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Men's Basketball
Resurgent Lauderdale Sparks OSU Blowout of Iowa
By Brandon CastelCOLUMBUS, Ohio — Dallas Lauderdale had not contributed much to Ohio State’s past two victories, but that changed in a big way Wednesday.
The 6-foot-8 senior out of Solon threw down two rim-rattling dunks and grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds in the early minutes as the No. 1-ranked Buckeyes (19-0, 6-0 Big Ten) throttled visiting Iowa 70-48.
“We didn’t come with the energy level we need to play the No. 1-ranked team,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said after the game.
“Defensively, their effort was what it needed to be to start the game.”
After totaling just two points and three rebounds over his last three contests, while averaging just over 10 minutes a night, Lauderdale sparked the Buckeyes with seven points and two offensive rebounds in the first half.
“That gave us a big lift. He’s our key guy in the middle, especially at the defensive end,” David Lighty said.
“Him coming in, rebounding, getting easy buckets and holding down the paint for us in the middle was something that pretty much got us all started. I think that’s why we all played great defense today.”
Junior William Buford took over from there, scoring 11 of his 15 points in the first half. The Buckeyes took a 40-23 lead into the locker rooms at halftime.
With the Buckeyes focused on their defense after a close call in Iowa City two weeks back, the Hawkeyes (7-11, 0-6) shot just 35.7-percent from the floor and were 1-of-4 from behind the arc with 10 turnovers in the first half.
“We never had a flow,” McCaffery said of his team, which went 1-for-7 behind the arc and 22-of-55 from the floor.
“Every basket we got in the first half was a struggle.”
Freshman Jared Sullinger took over where Lauderdale left off in the second half. Ohio State’s star forward finished with 13 points and nine rebounds in 36 minutes despite not being a focal-point of the Ohio State offense.
“I'd take him first (in the NBA Draft),” McCaffery said of the 6-9 freshman out of Columbus Northland.
“I'm not a GM, but I wouldn't be surprised. I don't know who you'd take ahead of him. I can't think of anyone.”
Lighty led all scorers with 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting. He was also 6-of-7 at the free throw line with five rebounds and four assists, but both teams started to get a little careless as the outcome became less and less in doubt.
After turning the ball over eight times in the first half, the Buckeyes gave it up 12 times in the second. They finished with a season-high 20 turnovers.
“Offensively, 20 turnovers is way too many,” OSU Head Coach Thad Matta said.
“We weren’t as sharp as we needed to be on the offensive end taking care of the ball. That was the one thing I was displeased with.”
Point guard Aaron Craft led all Ohio State players with five turnovers, but he also set an OSU freshman record with seven steals to go with his three points, four assists and two rebounds.
“He gave it back five times, but that kind of resembles Michael Conley,” Matta said.
“Conley had more steals than he had turnovers his freshman year here. I’d always say when he turned it over, ‘don’t worry, he’ll get it back.”
Craft’s steals accounted for seven of Iowa’s 23 turnovers, 13 of them in the second half. The Buckeyes also held Iowa to just 40-percent shooting, including 1-of-7 behind the arc.
“I thought we played harder on the defensive end tonight, and that was a huge thing for us,” Matta said.
“We spent the last couple days trying to get our defense back in check, and I thought we did a much better job there.”
The Buckeyes pushed their lead to 23 points, at 57-34, with 7:59 to play in the game. Unlike the past three games, they were able to hold off any attempt a late surge by the Hawkeyes to win by double-digits.
Up next for Ohio State is a trip to No. 22 Illinois Saturday. They face seven ranked opponents over their next nine games.
Game Notes
Box Score
Game Play by Play
Season Stats Year to Date
Buckeye Watch
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