Our Honor Defend

I really think the Buckeyes needed this victory.  I thought Ohio State was probably safe, though the Buckeyes, and the Big Ten in general, has been the subject of severe scrutiny across the college basketball world¹.  After all, those victories over Miami, Notre Dame and (as Steve Lavin argues) Butler don’t look so impressive now.  The first two will not be going to the NCAA tournament and Butler, who still ran over its Horizon League, lost its championship game to Cleveland State.  All things considered, Ohio State could’ve used this victory just to make the choice for the NCAA selection committee that much more certain.

Today, the Buckeyes got just that in Indianapolis.  Specifically, the proximate cause for victory was how well the Buckeyes closed both the first half and, of course, the more important second half.  A 7-0 run at the end of the first half, capped off by a William Buford three pointer at the buzzer to secure a 1 point lead entering intermission.  Later, after a Jason Bohannon three pointer gave the Wisconsin a 7 point lead, their largest of the game, with 6:03 left, the Buckeyes rallied to hold Wisconsin to 3 pts (0 FGs) the duration of the game.  The authoritative 14-3 run turned the tide on the Badgers, giving the Buckeyes a precious victory.

Michigan State is next up for the Buckeyes.  It’s no small feat to beat a team three times in a season.

Miscellaneous Observations

• I’m glad Minnesota-Michigan State drew the Hightower Experience for the first game of the day in the tournament.  By the looks of it, it was a fun experience for all.
• Someone who has the game on TiVo will have to double-check it for me, but didn’t Jim Jackson and Eddie George get on TV right as the Badgers built what I feared was an insurmountable 7 point lead?  And then Wisconsin promptly pissed that lead away?  I’ll take that as Eddie and Jim Jackson turning the game around for the Buckeyes.
• I’m telling myself that PJ Hill’s pen-in-sock moment was in anticipation of him posterizing some Badger, signing the ball used for the feat, and handing it to said Badger.
• I’ll permit that it may have been worth the gamble to foul a Wisconsin player with under 9 second left and a 4 point lead to force a 1-1, if that was the call.  However, the Buckeyes could do better than to foul Bohannon.  He’s an 81 percent free-throw shooter.
• Even then, I wouldn’t do that.
• Dallas Lauderdale was much, much improved this game.  Admittedly, there were some things he got away with in this game, notably that chop to the throat of Marcus Landry.  However, his 8 points and 4 blocks were important this game.
• In that same breath, he’s going to have to work on his balance and body control in the offseason.  The fact that he can’t jump up without coming down over out-of-bounds line on the inbound tells me he has no control over his body.  Further, considering how big he is, I can think of little excuse for a few of his trips to the free throw line to be anything other than an And-1.
• BJ Mullens showed why he could really use an extra year in Columbus. 2 points, 4 rebounds, 5 fouls.
• I thought the Buckeyes did a pretty good job rebounding, though I’ll be damned if they still didn’t get outrebounded for the game.  Wisconsin even secured 9 rebounds.  I think most of these were in the second half.
• This should be the last time I see Joe Krabbenhoft this season.  Thank God.

• Evan Turner finished with 19 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.  That’s my MVP dammit.
• If the Buckeyes’ victory wasn’t enough for you today, take time to find a Kentucky fan and congratulate them on making the NIT.  That used to be a very prestigious tournament, you know.

1. I’m 100 percent convinced that this is because of the Big Ten’s performance in college football.  That, and it’s also a product of perceptual distortion.  These people remember UNC and Duke pounding Michigan State and Purdue respectively, but omit Minnesota over Louisville, Michigan over Duke and UCLA and other important mid-level victories that give the Big Ten a creamy center, if they’re still light on top.  I guess it doesn’t help that college basketball coverage is dominated by the eastern seaboard. [↩]