The Oakland Golden Grizzlies arrived in Columbus after a number of good games against Big Ten teams this year. The hope of keeping up with the Buckeyes stuck with them through the majority of the game as it took until late in the second half for Ohio State to take control and secure the 92-63 victory. The players of the game were Jared Sullinger, with yet another double double, and Aaron Craft with 12 points, 7 assists 4 steals and only 1 turnover for the game. With the win, the Buckeyes became 12-0 for the first time in Matta’s 7 year career in Columbus.
Jim Jackson performed color commentary duties for the night, much to the delight of Buckeye fans everywhere. Unfortunately, the level of Big Ten Network commentary did not improve with the inclusion of the excellent former Buckeye. Luckily for OSU fans, that was the biggest disappointment for the beginning of this game.
The Buckeyes started the game defensively in a 2-3 zone look. The change from the usual man look seemed to confuse Oakland a little, causing the Golden Grizzlies to cough up the ball a few times while entering the lane. When Oakland did get a shot off it was never open, as the Buckeyes closed with shooters faster than they could get set. The defensive effort gave the Buckeyes plenty of opportunities on offense to build a lead.
The biggest surprise on offense was the sudden emergence of an inside game for Jon Diebler. Diebler had three opportunities with the ball, and all three led to dribble drives into the paint. Ohio State’s first three point attempt didn’t come until the 13 minute mark of the first half – a miss from Diebler after finding himself wide open. The entirity of the Buckeye offense came from inside the arc as Oakland was unable to handle the Buckeyes down low – particularly on the glass.
That dominance in the paint was even more apparant on the defensive end. Oakland’s first three baskets were all three pointers, primarily because those were the only shots they could find even remotely open early in the game. In fact, their first points in the paint came on a turnover in the OSU backcourt when Craft made a rare mistake while breaking down the press. The dunk was entirely uncontested – possibly the easiest shot Oakland had all night.
The Buckeyes didn’t have a particularly easy job on the offensive end against Oakland. While they were able to find plentiful scoring opportunities, they were still forced to work for it. Of course, with the Buckeyes still finding opportunities, especially down low, Oakland was forced to make early adjustments. Those adjustments essentially took the paint away from the Buckeyes and forced them to start finding open shots outside. Diebler obliged them with the first OSU three of the night, but it took time before offense fully adjusted to the defense.
Oakland’s defenders found a lot of success running a tight man coverage. The Buckeye shooters had a lot of trouble getting separation from their defender. It was particularly apparent with Aaron Craft dribbling the ball nearly on top of his opponent’s foot every possession. It was clear that the Buckeyes were going to have to pick up the pace on offense to try to force Oakland to back off a bit, or drive the lane and make them sit back on their heels.
As Oakland closed the gap towards the end of the first half, the Buckeyes began to pick up the effort on offense to try to take control of the game again. The Golden Grizzlies got to within 5 with a minute left in the half, but the Buckeyes put down a couple quick buckets, including a great look to an open Buford down low that gave the Bucks a 9 point lead going into the half, 37-28.
For the half, the Buckeyes shot 14-31 (45.2%) with 3-6 (50%) from three, while the Grizzlies hit 9-27 (33.3%) and 5-14 (35.7%) from three. Oakland outrebounded the Bucks 19-18 for the half, but Sullinger sat out for about 8 minutes of the half with 2 fouls, making it tough for the Bucks to control the glass as usual. Unlike several of the games this season, the Buckeyes didn’t have a single player dominating on the scoreboard. Sullinger’s 8 points led all scorers at the half, but 4 other Buckeyes scored 6 or 7 points.
The Buckeyes immediately went down low to Sullinger at the start of the second half. The primary reason was to try to score in the paint quickly, but the Bucks were also hoping to force Will Hudson, Oakland’s big forward, into a third foul early in the half. The Bucks managed to earn that third foul with Oakland on offense, but Sullinger earned his third foul not long after on a bad blocking play where Sully didn’t set his feet properly.
The Bucks managed to build up a 17 point lead, primarily on the strength of Aaron Craft’s leadership. Craft’s effort on the defensive end, and his ability to play floor general on offense was giving the Buckeyes the leadership they needed in a tough ball game. Even when Oakland began to close the lead again, Craft attacked the lane to try to make something happen. His play for the season has only gotten better every single game, and it’s fun to think about how bright his future might be.
There was no sign of Oakland giving up, no matter how desperate things got. They remained in striking distance by making small adjustments and going on short scoring runs to make up for what the Buckeyes were putting on the board. Unfortunately it didn’t last. Late in the second half, Ohio State began to run away with the score – picking up a 24 point lead with 9 minutes left.
Once the Bucks secured a big lead, the fight seemed to leave the Grizzles. Ohio State drained a couple huge threes to completely take the game away. With the massive lead, Matta put a few of the bench players into the game to finish things out. Sibert, Weatherspoon and Lenzelle Smith got an opportunity to get a little time on the court, but not until 7 minutes left in the game.
The Buckeyes scoring was incredibly balanced in this one. Six players broke double figures including Thomas (17), Sullinger (16), Lighty (13), Diebler (13), Buford (12) and Craft (12). Oakland only managed to post 2 double digit scorers in Travis Bader (17) and Larry Wright (12). For the game, the Bucks shot 46.5% (33-71) from the floor, and 55.6% (10-18) from three. Oakland responded with 37.7% (23-61) and 37.5% (9-24) respectively.
While the rebounds were essentially balanced in this one, the Buckeyes dominated in steals and turnovers, with a 11-2 advantage in steals, and a 5-20 advantage in turnovers for the game.
Ohio State next faces Tennessee Martin in Value City Arena on Monday, December 27th at 8:30 PM Eastern Time.
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