Thad Matta’s Buckeyes edged Bo Ryan’s Badgers in this afternoon’s second Big Ten quarterfinal matchup.  Ohio State utilized big runs at the end of each half to will their way to victory in this one.  The Buckeyes closed the first half on a 7-0 run and closed the game with a 14-3 run after trailing Wisconsin 47-54 with less than 5 minutes to play.  It seemed that the home crowd was in Indianapolis for this one as you could hear chants of “OH-IO” and “LET’S GO BUCKS!” throughout the game.

·         For anyone watching the game, it was quite obvious that the Buckeyes were forcing Wisconsin out of their rhythm early and often.  Matta kept pressure on the ball with double teams while the Buckeyes were in their regular zone defense.  This allowed the Badgers to hit open shots when they were able to break the pressure of the Buckeye defense, but it also created turnovers and kept Wisconsin from playing their brand of basketball.

·         The key matchup of the game was Evan Turner against Marcus Landry.  Both players are the MVPs of their respective squads, both had large impacts on the flow of the game, and both finished with the game with 4 fouls.  Turner finished the game with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.  Landry got into foul trouble early and ended the game with just 9 points and 4 rebounds.

·         Despite outshooting the Badgers from the floor (50% to 36% for the game and 52% to 37% at half), the Buckeyes trailed Wisconsin for the majority of the game.  The main reason for this was poor free throw shooting on behalf of Ohio State.  The Buckeyes hit just 3 of 8 free throws in the first half and the Badgers hit 7 of 9. 

·         In the February matchup between the two teams in Madison, the Badgers outrebounded the Buckeyes 32 to 22.  That was not the case today, as the rebound total was dead even at 29 boards for each team.  Wisconsin did utilize a 9 to 4 advantage in the offensive rebound category, as they created second chance opportunities.  This is something that worries me heading into the rest of the postseason.  If it weren’t for Wisconsin shooting as poorly as they did from the field, Ohio State would have lost this game.

·         Another key reason for the loss to Wisconsin in early February was the turnover battle.  Ohio State turned the ball over 19 times while only forcing 9 turnovers in the regular season matchup.  Today the Buckeyes only turned it over 11 times as they forced 7 turnovers by Wisconsin.  The close turnover margin in combination with the Buckeye advantage in the block category (4 to 2) allowed the Buckeyes to keep this once close all afternoon despite allowing so many second chance opportunities for Wisconsin.

·         For anyone watching the game today, the impact of Dallas Lauderdale would surely have been noted.  There was speculation about the status of the shoulder injury he sustained in the season finale against Northwestern, but Dallas quickly extinguished any doubts as to his well being.  Lauderdale had 2 big blocks in the first five minutes of the game and finished the game with 4 swats.  He scored 8 points on a perfect 3-3 from the field and grabbed 5 rebounds.  An interesting “no call” occurred at the end of the first half as Dallas “clotheslined” Marcus Landry but was not called for a foul.  Instead a technical was whistled on Wisconsin’s bench and the Buckeyes earned two free throw attempts.

·         The Buckeye bench outplayed the Badger bench.  The supporting cast for Ohio State put up a combined 12 points in 38 minutes of play while the Wisconsin bench only managed 5 total points in 39 minutes.  It was the spark provided by reserve guard Jeremie Simmons, as he dropped 10 points, dished a pair of assists, and hit two clutch free throws to ice the game.  Also of note, freshman “phenom” BJ Mullens scored just 2 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and exited the game early as he picked up his 5^th foul with two minutes remaining in the game.

The turning point of the game occurred with 2:28 remaining as Evan Turner found Jon Diebler for a 3-point basket.  The basket came in the midst of the scoring run put on by Ohio State to close out the game and provided a true momentum swing that Wisconsin was not able to overcome.  Although Ohio State looked confused at times during this game, as they got lost in transition with their zone defense, they managed to play through their mistakes and come away with a solid victory over a talented team.

Throughout the game, the announcers were discussing the chances of Ohio State making the NCAA Tournament.  This victory clearly puts an end to that discussion.  Truthfully, the selection committee would have to be insane to keep the Buckeyes out even if they had lost today, but this afternoon’s victory over a strong Wisconsin team locks up a slot in the Big Dance for the Buckeyes.  Congratulations Buckeye fans!  We’re going dancing!

GO BUCKEYES!

-Chris

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