Men's Basketball
Turnovers, Rebounding Woes, Spell Defeat for Buckeyes in Madison
By John PorentasThe No. 24 Buckeyes (17-6, 7-5 Big Ten) saw their four-game winning streak come to an end in Madison, falling to the Badgers (16-9, 7-5 Big Ten) 55-50 in Madison.
OSU was able to continue the consistent shooting that has marked its four-game winning streak, making 55 percent of their attempts from the field against the Badgers. The Buckeyes also played solid defense, limiting Wisconsin to just over 34 percent from the field. What the Bucks could not do, however, was overcome the effect of once again losing the battle of the glass and of turning the ball over an appalling 19 times.
"We said going into the game that ball security and rebounding were going to be the keys to the game," said OSU Head Coach Thad Matta in his postgame comments.
The Badgers pulled down a whopping 15 offensive boards while OSU managed just three offensive rebounds. The extra possessions Wisconsin earned with their offensive rebounds and the turnovers the Buckeyes committed were more than OSU's consistent shooting and solid defense could overcome.
The Badgers struggled to take advantage of the extra possessions with abysmal shooting that allowed the Buckeyes to stay close throughout the game. Wisconsin made just four of 18 attempts from three point range, but got a huge three pointer from Joe Krabbenhoft as the game wound down that really sealed the game. The Buckeyes lead by one and 48-47 with just 2:06 left to play when Krabbenhoft drained his only three point attempt of the game to put the Badgers on top 50-48.
The shot was a dagger wound from which the Buckeyes could not recover.
OSU's scoring was led by Evan Turner who put up a game-high 23 points but also committed six of OSU's 19 turnovers. Freshman center B. J. Mullens was not far behind with five turnovers of his own in 21 minutes of play.
Wisconsin's scoring was led by Marcus Landry's 17 points. Krabbenhoft also contributed at the defensive end with six steals.
Click here to email this the-Ozone feature to a friend...or even a foe.
Return to the-OZone Front Page
(c) 2009 The O-Zone, O-Zone
Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, rebroadcast,rewritten, or redistributed.