Wisconsin 55 - #24 Ohio State 50

Despite Ohio State (17-6) shooting 55 % from the field, and Wisconsin (16-9) being held to 36% the Badgers were able to out-hustle and outlast the Buckeyes 55-50 in Madison Saturday night.

 

Evan Turner just wasn’t enough this time. Normally, when Turner drops 23 points on somebody the Buckeyes are well on their way to a victory, and when he hits 9-13 shots it’s a route. Not this time, as only William Buford with his 11 points, was able to do anything at all on offense. 

 

What’s misleading is the Buckeye’s high shooting percentage. 55% is a tremendous number, but it loses luster when you tack on 19 turnovers, and only 3 offensive rebounds. Overall the Badgers were able to outmuscle the Buckeyes 30-21, including 14 rebounds on the offensive end.

 

Senior forward Marcus Landry, who hit 8-16 from the field, and ended the evening with 17 points and 7 rebounds, led the Badgers. Joe Krabbenhoft tacked on 9 points and 8 rebounds, but no other Badger came to play with the rest of team combining to shoot 10-35.

 

This game is yet one more ugly turn in the up and down season from the Buckeyes. Every time they go on a roll there is an unforeseen speed bump on the way. This Wisconsin game was meant to be an easy one, with the Badgers winning only 3 out of their last 9 games, but the Buckeyes just couldn’t hold onto the ball, or equal the Badger’s fight on the boards.

 

I wish I could tell from game to game how they will play, but at this point the Buckeyes can both beat a top 10 team and lose to a team under .500. Time will tell, but with David Lighty possibly being out for the rest of the season now, this Buckeyes team again seems headed for also-ran status.