Coming off an especially painful Big Ten loss at Indiana in just their second conference game of the season, the Buckeyes looked vulnerable. The last thing Ohio State coach Thad Matta wanted was for the rest of the Big Ten to suddenly think his Buckeyes were beatable.
The preseason favorites to repeat as conference champions used a home date with league newcomer Nebraska to reverse that train of thought before heading back out on the road. Ohio State pounded the Cornhuskers 71-40 on Tuesday in Columbus.
The Buckeyes' ability to survive another difficult outing and live up to the hype gets tested again, right away, with the upcoming trip to Iowa to face a Hawkeyes team that is still brimming with confidence after its recent stunning road win over Wisconsin.
It was imperative that the Buckeyes come with everything they had against Nebraska, and it turned out they brought more than that. Ohio State was up by 24 points at the half and never let off the accelerator.
"I think that nobody hates to lose more than we do," Matta said. "We had the ability to learn a lesson there at the end of December and continue to move forward."
The Buckeyes outrebounded the Cornhuskers 44-21 and forced more turnovers (17) than field goals they allowed (16).
"Better now than later," Ohio State sophomore forward Jared Sullinger said about the Buckeyes getting things turned around before facing the Hawkeyes. "It was a life lesson, what happened to us at Indiana. We gave up so many layups. We had to play better than that."
The Buckeyes hope Iowa and the rest of the Big Ten gets the message. Ohio State has won by double figures in 12 of its 14 victories this season, and 11 of those wins have been blowouts with a margin of victory of 22 points or more.
TRENDING: In their recent loss at Indiana, the Buckeyes were led in scoring by point guard Aaron Craft, which is unusual since Craft is the team's setup man and its defensive stopper. Ohio State put things back in order in the next outing, its first Big Ten contest ever against league newcomer Nebraska, with Craft providing the defensive energy that led to 17 Cornhuskers turnovers. Craft had three steals, giving him 116 for his career, and added four assists. The sophomore has 259 assists in his one season plus two months with the Buckeyes. In that time in Columbus, Craft has demonstrated that his defense and his ability to distribute the ball are key ingredients in the Buckeyes' path to success. If he continues in that mode, Ohio State's successful defense of its Big Ten title remains probable.
NOTES, QUOTES
--The Buckeyes appear to be pretty good at self-analysis. They headed into Big Ten play ranked second in the nation and sporting a 12-1 record, but the consensus inside the locker room was that much work needed to be done.
Besides his usual penchant for excessive worry, Ohio State coach Thad Matta finds legitimate fault in his team. The Buckeyes have been good, even great at times, but as they learned in a four-point loss at Indiana in their second Big Ten game of the season, consistency is still elusive.
"We've shot the ball more with this team than any other, and we've been hard on them in practice, getting them to understand what is and is not a good shot," Matta said. "We are starting to value shots and possessions more."
While ultra-talented, the Buckeyes remain one of the nation's youngest teams. They have one senior and just one junior, and he is in his first year playing for Ohio State.
The call to provide stability and leadership goes out to that lone senior, guard William Buford. The normally quiet and reserved Buford is in an as yet uncomfortable role as the voice of the team. The Toledo native seems resigned to taking the leadership mantle, but it appears he will have to grow into the job.
"I don't feel like we can replace the seniors we lost last year," Buford said. "I just try to do what I can do this year. I just want to try to bring the intensity and be a leader, that's about it. I just try to do whatever I can to help my team."
Matta is allowing Buford to accept the helm of this team at a pace that is comfortable to the senior, who has a promising pro future ahead of him and could have jumped to the NBA following his junior year.
"He was working out after practice yesterday and he had a great intensity and focus about him," Matta said about Buford, who has a shot at becoming Ohio State's career scoring leader before the end of the season. "I stopped him and said, 'William, this is how you have to play every possession of every game.' The big thing with him is continuing to improve every time he hits the floor."
Other members of the Buckeyes have acknowledged that they need to carry more of the load for this team, the preseason favorite to repeat as Big Ten champion. Sophomore G Jordan Sibert is putting some pressure on himself to be more productive in the conference games.
"I have been coming in and shooting with one of my managers, making sure I get up shots," Sibert said. "In the nonconference games, I didn't shoot as well as I wanted to. I'm just taking the extra time to make sure I get up shots instead of being complacent."
--Sophomore PG Aaron Craft, one of the best set-up men in the Big Ten, was Ohio State's leading scorer in a recent loss at Indiana. When the assists leader is the top scorer, the formula usually does not work out in a positive fashion.
--F Deshaun Thomas, an Indiana native and one of the top three all-time scorers in the history of Indiana high school basketball, hit a jump shot from the baseline to put the Buckeyes up 70-69 with under two minutes left in their Big Ten showdown at Indiana. The Hoosiers went on to take a four-point win.
BY THE NUMBERS: 0 -- In their Big Ten loss at Indiana in the first week of conference play, the Buckeyes failed to score any points off the fast break. Ohio State is often at its best when the Buckeyes are moving at high speed, and turning opposition mistakes into points. Without that production, Ohio State felt defeat for just the second time this season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "It was obviously a really difficult challenge. I thought we put ourselves in a pretty decent position. We didn't finish the half like we needed to. We had a couple turnovers that led to baskets. Those are things you've got to play through." -- Ohio State coach Thad Matta, on his team's loss at Indiana early in Big Ten play.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
THIS WEEK'S GAMES:
--at Iowa, Jan. 7
KEY MATCHUPS: The Hawkeyes have been pleased with freshman F Aaron White from Ohio, who had 18 points in the Hawkeyes' stunning upset win at Wisconsin. The Buckeyes will likely put sophomore F Deshaun Thomas on White and hope the athleticism and length of Thomas slows White. Senior G Bryce Cartwright is vital to the Iowa attack and Ohio State PG Aaron Craft squares off with Cartwright.
FUTURES MARKET: The Buckeyes are going to lean a lot on their only senior, G William Buford. How Buford responds to that role is yet to be determined. He took the most critical shot in the NCAA tournament loss to Kentucky last spring and missed it, and in the recent Big Ten loss at Indiana, Buford threw up a 3-pointer in the closing moments when all the Buckeyes needed was a two, and it also failed to connect. PLAYER NOTES
--Sophomore F Jared Sullinger missed an early showdown with national powerhouse Kansas and ended up missing two full games and three starts in the first two months of the season as he dealt with back spasms and then a foot injury.
The Big Ten's freshman of the year from last season, who also won All-America honors, Sullinger has sent the rest of the Big Ten and anyone else who is paying attention a distinct message -- he's back.
Sullinger had 17 points and 14 rebounds in the Big Ten-opening win against Northwestern. He added 15 points and nine rebounds in a stunning loss at Indiana, then put an exclamation point on his conference start with 17 points and 14 rebounds as the Buckeyes walloped Nebraska.
Iowa is up next for the Buckeyes, and Sullinger let the Hawkeyes and the rest of the conference know that the ailments that impacted him in the non-league portion of the schedule are history. Sullinger had the same total of offensive rebounds (six) as the entire Nebraska team had Tuesday.
The conference season is an 18-game slugfest that wears on everyone, especially an inside, physical player such as Sullinger. He needs to be on the floor for the Buckeyes to be most effective.
--PG Aaron Craft is among the 60 candidates for the Bob Cousy Award, which goes to the nation's top point guard. The sophomore from a small rural high school in Northwest Ohio has proven to be mature beyond his years and one of the top defenders in the Big Ten conference.
--G Alex Rogers, who transferred to Ohio State from Christian Brothers University in Memphis, has made the team as a walk-on but will sit out the current season and have two years of eligibility remaining.
--G/F LaQuinton Ross, a 6-foot-8 freshman from Mississippi, was cleared to join the team just before the start of the Big Ten portion of the schedule. Ross had been in limbo while the NCAA resolved issues relating to his transcript and academic standing. In his first game with the Buckeyes, Ross hit his first shot, a 3-pointer and finished with five points in four minutes of play.
