Coming into last night’s matchup in Evanston, the feeling was undeniable that the game, the February crossroads that the Buckeyes were at, the must-win game, hinged upon Jared Sullinger’s broad shoulders. Essentially called out by Coach Thad Matta, coming off an inexplicably aloof performance at home against Wisconsin on Sunday, it was up to #0 to right the ship. That proved to be precisely the case with Sullinger who turned in one of his strongest performances all year and scored the game-winner over a pair of Wildcats with 3.1 seconds remaining to allow the Buckeyes to escape with a 75-73 victory that kept their Big Ten title hopes alive.
Northwestern’s lack of size allowed the Buckeyes to get the ball into the post much easier than they have against top tier opponents in the second half of the conference schedule. Wildcat forward John Shurna covered Sullinger for a good portion of the game, and Sullinger was able to snag every defensive rebound within reach in addition to dominating the offensive glass. Instead of being pushed up the block, Sullinger received the ball on the block and in the middle of the paint, often without even a forearm in his back as is customary. Sully led the team in scoring with 22, adding a season-high 18 rebounds with 11 of those coming on the offensive boards. The Buckeyes as a team dominated the worst rebounding team in the Big Ten on the boards 44-18. [Read more...]
It’s the time of year when college basketball takes over all our lives. That’s the case today as No. 1 ranked Ohio State takes on rival Michigan. The Wolverines are playing well and have sewn up a bid to the dance this past week. It will be a raucous and heated atmosphere in Indy as they tip off at 1:40. The second particularly notable contest for NE Ohioans is the MAC championship game at the Q. Kent State has had a tremendous season and will face rival Akron for an automatic berth. This has become a classic rivalry game in this tournament at the Q and draws a great crowd as well. Tip is scheduled for 6 PM tonight and the game will be televised on ESPN2. We’re one day away from the bracket being set so leave your thoughts here as this afternoon of hoops plays out.
Ohio State held on against Penn State last night to improve to 18-0 and ascend to a likely No. 1 ranking in the polls. Other than the Buckeyes, Penn State is probably playing the best basketball in the Big Ten right now and Ohio State had to battle all the way to the end in order to avoid their first loss of the season. Having beaten Michigan State and Illinois in the past week, the Nittany Lions were looking for their third consecutive victory over a ranked conference opponent. Freshmen Jared Sullinger and Aaron Craft, however, proved to be the difference. This included a dominating final two minutes from Sullinger.
