While the Ohio State basketball team has put on some impressive displays so far in the 2010-11 season, the performance went to a new level on Monday night in Columbus as the Buckeyes stomped the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks 100-40. The game started at 0-0, but the difference quickly became substantial and the Buckeyes went into cruise control. The win takes Ohio State to 13-0 on the year going into Big Ten play, which starts for the Buckeyes this week on Friday.
The first minute of the game provided a nice preview of things to come, as William Buford scored four points in the first 30 seconds and had seven points by the time one minute had ticked off the clock. Ohio State put the defensive pressure on early, and the Skyhawks could not handle the more athletic and aggressive Buckeye lineup. Jared Sullinger quickly tacked on five of his own points to open up a 12-0 lead, and Tennessee-Martin did not get on the board until the 16:44 mark, when Terence Smith knocked down a shot to give the Skyhawks their first two points.
All the Buckeyes were lighting it up in the first half, and before the nine minutes had passed we had a lineup that included four freshmen on the floor while shooting over 73% from the field, compared to only 20% for Tennessee-Martin. Deshaun Thomas contributed 10 points off the bench in the first half, and William Buford led all scorers with 16 at the break. For the Skyhawks, only Reuben Clayton had more than two points with his team-leading 9.
The Buckeyes finished the first half shooting over 55% on field goals. Other statistics of note included the seven steals that we accumulated (compared to 0 for Tennessee-Martin) while only drawing one foul.
The second half began in similar fashion as the first, with William Buford hitting a shot and quickly following it with a steal and dish to David Lighty for another basket. This started a 9-0 run to start the second, and by the 15-minute mark the margin had opened up to 65-17. Interestingly, William Buford ended up outscoring the Skyhawks single-handedly until a significant portion of the second half was completed.
The rout continued, and Thad used all five freshmen off the bench extensively. By the time the game was finished, none of the starters had played over 25 minutes. Five Buckeyes hit double-figures as Buford led the way with 23, Thomas had 20, Sullinger posted 18, and both Lauderdale and Lighty contributed 10. It truly was a stat-stuffing affair in which the team racked up 44 rebounds, 26 assists, and 13 steals while shooting over 58% from the field. Jon Diebler extended his streak of consecutive games with a made three-pointer to 29 despite a relatively quiet outing.
Ohio State will open their Big Ten season by playing Indiana on Friday in Bloomington. Prior to Ohio State’s match against Tennessee-Martin, Indiana dropped their first Big Ten game of the season to Penn State, so the Hoosiers will be looking to bounce back and reclaim their home court. The game will be played at 6:00pm and will be televised on ESPN2.
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