U Weekly. Serving The Ohio State University in Columbus Ohio

Ups and downs

Buckeyes flash, then falter

By VR Bryant

In a week in which Ohio State men's basketball had an opportunity to make a definitive statement about its national standing, a statement was indeed made - just probably not the one the team was hoping for.

After dropping the hammer on a Northwestern team that just three days prior had downed Purdue (which itself has rebounded with wins over Illinois and Michigan), the Buckeyes entered Morgantown to face the 11th-ranked Mountaineers on a three-game quality win streak and with a head full of steam.

And in the first half, they played like it. Similar to the win at Purdue however, it was very much a different story in the second stanza.

West Virginia charged out of the gates after the break, scoring 10 unanswered to neutralize almost completely the 12-point cushion Ohio State had made for itself. While the game was never out of reach for the Buckeyes, two events occurred in pretty quick succession that changed the landscape.

At 8:56 left in the game, a Da'Sean Butler three-pointer gave WVU its first lead of the game, 57-54. William Buford's answer 20 seconds later was the last field goal the team would record until under a minute to play when Dallas Lauderdale tipped in what - at that point - was another desperate attempt by Evan Turner to take the game back.

Credit to Turner for playing his guts out, but what we wound up seeing Saturday was the kind of offense we used to see his freshman year, when Jamar Butler was the lone legitimate offensive threat: four guys stand and watch the one man band. It didn't work then, and it's not going to work now.

At the risk of seeming inordinately critical of individual players, it was difficult to watch Jon Diebler struggle to even catch the basketball. A hold was finally called in the closing minutes, but for much of the game, he was a non-factor.

More troubling even than their man-handling of Diebler was the continued realization of a very unfortunate truth: the bench is paper thin, and in high-pressure situations, Matta clearly isn't comfortable trotting any of them out for significant periods of time. Jeremie Simmons and Kyle Madsen played a combined 19 minutes, logging two rebounds and four personal fouls between them.

As expected, West Virginia's size was a serious problem - Ohio State was out-rebounded 35 to 23. Still, it's a game - and a caliber of opponent - that the Buckeyes will likely encounter again come tournament time.

Bad news: it's difficult to imagine a fix to the depth problem before next November when Jared Sullinger and his pals show up. Good news: Ohio State is entering one of the less strenuous parts of its schedule.

Tonight Turner and company face an Iowa squad (8-12, 2-5) that has struggled mightily, both home and away. They're undersized and not especially athletic - essentially West Virginia's polar opposite.

The next three, all at home, are Minnesota, Penn State (winless in conference play), and Iowa again. It'll be a good time for the Buckeyes to get some confidence back and stockpile victories.

Losing on the road to the No. 11 team in the country is certainly not the end of the world, but it may wind up being the difference between a six seed and a five seed when all is said and done.

Originally Published: January 27, 2010

↑ Back to the top