Ohio State Buckeye Wednesday

Bucks Maul Cats Behind Turner’s Near Triple-Double
www.theozone.net
COLUMBUS – Ohio State made its first seven shots Tuesday while Northwestern made only four in the entire first half as the Buckeyes (14-5, 4-3 Big Ten) made quick work of the visiting Wildcats (13-5, 2-4) in a 76-56 blowout out at Value City Arena.
Coming off a huge win over Purdue Saturday, the Wildcats looked like a team that may have celebrated a little too hard as they had more turnovers in the first half (6) than made baskets. They shot just 18 percent for the half as the Buckeyes got out to a 40-17 halftime lead.
“We had a lousy practice yesterday and I think it showed up today,” Northwestern Head Coach Bill Carmody said after watching his team fall behind 17-3 in the first seven minutes of the game.
“That’s not to take away from how well Ohio State played. Right from the get-go they jumped on us and we were never in the game.”
The Wildcats came out much hungrier in the second half, as they matched Ohio State point for point in the early going. They even outscored them 39-36 over final 20 minutes, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a 23-point halftime deficit or a near triple-double from Evan Turner.
“I thought Evan did a good job of getting inside (their defense) and that kind of shrunk it,” OSU Head Coach Thad Matta said of his star.
Coming off his fourth Big Ten Player of the Week award this season, Turner put on another show for the 13,324 fans attendance. Playing in his fifth game since returning from a lower back injury that cost him a month of the season, Turner fell just two assists shy of his third triple-double of the season.
After the game he said he still felt like he was only about 90 percent back to what he was before the injury.
“I still need a little bit more conditioning, and my feel for the game (isn’t back to where it was), but I felt I anticipated things a little better,” he said.
The 6-foot-7 junior out of Chicago led the Buckeyes with 20 points and 13 rebounds before leaving the game with over two minutes to play, just two assists shy of a triple-dip.
“I thought he got a little tired there down the stretch, but he’s getting back,” said Matta, who pulled Turner with 2:31 to play and a 73-51 lead.
The 13 rebounds came just three nights after Turner managed only one rebound against Wisconsin in a foul-plagued 60-51 win on the very same floor.
“For one I played in the game (tonight),” said Turner, who was noticeably upset after being called for two early fouls against the Badgers.
“I lost my rhythm sitting out 16 minutes but William Buford did a great job rebounding for us that game. I tried to focus on my defense and going to the boards. I wasn’t happy with the way I played defense and rebounded last game.
The Buckeyes outrebounded Northwestern 21-11 in the first half and 35-27 for the game, but it was the way they shared the basketball early on that seemed to impress Carmody the most.
“I thought they passed the ball around really well and got terrific shots,” he said after watching the Buckeyes shoot 56 percent in the first half and 52 percent for the game.
Ohio State had 19 assists on 27 made baskets, including a season-high five assists from junior Jon Diebler, who also added 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting against the Wildcats’ 1-3-1 zone defense.
“We told Jon going into this game that every time we play Northwestern he gets good looks. So we told him to be ready it was good to see him hit some shots,” Matta said.
Buford added eight points, almost all on tomahawk dunks, and David Lighty had seven, but it was center Dallas Lauderdale who stepped up to score a career-high 14 points in the paint to go with six rebounds against a Northwestern team that was playing without 6-8 forward Kevin Coble. The senior has been out the entire season with a foot injury, and without him the Wildcats shot 38 percent from the floor and 39 percent from behind the arc against Ohio State’s high-pressure defense.
The Buckeyes hope to continue that defensive intensity Saturday when they travel to Morgantown for a non-conference battle with No. 11 West Virginia (2 p.m. ET, CBS).

Game Notes:

*The Buckeyes are 12-0 in Value City Arena this season.

*Ohio State outscored Northwestern 14-2 in the paint in the first half.

*At 6:10 left in the first half, Ohio State was 12-of-17 (71 percent) from the floor and held Northwestern to 2-of-15 (13 percent), leading 28-10.

*Evan Turner garnered his seventh double-double of the season against the Wildcats and 18th of his career. It is Turner’s first double-double since he scored 25 points with 13 rebounds against Florida State Dec. 2, 2009.

*Turner’s eight assists makes him the second Buckeye in school history to record 1,000 pts. 500 rebounds and 300 assists - Jimmy Jackson is the only other Buckeye hold the honor. Turner has 1,127 points, 524 rebounds and 301 assists.

*Dallas Lauderdale scored a career-high 14 points to go along with six rebounds. Lauderdale has scored in double figures seven times this season.

*Lauderdale connected on 6-of-6 field-goal attempts. For the season, he is shooting 52-of-68 from the field (76.5 percent), tops in the Big Ten. He is 36-of-41 (87.8 percent) at Value City Arena.

*Jon Diebler has made at least one 3-pointer in his past 29 games, dating to last season. The last time Diebler went scoreless from behind the arc was Feb. 14, 2009, in an 0-of-3 effort against Wisconsin.




Turner, No. 21 Buckeyes make easy work of Northwestern
www.cbssports.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Evan Turner says he's about 90 percent back to where he was before breaking two bones in his back in early December.
After Turner had 20 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in No. 21 Ohio State's 76-56 win over his team on Tuesday night, Northwestern coach Bill Carmody was asked if he thought Turner still was that far from being on top of his game.
"Next question," Carmody cracked. Then he added, "Yeah. He's doing OK."
Turner also keyed a fast start with five points in a 7-0 run as the Buckeyes (14-5, 4-3 Big Ten) broke out quick and cruised to their third win in a row.
"I think he's the best player in the country," said teammate Jon Diebler, who added 17 points. "The guy does everything."
As a 6-foot-7 point guard, Turner had the length that enabled the Buckeyes to throw the ball over Northwestern's trapping 1-3-1 halfcourt zone. As a result, the Buckeyes shot 56 percent from the field in opening up a 40-17 halftime lead that allowed them to breeze to the finish.
"In practice we attacked that 1-3-1 pretty well," Turner said. "We figured if we attacked instead of retreated or waited for them to attack us, we would be fine. As long as we were in attack mode, I knew we'd be fine."
Dallas Lauderdale had a career-high 14 points for Ohio State, which has won the last 30 times it has hosted the Wildcats, dating to 1977. The Buckeyes were coming off impressive wins over No. 6 Purdue and No. 13 Wisconsin last week.
"Coach has been stressing toughness, composure and attacking - not reacting," Lauderdale said. "We knew they were going to play different defenses and switch man-to-man and 1-3-1. We just wanted to attack whatever we did. The way we started is the way we knew we could start and the way we wanted to start."
John Shurna had 22 points and Drew Crawford 11 for Northwestern (13-5, 2-4), which played its third straight game against a ranked opponent. The Wildcats beat No. 6 Purdue 72-64 on Saturday, the highest-ranked team they had beaten in 31 years.
At one point in the second half, the Wildcats hit 8 of 10 shots from the field but cut only three points off what was a 23-point deficit at the break.
"They're playing as well as anyone," Carmody said of the Buckeyes, who are finding their groove after Turner missed 4½ weeks with the injury that caused him to miss six games. He's been back for the past five.
The Wildcats hit 9 of 23 3-pointers -- they're in the top 10 in the nation in shots made and attempted behind the arc -- but never had an answer inside against the more aggressive Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes broke out to a quick lead on a Turner jumper and a 3 sandwiched around Diebler's fast-break layup.
"Tonight was a good night," Turner said. "We're definitely getting our transition back, which is important. We really thrive in transition basketball. And we're all getting each other involved in the game and we're all playing well together."
Carmody said the Wildcats had a bad day Monday in practice and that seemed to carry over into the game.
"From the get-go they jumped on us and we weren't even in the game," Carmody said. "They passed the ball really well and they seemed to be hitting on all cylinders."
While Northwestern had difficulty getting space to shoot at the offensive end, the Buckeyes were at their best. They hit their first seven shots from the field while taking a 17-3 lead. After the Wildcats got as close as 10 points, the Buckeyes ran off 14 of the next 18 to go up 31-11.
Ohio State, now 12-0 at home this season, also got three highlight-reel tomahawk dunks from William Buford in the opening half.
The Wildcats, who had outrebounded Purdue 42-23, didn't get a rebound in the opening 9:15. Ohio ended up with a 35-27 upper-hand on the boards.
Turner became only the second Ohio State player (joining Jimmy Jackson) to have 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists.
"Having him back in the lineup just makes us that much of a better team," Diebler said. "We're getting our timing down both offensively and defensively."
Coach Thad Matta was asked where he thought Turner's game was.
"About 50 percent," he said with a laugh.

Big Ten
Team Conf. W-L Tot. W-L
Michigan St. 5-0 15-3
Wisconsin 4-2 14-4
Illinois 4-2 12-7
Michigan 3-2 10-7
Ohio St. 4-3 14-5
Purdue 3-3 15-3
Minnesota 3-3 12-6
Indiana 2-3 8-9
Northwestern 2-4 13-5
Iowa 1-4 7-11
Penn St. 0-5 8-9