While the first game in Ann Arbor was an offensive shootout, the Ohio State Buckeyes clamped down the defense for a 64-54 win over the Michigan Wolverines at Value City Arena, Saturday afternoon.

The Buckeyes shot lights-out against the Wolverines back on February 9, going 36-of-59 from the field for an impressive 61.0 percent. In three-point shooting, Ohio State finished going 15-of-24 from behind the arc. Michigan shot a respectable 52.3 percent from the floor on 34-of-65 shooting.

On Saturday, neither team was able to match the offensive output of the first game in Ann Arbor. Ohio State shot 22-of-56 (39.3 percent) from the field, but defensively, the Buckeyes’ held the Wolverines to just a 37.3 field goal percentage on 22-of-59 shooting.

“We felt we had to play much better defensively than we did at their place. Today, both teams were off offensively. You have to give our guys credit, they hung in there and played well,” Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said after the game about his teams’ defense.

In the first meeting between both teams at Crisler Arena in which Ohio State won 94-85, the Buckeyes’ got off to a sluggish start and trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half.

This time around in Columbus, after Matt Sylvester drilled a three-pointer 31 seconds into the game that broke a scoreless tie, Ohio State would never trail. And at no point thereafter would the game be deadlocked.

The Buckeyes were once again led by senior center Terence Dials, who had his fifth straight double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Not only was Dials effective on the offensive end, but defensively he was able to hold Michigan center Courtney Sims to just 10 points.

“Well, he is playing great basketball right now. I think he is in great shape. It shows because he is finishing much better than he did earlier this year. His defense today was better than at Michigan. He came out and took care of business,” Matta said about Dials.

After Michigan guard Daniel Horton scored 39 points in the Wolverines’ upset win against Illinois last Tuesday, the Buckeyes’ kept him in check all game long, holding him to 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting.

Ohio State led 27-22 at halftime, and were up by as many as 17 points after Dials converted one of two free throws with 5:19 left to play in the game that put the Buckeyes’ ahead 58-41.

J.J. Sullinger added 13 points and eight rebounds, the only other Ohio State player to record a double-digit point total.

Ron Coleman led the Wolverines with 13 points.

Up next, the Buckeyes travel to Evanston, Illinois, to take on the Northwestern Wildcats at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tip-off time is scheduled for 8 pm.

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Terence Dials scored 19 points in the paint while four others scored in double figures, and five of Dials’ teammates connected from downtown as the 13th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes avenged a home loss by defeating the 18th-ranked Michigan State Spartans 79-68 at the Breslin Center, Wednesday night.

The win moved Ohio State into a first-place tie with Iowa, and it snapped a 10-game losing streak in East Lansing. The win also ended Michigan State’s 15-game home winning streak.

Je’Kel Foster scored 17 points, Ron Lewis added 13, Jamar Butler chipped in a dozen, and Matt Sylvester dropped down an even 10 for the Buckeyes, who were 11-of-24 from three-point range.

“It has been so tough to get a win here, it feels great to do what we did tonight. Everyone played a part in it. When people have to focus on our 3-point shooters, it opens up a lot inside,” Dials said.

Ohio State scored 12 of the games’ first 14 points, all on threes, as Butler, Foster, J.J. Sullinger and Sylvester each rung up long balls.

The Buckeyes went ahead as much as 12 points in the first half after a conventional three-point play by Butler put Ohio State ahead 19-7 with 13:39 left.

Spartans’ guard Maurice Ager, who scored 16 of his 26 points in the first half, singlehandedly put Michigan State back into the game as he lit up the scoreboard with nine himself to cut the Ohio State lead down to 19-16 with 10:28 remaining.

Ohio State held on to the lead until Ager followed up a miss by center Paul Davis, and his tip-in tied the game at 27-all with 6:02 left.

The game seesawed back and forth until Ager nailed a triple with 10 seconds left that gave the Spartans their first lead of the game, and Michigan State headed into intermission leading 37-34.

The Spartans added to their advantage, and after a layup by Shannon Brown with 18:50 to play in the game, Michigan State claimed its’ biggest lead of the game at 43-36.

But Ohio State rallied and after a three-pointer by Foster at the 9:45 mark that made the score 57-54, the Buckeyes’ never trailed the rest of the way.

Butler hit two key three-pointers down the stretch, one when the Spartans trailed just 67-66 with 3:55 left, and another that put Ohio State ahead 75-66 with 1:16 remaining.

The Buckeyes shot 28-of-58 (48.3 percent) from the field, including 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) beyond the arc. Dials had 10 rebounds as Ohio State finished with a 33-32 advantage on the boards.

“The biggest challenge we had at halftime was trying to do a better job rebounding the basketball,” Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said of an 18-10 second-half edge. “I thought that was the difference. But we kept our composure during their runs and hit some really big shots.”

Up next, the Buckeyes’ host the Michigan Wolverines at Value City Arena, Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 pm.

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Brick: adj. A hard, errant shot that caroms or clangs wildly off the basket or backboard.

Ohio State shot so many bricks on Saturday, they might be eligible for a union card.

If Thad Matta took his team on a fishing trip, life jackets would not be needed because they would not hit water if they fell out of the boat. Or ice, considering how cold it is now in Columbus.

J.J. Sullinger was one of the few Buckeyes that seemed immuned to the contagious “brickitis” bug, scoring 16 points to lead the 12th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes to a 61-52 win over the Northwestern Wildcats at Value City Arena, Saturday afternoon.

Sullinger was 6-of-12 from the floor, though he only made one out of his four attempts from beyond the arc.

Senior center Terence Dials recorded his third straight double-double after he scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, while pulling down a team-high 15 rebounds.

It did not seem that Dials caught the shooting virus from inside 15 feet, going 5-of-8 from the field. Of course, he did looked a little ill when it came to shooting free throws, going 4-of-10.

The Buckeyes finished the game a mere 3-of-23 from three-point range. Those who may have to wear a hard hat next game are Ron Lewis, 1-of-5, Jamar Butler 1-of-7, and Je’Kel Foster 0-of-6. You would almost think that the Big Ten moved the three-point line from 19 feet 9 inches, to Pataskala.

If my math is correct, that’s 13.0 percent.

It wasn’t much better for these three inside the line, either. Lewis was 5-of-14 and scored 15 points, Butler was 2-of-10 for 12 points, and Foster was 1-of-7 for just two points.

Ohio State, when all was said and done, was 20-of-54 from the field for a measly 37.0 percent.

One positive note, Ohio State outrebounded Northwestern 45-31, to match the season high first set versus Florida A&M. The Buckeyes’ also had 18 offensive rebounds, which is the best output this season, topping the 16 OSU had against the Rattlers. Of course with all of the basketballs banging off the rim, there tends to be more rebounds to get.

Northwestern also seemed to catch “brickitis,” shooting 24-of-58 (41.4 percent) from the field, and 3-of-20 (15.0 percent) from three-point land.

It took Ohio State five minutes and 53 seconds into the game before replacing the big zero on the scoreboard with another number. After Lewis made one of his two free throw attempts, The Buckeyes’ trailed 9-1.

Ohio State’s first field goal of the contest came after eight minutes and one second ran off the clock when Lewis scored on a jumper with 11:59 left in the first half, cutting the Wildcat lead down to 13-3.

That spurned a 15-4 run by the Buckeyes which was capped off on a triple by Sullinger that tied the game at 17-all with 3:42 left.

Northwestern came right back on the next possession to retakk the lead after a three-pointer by Craig Moore put the Wildcats ahead 20-17 with 3:19 remaining in the first half.

Ohio State then went on a 19-4 run from that point in the first half until the 13:47 mark of the second after an offensive rebound and putback by Sullinger that gave the Buckeyes a 38-27 advantage.

The Wildcats whittled away at the lead and trailed by just two at 48-46 after a steal and a layup by Mohammed Hachad with 6:06 remaining in the game.

Then Dials brought his lunch pail to work with his hard hat on scoring 10 points, with eight of those from offensive rebounds as the Buckeyes’ held off the pesky Wildcats.

Ohio State was without the services of starting forward Matt Sylvester, who was suffering my back spasms before the game. Matta also did not have the help of backup point guard Sylvester Mayes, who sat out his fourth-straight game.

The only substitutes Matta used all game were Matt Terwilliger and Ivan Harris, yet neither of them played in the second half. All five starters for the Buckeyes’ played 20 minutes in the of the final period.

It would almost seem to suggest that Matta was going to give his five every chance to grind out a win, and left it up to them. Though the five seemed quite fatigued at the end, it will no doubt make them stronger as the regular season nears the end and the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments loom on the horizon.

Hachad led the Wildcats with 19 points, and Vedran Vukusic added 17 for Northwestern.

Up next, Ohio State travels to East Lansing to take on Michigan State, Wednesday night. Tip-off time at the Breslin Center is at 8 pm.

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Decent first half, poor second half equals loss.

That was the equation as the unranked Wisconsin Badgers defeated the 12th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 78-73 at the Kohl Center, Wednesday night.

Wisconsin’s Alando Tucker scored 17 of his 27 points in the second half to lead the Badgers, after the Buckeyes held a 37-28 lead at halftime.

Wisconsin defended the perimeter quite well all night, limiting Ohio State to just 17 three-point field goal attempts with the Buckeyes making just four of them.

With UW’s tight defense on the outside, that opened up the inside for OSU’s Terence Dials, who led the Buckeyes with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

After a tight, seesaw beginning to the game, a three-pointer by Ohio State’s Ron Lewis put the Buckeyes ahead 17-14 with 10:38 remaining in the first half. It would be a lead Ohio State would not relinquish until the final three minutes of the game.

Ohio State led by as many as 13 points in the first half after a trey by senior forward Matt Sylvester put the Buckeyes on top 35:22 with 2:22 left.

Wisconsin went on the score the next four points to cut into the lead and trailed 37-28 at halftime.

With Ohio State ahead 64-59 with 5:10 remaining to play in the game, Wisconsin scored seven straight points, a three-point field goal and a short jumper by guard Ray Nixon, along with a pair of free throws by Tucker that put the Badgers ahead 66-64 with 2:54 left.

After a jumper by OSU’s Jamar Butler tied the game once again, it was a three-pointer by Nixon that gave the Badgers’ the lead for good with 2:25 left, making the score 69-66.

Ohio State held Wisconsin to 28 first half points, but were torched for 50 in the final 20 minutes.

One big concern is that Wisconsin outrebounded Ohio State 38-27, and the Badgers’ had 15 offensive boards that led to 20 second-chance points. Meanwhile, Ohio State had seven offensive rebounds for a grand total of two second-chance points.

Also, Ohio State’s hot shooting went ice cold in Madison as the Buckeyes’ were a respectable 3-of-8 in the first half, but a pathetic 1-of-9 in the second behind the three-point line.

Butler had another solid outing with 17 points, and Sylvester was the only other Buckeye to score in double figures with 14. Je’Kel Foster struggled all night, shooting just 3-of-9 from the field including 1-of-5 from beyond the arc for seven points.

Along with Tucker, three other Badgers’ scored in double digits with center Brian Butch adding 17, Nixon chipping in 13, and Kammron Taylor dropping down a dozen.

Up next, the Buckeyes’ will host the Northwestern Wildcats at Value City Arena on Saturday. Tip-off time is scheduled for 12:15 pm.

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The 19th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, coming off a huge win at Michigan on Thursday, hosts the 10th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini (20-3, 6-3 Big Ten) at Value City Arena this afternoon. Tip-off time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

The game will be televised nationally on CBS with Kevin Harlan and former Buckeye Clark “Special K” Kellogg calling the game action. As always, the game can be heard throughout Buckeyeland on the 59-station OSU Radio Network with “Big Daddy” Paul Keels and Ronnie Stokes.

Both teams are 6-3 in the Big Ten, with the winner being just a half-game back of conference-leader Iowa in the standings.

Let’s journey to March of 2005, the last time Ohio State hosted Illinois at Value City Arena:

Buckeyes knock off #1 Illinois
By: Matthew Barker
March 7, 2005

Junior forward Matt Sylvester scored a career-high 25 points, including the game-winning three-pointer with 5.1 seconds left in the game to lead the Ohio State Buckeyes to a 65-64 victory over the No.1-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini in front of a raucous crowd of 19,200 at Value City Arena, Sunday afternoon.

Sylvester was a man on a mission against Illinois. He scored the Buckeyes final five points. He scored on a layup with 1:43 left to cut the Illini lead to 64-62. His triple in the closing seconds gave OSU its first lead of the game, and at the only time it really mattered. Sylvester scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half.

Illinois had a chance to win the game at the buzzer. Following the Buckeyes’ score, the Illini inbounded the ball under the OSU basket. The pass was tipped and went out-of-bounds near the scorer’s table with 2.2 seconds left. On the next inbounds play, Deron Williams passed the ball to Roger Powell who rushed a three-pointer from beyond the top of the key, and the shot fell well short of its’ target. After the horn sounded, fans rushed on to the court to mob the players and celebrate the upset victory.

For this year’s game, Ohio State basically returns all five starters (Ivan Harris started last year vs. Illinois, played just five minutes), while the Fighting Illini return just two starters from a team that was the Big Ten regular season and tournament champions, who also advanced to the NCAA Championship game losing to North Carolina 75-70.

Illinois lost three starters in Deron Williams, Luther Head, and Roger Powell. One of the players that is returning to Value City Arena is 6-foot senior point guard Dee Brown, who was the 2005 Big Ten Player of the Year and a first-team, All-American selection.

The folks at the O-Zone feel that Brown is overrated, while the people at Illinitalk think that is “perfect bulletin board material for Sunday’s showdown.”

Let’s take a look at the statistics. Brown is averaging 15.0 points per game, which ranks him tied for 10th in the Big Ten. He also ranks second in the conference with a 5.8 assists per game average.

But Brown is just 114-of-305 (37.4 percent) from the field, and a less than impressive 57-of-171 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc for the 2005-06 season.

Last year, Brown was 179-of-359 (49.9 percent) from the field, and 99-of-228 (43.4 percent) from beyond the arc.

One other note, Brown had just 73 turnovers last year in 39 games. This year, he has 67 in just 23 games. While his assist numbers this year have improved, his assist-to-turnover ration has gone from 2.42 down to 2.0.

In Illinois’ three losses this season, at Iowa 63-48, at Indiana 62-60, and the Illini’s last game versus Penn State 66-65, Brown was held to 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting against the Nittany Lions. In Illinois’ three losses, Brown has averaged 7.3 points and shot 6-for-34 (17.6 percent) from the field.

Are those the type of numbers to garner another Big Ten Player of the Year Award? Hardly.

Ohio State guard Je’Kel Foster has posted better numbers this year than Brown. Foster averages 14.8 points per game on 99-of-175 shooting (56.6 percent), and 58-of-113 (51.3 percent) from three-point range. He ranks 11th in assists, averaging 3.0 per game, and is second in steals with a 2.4 per game average.

Also returning for the Illini from last year’s squad is 6-foot-10 forward/center James Augustine, who is averaging 13.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.

Rounding out the starting five for Illinois is 6-foot-10 sophomore center Shaun Pruitt (6.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg), 6-foot-8 sophomore forward Brian Randle (8.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg), and 6-foot-3 junior guard Rich McBride (9.8 ppg, 2.2 apg).

Just like in football, the Buckeyes are 10 points away from being undefeated. With the way they played against Michigan, no team could beat Ohio State and Value City Arena should be jumpin’ today.

Following the game, Ohio State will travel to Madison to take on the Wisconsin Badgers. Tip-off time at the Kohl Center is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.

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