl Center this Saturday night [...]