Ohio State 52 – Northwestern 47

 

What won this game for the Buckeyes was the brilliant execution of their roaming match-up zone. Only Craig Moore was able to consistently get open looks from deep, and even when he got open somebody was flying at his shooting hand, limiting his 18 points on 6-15 shooting. Overall, the Wildcats were only able to shoot 39.1% from the field, and 9-27 from their reliant deep. This was the difference between the Wildcats performance in Evanston, and their performance in Columbus today; their inability hit two big shots in a row.

 

On the offensive end it was Evan Turner’s 17 points that paced the Buckeyes, as he was able to knife through the lane through most of the second half. Three other players were able to get into the double figures, with Jon Diebler and William Buford adding 11 points apiece, and B.J. Mullens connecting on five close looks (including 4 lobs) for 10 points. Here’s where the ugly comes in. The other five Buckeyes that got into the game were only able to come up with 3 more points (one P.J. Hill deep bomb), hitting only 1 shot on only 5 more attempts.

 

So, assuming their still will be a National Tournament field of 65 this season, the Buckeyes have ensured their involvement. Look for them to be a #7 to #9 seed right now, and if they can do any real damage in the Big Ten tournament they might be able to move up to a #5 or #6.