Men's Basketball
Buckeye Season Ends on Cold Shooting Night Against the Badgers
By John Porentas
Ohio State's season came to an end against Wisconsin in a 60-49 loss that in some ways was a microcosm of the season.
The Buckeyes lived and died all season with their ability to make perimeter shots. When the shots fell, the Buckeyes won, when they didn't, the Buckeyes lost.
For the first 2:58 of the game it looked like it would be very good night for the Buckeyes. Je'Kel Foster and J. J. Sullinger each put up three pointers and both went down. The Bucks were two-for-two from three and led 8-2. Then the roofed caved in, at least on the perimeter
The Buckeyes tried 18 more threes in the game and missed them all. Without a perimeter game, the Buckeyes had two offensive options left, either get the ball down low to Terence Dials or drive the basketball. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, the Badgers knew that too.
Wisconsin made it difficult for OSU to get the ball down to Dials. That left putting it on the floor, something the Buckeyes have not done particularly well all season.
"We weren't as tough or as physical as we needed to be offensively,” said OSU Head Coach
Thad Matta.
"We saw that whenever you had penetration against Wisconsin there would be contact.
"Knowing that, you have to adjust to what they’re doing. It’s a credit to them for what they tried to do to us tonight."
With the Buckeyes trailing by 13 and still throwing up threes that weren't going down, Matta called a 30-second time out. He could be seen in the huddle, face beet-red, challenging his players in a way that could hardly be called gentle. It seemed to work.
The Buckeyes came out of that time out and went on 6-0 run fueled by hitting the offensive boards and putting the ball on the floor. Matt Marinchick and J. J. Sullinger each scored off offensive rebounds and Tony Stockman on a drive to the hoop.
Matta's message seemed to get across, and in the second half the Buckeyes chipped away at the Wisconsin lead by pounding the ball down inside, hitting the glass and taking it to the hole. The finally tied the game at 39 when Matt Sylvester made a layup on a drive.
"Ohio State made a little bit of a run in the second half and just refused to go away," said Wisconsin Head Coach Bo Ryan.
It seemed the Buckeyes were back in the game, but Wisconsin's Zack Morley took them out of it. Morley hit a three to put Wisconsin back up 44-41, and panic seemed to set in with the Buckeyes. They seemed to get away from the offensive game plan that got them back in the game and reverted to shooting from the perimeter. In their last 14 possession, the Buckeyes threw up six threes, all of them misses, and a close game turned into a comfortable win for the Badgers.
"They were just very solid defensively and they packed it in around Terence," Sylvester said.
"They forced us to hit outside shots. We made our first two to open the game, then we missed our next 18. We came out without the proper intensity. We just didn't come out ready to play. You can’t spot a team points like that," Sylvester said.
Wisconsin's Morley led all scorers with a game-high and career-high 23 points. Alando Tucker and Mike Wilkinson each added 12 for the Badgers. Terence Dials led the Buckeyes with 12 points. J. J. Sullinger and Matt Sylvester each added 11.
OSU was just two-of-20 from three point range in the game.
The Buckeye finished the season 20-12. With the win, Wisconsin improved its record to 21-7. OSU's 20 wins under first-year Head Coach Thad Matta are six wins better than last season when they finished 14-16 under fired Head Coach Jim O'Brien.
"That was a testament to Coach and his staff," said Sylvester.
"I can honestly say we have one of the best staffs in the country and I'm glad we got them in here. We had a couple of losing seasons but this is a testament to those guys."
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