Men's Basketball
Butler Embarrasses Buckeyes
By John Porentas

There has been a common theme in OSU's three losses this season. Against Texas A&M and North Carolina the Buckeyes had long scoring dry spells that cost them games. They did it again against No. 16 Butler (7-0) and it cost them to the tune of a sound 65-46 beating at Hinkle Field House in front of a raucous, sellout crowd of 10,000.

After the losses against A&M and the Tar Heels, OSU Head Coach Thad Matta claimed he was not worried about OSU's shooting slumps, that the shooting would come around. That changed after he saw his team lay an egg against Butler.

"I am now," said Matta when asked if he has become concerned about the poor shooting stretches that have resulted in all three of his team's losses.

"It's been going on," said OSU point guard Jamar Butler when asked about the cold shooting spells.

"There's nothing to say about it. It's been going on," said a laconic Butler.

The Buckeyes shot well in the first half when they went down low to Kosta Koufos and Othello Hunter. Hunter and Koufos were a combined 8 for 12 in the first 20 minutes. Forward David Lighty was also three of four including two of three from three point range. In that half OSU (4-3) shot 65 per cent and established a 10 point half time lead, a lead which could have been much bigger were in not for 14 first half turnovers.

"I think one time we went four straight possessions and turned it over. That can't happen," said Matta.

The Bulldogs, meanwhile, were struggling. They shot 25.8 per cent in the half and were 0-14 from three point range until A. J. Graves hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the half. What Butler lacked in shooting success was made up for by defensive hustle that resulted in OSU's 14 offensive giveaways

"I told our guys after the game, we're not going to shoot 16 for 24 every game. We've got to be good enough to guard and keep ourselves in games. Today was the great example of that. I was so pleased with how they did that," said Butler Head Coach Brad Stevens.

The second half was a complete role reversal. The Buckeyes shot an abysmal 29.2 per cent in the last 20 minutes. There were very consistent from three point range, though not in the way you would want if you're Matta. OSU misfired on all seven of its three point attempts and was outscored 45-16 in the last 20 minutes of the game. Butler, on the other hand, caught fire. The Bulldogs shot 57.1 per cent that included eight of 14 shooting from three.

Each team had a bad shooting half, but the score was anything but close. Butler's senior laden team played through their shooting slump and continued defending and and hustling. In a word, they were tough, something the Buckeyes were not while enduring their poor shooting.

"I thought our defense was good there in the first half and the second half we kind of quit adjusting, quit playing basketball," said a discouraged Matta.

In the second half OSU didn't shoot, didn't defend and continued to turn the ball over, ending the game with a whopping 24 giveaways against just 10 assists. Matta is obviously displeased with the trend he is seeing develop with his team.

"We're not a good enough basketball team for three guys to play well one night, two guys to play OK, and two guys to play bad," Matta said.

"Everybody has to be close to their best in order for us to have a chance to beat a great basketball team, and right now we haven't had that," he said.

The group that let Matta down against Butler on the offensive end was his guards.

OSU backcourt group consisting of Jon Diebler, Jamar Butler, P. J. Hill and Evan Turner were a combined two of 15 for the game. That group also combined for 13 of OSU's 24 turnovers led by Diebler's six and Butler's four. After appearing to have broken his shooting slump against North Carolina, Diebler misfired on all four of his three point attempts. Butler made just one of three from long range and Hill was guilty of two turnovers in 10 minutes of play including a very costly one with just over 22 seconds left in the half that led to Graves' buzzer-beating three pointer that cut OSU's lead to 10.

At the other end of the floor, OSU's post men were schooled by Butler's Matt Howard. Howard came off the Bulldog bench and scored a game-high 23 points in 29 minutes of play. He also collected a team-high seven rebounds, two assists and a steal while turning the ball over just once. Howard was nine of 13 from the field.

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