Bleacher Report - Ohio State Basketball

Ohio State Buckeyes-Cal Bears: OSU Rebounds with Impressive Win, 76-70

Drew Gatewood — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:29:10 -0500

Ohio State bounced back after a scrappy performance against North Carolina last night by defeating No. 12 California, 76-70. The Buckeyes dominated the paint, something they couldn’t do last night, on their way to a win in Madison Square Garden.

Dallas Lauderdale was the catalyst for this defensive performance with eight points, five rebounds, and a career-high seven blocks. Evan Turner once again put on a clinic with another double-double. He had 26 points and 14 rebounds, along with six assists.

Last night he had 10 turnovers in a frustrating performance for the Buckeye guard; tonight he held it to four, all of which were in the second half.

The Buckeyes' starters did their part of the scoring tonight. Jon Diebler had 14 points, most of which were from his improved three-point shooting. William Buford had 12, and David Lighty added 11 for a Buckeye team that found its shooting touch after a poor performance last night.

Ohio State shot 50 percent from the field, including 40 percent from behind the arc. This was the first time this season they were out-rebounded and won, as the California Bears won the battle of the boards 33-29.

California played tough in the second half but dug too deep of a hole in the first half to climb out. Going into the half, the Bears were down 38-25.

Jerome Randle led the charge for the Bears with 26 points, going 6-of-12 from three-point range. Patrick Christopher chipped in 12 and Jamal Boykin and Omondi Amoke each added 11.

California shot 40 percent from the field, and was a respectable 43 percent from three. The Bears outscored the Buckeyes 45-38 in the second half but it was too late to overcome the damage from the first half.

Ohio State (3-1) will face Lipscomb (0-3) on Tuesday in what should be another home win for the Buckeyes. They still have several difficult non-conference games including Florida State and Butler before conference play starts.

Read more Ohio State Basketball news on BleacherReport.com

Ohio State-UNC: Buckeyes Keep It Close But Fall Short, 77-73

Drew Gatewood — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:44:24 -0500

The Buckeyes once again show that they just aren’t ready to compete with college basketball’s elite teams.

On a night where OSU would have to play the perfect game, they were riddled with turnovers and poor shooting. Midway through the second half four Buckeyes had four fouls. All four players were starters and the team quickly found themselves down 19.

They scrapped and clawed their way back, but fell short in the end, 77-73.

The main area of concern for OSU was the post play, and it continued to become a larger concern as both Madsen and Lauderdale combine for six points, seven rebounds, and eight fouls.

Evan Turner once again did all he could to carry the Buckeyes. He was the teams leading scorer with 23 points and eight rebounds. Unfortunately he also led in another category, turnovers. He had 10 to lead all players.

Jon Diebler was a bright spot for OSU at times and ended up with 17 points and four rebounds. His 4-13 shooting performance was his lowest of the season, but he did make some big shots on several OSU scoring runs. David Lighty added 13 points and six rebounds for the Buckeyes as well.

The Tar Heels showed why they are the No. 4 team in the country. Shooting 49 percent from the filed and 46 percent from behind the arc, North Carolina never let up and had a double-digit lead most of the game. They also got a boost from their bench to the tune of 17 of their 77 points.

Will Graves had 14 points and five rebounds while Marcus Ginyard added 10 points. Deon Thompson had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

The Tar Heels had another very impressive performance against a talented OSU team. This win should be very beneficial for North Carolina come Selection Sunday.

OSU (2-1) will go back to the drawing board against Lipscomb (0-3) on Tuesday. That should be another easy non-conference warmup game before they get tested once again by Florida State and Butler in the upcoming weeks.

Read more Ohio State Basketball news on BleacherReport.com