Men's Basketball
Buckeyes Need Ghost Busters in 66-55 Loss to No. 1 North Carolina
By John Porentas

If you didn't believe in ghosts before OSU's game with North Carolina, you might want to reconsider your opinion.

The Buckeyes (4-2) played North Carolina (6-0) to standstill for 20 minutes on Wednesday and led by three points at 32-29 when the first half ended. Neither the Buckeyes nor the Tar Heels really lit it up in the first half, but the young Bucks held their own against the veteran Tar Heels. OSU was in good shape until the second half started. That's when the bad voodoo took OSU's mojo and the gremlins played games with them.

Just like in the final of the preseason NIT last Friday, the Buckeyes ran into a spell in which the ball simply would not go into the basket from the field. It didn't matter who shot it or from what place on the floor, it just wouldn't go in, and it was during that stretch of time that the game was decided.

"It was the same thing as the A&M game," said OSU senior guard Jamar Butler.

"The ball went down in the hole, but it seemed like there was a ghost in there knocking it out. It just wouldn't fall for us."

Butler scored a field goal at the 16:06 mark of the second half to tie the game at 39, and apparently also summoned the evil spirits with the shot. The Buckeyes did not make another field goal until until the 5:33 mark when Jon Diebler canned a three to break the streak, but the damage was done. The score had gone from 39 apiece to a 57-43 North Carolina lead before Diebler hit the three and the Buckeyes were never really able to recover from the drought.

"It was deja vu of last Friday night of that second half stretch where the ball would...not...go...in...the... basket," said OSU Head Coach Thad Matta.

"Through that stretch we were changing every possession trying to find a way to put the ball in the basket. I turned to John (assistant coach John Groce) and said 'John, call something where the ball goes in the basket," said Matta. "I've never seen anything like it. We were point blank and shots just rattled in and out."

OSU shot 22.9 per cent in the second half after shooting 31.4 in the first. The Tar Heels shot just 32.4 in the first half, but improved to 44.1 per cent in the second.

"It was a game that neither one of us there for a while were making any shots," said North Carolina Head Coach Roy Williams.

"It lasted longer for them than it did for us. They shoot 23 per cent in the second half and we ended up getting ours up to 44."

"They missed some shots they would normally make, there's no question about that," said Williams.

OSU's shooting touch from the field wasn't the only thing that dematerialized against North Carolina. Freshman center Kosta Koufos also vanished like a ghost.

After earning Big Ten Player of the Week honors last week and averaging 18.7 points per game in three outings, Koufos' shooting skill simply vanished like an evil spirit at an exorcism. Koufos was not double teamed by the Tar Heels and got good shots but made just one of ten from the field. Koufos finished the game with just four points and three rebounds in 27 minutes of play.

"We got the ball where we wanted it (in Koufos hands down low)," said Butler.

"When he had it, he just didn't make the plays tonight that he had made in the past."

"I thought he got some great looks, shots that he had made before," said Matta.

With no inside scoring the Buckeyes were forced into a perimeter game. The bright spots for OSU were the offense of Jamar Butler and the shooting of Jon Diebler. Butler scored 17 and Diebler a team-high 19 as he broke out of a shooting slump that has plagued him in the early going this season. Diebler hit seven of 16 from the field that included five of 14 shooting from three point range to lead the Buckeyes with 19 points.

OSU's offense may have disappeared for a period of time, but their defense must of looked like a horror story to the Tar Heels. The Buckeyes were once again tenacious and effective in their 3-2 matchup zone. OSU blocked nine shots, six of them by Othello Hunter, and made life miserable for the high-scoring Tar Heels. North Carolina came into the game averaging 92.2 points per game but were held to 26 points under their average by OSU.

"I thought our defense was pretty good," said Matta.

"They hit some big shots, but great teams are going to do that to you. I felt like our defense was there to win the game," Matta said.

The Buckeyes were able to control North Carolina center Tyler Hansbrough who entered the game averaging 23 points per game, but scored just 13 against OSU.

"He likes to maneuver around in there," said OSU forward David Lighty.

"He tries to create space where he can get an angle where he can get to the basket. We just tried to crowd him a little bit and make it tough for him to get shots, and it was working for us."

North Carolina Guard Wayne Ellington, however, was a different story. Ellington scored a game-high 23 points.

"He's a great player," said Diebler who was called upon to try and guard Ellington at times. "Everyone knows he's one of the best guards in the nation, one of the best wings."

"I'm encouraged with where we are right now," said Matta.

"I'm not encouraged that we lost the basketball game, but I think that it's a matter of us continuing to grow. That's the maturity process this team has to have," Matta said.

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