Men's Basketball
Buckeyes Remain in Big Ten Hunt with Win over Badgers
By John Porentas
The third time was the charm for the Buckeyes.
No. 19 Ohio State (13-2, 3-2 Big Ten) has faced ranked teams in three of its last four games and fell short the first two times, losing on the road to Indiana and at home to Michigan State, but finally broke through and beat a ranked team on their third attempt by handing No. 15/13 Wisconsin (14-3, 4-1) it's first loss in the Big Ten by a final of 77-67.
The Wisconsin loss throws wide open the Big Ten conference race. Wisconsin, Indiana and Iowa all now have one loss in the league, while Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Iowa all have just two. OSU's win over the Badgers renews title hopes for each of those teams.
"The big thing for us tonight was that Wisconsin was 4-0, the only undefeated team in the league. I think that was a tremendous motivator for us, to knock off the team that's at the top right now," said OSU Head Coach Thad Matta.
In the first half against the Badgers the Buckeyes continued the shooting woes from three point range they suffered against Michigan State. The Buckeyes made just two-of-nine, but managed to go the locker room at the half tied at 31. Matta said that was made possible by a solid defensive effort by his team despite the shooting problems from the perimeter.
"In order for us to be an effective basketball team it has to start with our half-court defense. The first two games our field-goal percentage defense was real high. That's been a major area of concern that we would be able to guard. The last two games we've been much better," said Matta.
"I thought the biggest issue at half time was just being a little bit tougher," Matta added.
"They made threes there in the first half, I think five threes, and the put-back points were a big key. I thought we did a pretty good job of defending them."
Wisconsin grabbed nine offensive rebounds in the first half that led to 12 second-chance points.
The Buckeyes opened the game strong and established an early 15-7 lead, but Wisconsin answered with an 11-0 run that was fueled by three three-point baskets, one by Joe Krabbenhoft, one by Kammron Taylor, one by Ray Nixon. Krabbenhoft also added a layup in the outburst.
After struggling for three consecutive halves from long range, two against Michigan State and one against Wisconsin, the Buckeyes rediscovered their three-point shooting ability in the second half against the Badgers. Ohio State hit five-of-six in the second half (83.3 per cent) and shot a blistering 53.8 per cent overall from the field. The torrid shooting offset problems at the free throw line where OSU made just 14-of-24 attempts in the game (56.0 per cent) including just 13-21 in the second half.
The first six minutes of the second half were close. OSU led by just one at 44-43 when Alando Tucker hit a jumper at 13:41, but Ohio State went on an 11-2 spurt to go up by nine at 54-45.
Wisconsin could get no closer than four the rest of the way despite OSU's foul shooting problems. The Badgers could not capitalize when they went cold from the field, particularly from three point range. OSU's defense took away much of Wisconsin's inside and mid-range game and the Badgers were able to connect on just one-of-11 three point attempts in the second half. Matta was especially pleased with his team's defensive effort.
"Give the guys credit, we did go back and got the stops that we needed when the free throws weren't falling, very similar to the Michigan State game the other day. I thought our guys did a great job when shots weren't going down. They didn't tie their offense to their defense and kept defending," said Matta.
The win keeps the Buckeyes in the thick of the Big Ten regular-season title chase.
"We wanted this game and we knew we had to get this one," said OSU senior forward Matt Sylvester.
"I think that's why this win feels so good, because you tell yourself you're backed against the wall and you have to get a win, and when you get it, it feels all the more better."
"Every win in the Big Ten is important, especially protecting your home court. I'm just glad our team came out and played extremely hard and got a win. I think our guys wanted to get something done today," added senior center Terence Dials who led the Buckeyes with a team-high 15 points. OSU got a very balanced offensive attack with four players in double figures. Sylvester, Jamar Butler and Ron Lewis all had 14 apiece and Je'Kell Foster added nine, including a clutch three pointer in the second half t extend OSU's lead to 7 after the Badgers had rallied to cut a ten-point OSU lead to just four.
"Je'Kell's shot was big," said Matta.
Wisconsin had no answer for Ron Lewis and Jamar Butler, each of whom had success putting the ball on the floor and driving for layups against the Badgers.
Wisconsin's Tucker and Nixon led all scorers with 21 points each. The were a combined 15-of-37 (40.54 per cent) from the field. Krabbenhoft led all rebounders with 13.
Wisconsin shot just 37.9 per cent from the field in the game.
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Updated Big Ten Standings