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Men's Basketball
The Buckeye Watch
By Tony GerdemanAnother sport, another Big Ten Championship.
The Buckeyes defeated Minnesota 90-61, outscoring the Gophers 57-31 in the second half.
It was one of those rare games that as you’re watching, your level of enjoyment absolutely dwarfs your level of anxiety.
So basically, it was like watching every Michigan game since about 2004.
On the day, Evan Turner scored 31 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, dished out six assists, saved four marriages, solved two cold cases and re-eliminated cholera, which was starting to make noise again in undeveloped Africa.
David Lighty was almost as good, scoring 20 points and providing more fireworks than your average Chinese-Appalachian family.
And Buford and Diebler were good too.
You should’ve seen it.
Oh well, at least you can read what it looked like. That’s probably just as good.
3:10 On Friday, I said that if the Gophers get by Michigan State, then they were my pick to win the Big Ten Tournament. And after watching the way Mississippi State has fought Kentucky today, and the Illini against the Buckeyes yesterday, I’m still going to stand by that. This game is infinitely more important for Minnesota than it is for Ohio State - especially considering the Buckeyes are likely already locked into their seeding.
3:19 Apparently Ed Hightower is doing yet another Buckeye game today. He’s the only guy in America that could make you long for Ted Valentine.
3:23 And just so we can get this out there right now, not every mistake the Buckeyes make today will be because they are tired. In fact, I’m more tired of hearing that excuse than the Buckeyes could ever be from simply playing basketball. Never before has an excuse made me want to take a nap more than the “tired excuse”.
3:30 I love how CBS lists Evan Turner as a forward. This must be their first week of covering basketball.
3:31 The Buckeyes open with a turnover. They must be tired!
3:34 William Buford just led a break and dropped it off to Dallas Lauderdale at the free throw line, which led to a turnover. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a guard as ill-prepared to lead a break as William Buford. He can do so many things on the basketball court, but leading a run-out isn’t one of them.
3:36 Jon Diebler drives and gets fouled. That’s about the third time he’s put the ball on the floor already today. I like it. There are many freebies to be had at the foul line if you just look for them.
3:39 Here comes Kyle Madsen. It’s MDT, baby. (Mad Dog Time)! And then he gets a steal. He ain’t wasting no time. Like somebody who walks into a bar and takes the pool cue out of somebody’s hand as he’s about to break and then takes the shot himself - and sinks the eight-ball. Then grabs the guy’s girlfriend and they go on to have a long, happy life together like in Viking times.
3:42 The Mad Dog just had a dunk blocked. This is not going to end well for America.
3:43 If you’re interested, the score is 6-3 Ohio State with 13:15 remaining in the first half. The shots aren’t falling for anybody. In fact, they’re not even hitting the rim. Clearly, everybody is exhausted.
3:45 Lazy pass by Evan Turner leads to a layup and foul on Diebler. Minnesota ties it up at 6-6. First one to 20 wins.
3:46 Beautiful two-on-one between Lighty and Turner leads to a Lighty layup. Good thing Buford wasn’t leading that break because somebody would have ended up with a basketball in the face and then three players would have collided and at least two of them would have had some parts of their broken bodies fused together from the impact
3:53 Devoe Joseph just hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 11-11 with 9:16 to play. If the Buckeyes can go on another 20-0 run today, this thing is over.
3:55 William Buford’s “smooth action” (per Jim Nantz) leads to an easy jumper. Buckeyes lead it 15-13 with 7:46 left in the half. For what it’s worth, Nantz makes me more than a little uncomfortable when he talks about somebody’s “smooth action”. Especially because as I’m writing this, there is a commercial going on where Nantz says “Change out of that skirt, Jason.”
3:57 The Buckeyes aren’t playing very well now, but they still lead. You just have to wonder what happens when one of these teams goes on a run. Will the other team have anything in them to make the comeback?
4:01 David Lighty is forcing some action today and getting fouled on the drive. And he’s avoiding the charge, which he used to have issues with. He just made one of two free throws this time down. Buckeyes lead it 16-15 with 6:30 to play.
4:02 Block by Evan Turner, who then grabs the loose ball and finds an open William Buford for the dunk on the run-out. Great awareness, per usual, by Turner.
4:03 And now Turner drains a three because he’s exhausted from passing the ball so much.
4:04 Fastbreak for the Buckeyes…Turner to Buford and then out to Jon Diebler on the wing for an open three! Buckeyes lead it 24-18 with 4:58 remaining. Tubby Smith calls a timeout to slow things down.
4:05 Madsen just airballed a 12-footer. Way too close for him. He should have backed it up.
4:09 And now they just called Mad Dog for lowering his shoulder. Why do refs hate brutes?
4:10 It’s too bad this basketball game is interfering with Clark and Jim’s bracket discussions.
4:11 Lighty is becoming machine-like on his drives. Like some type of automatic driving machine. As if such a ridiculous thing could ever possibly exist.
4:12 Evan Turner unsuccessfully tries to split more double-teams than the world’s worst Red Rover player.
4:13 Devoe Joseph pump fakes a three, Evan Turner goes flying by him, and then he calmly sinks a three-pointer at the buzzer. Ohio State leads 33-30 at the half.
4:16 The Gophers have seven steals in the first half, probably two of them were due to solid defense.
4:29 The Buckeyes open the half with an easy screen and score for Evan Turner. That was his simplest basket of the game today.
4:30 Ralph Sampson III just shot the ugliest hook shot I’ve seen since Bill Robinson’s heyday.
4:32 Evan Turner with another three-pointer, giving the Buckeyes the 38-30 lead with just under 19 minutes to play in the game.
4:33 William Buford nails a three of his own, giving the Buckeyes an 11-point lead. No matter how big this lead gets, however, Minnesota will eventually get it back within a possession.
4:37 Evan Turner is falling a bit in love with the three-pointer. He just missed a quick one, and it will probably be his last one for a while. Meanwhile, Minnesota is now on a 7-0 run. Ohio State leads 41-37 with under 16 minutes to play.
4:43 Devron Bostick hits a wide-open three to cut the Ohio State lead to two points. Weren’t the Buckeyes just leading by eleven?
4:49 Evan Turner drains another three, this one off of an offensive rebound. He’s gotten a lot of good looks at threes today. I’m glad he’s fallen in love with it…as long as it continues to fall in love with him, that is. Buckeyes lead it 47-40 with 11:10 remaining.
4:51 David Freaking Lighty! He just defended against a Ralph Sampson hook shot, then went coast to coast for a layup…and then JUST DID IT AGAIN! Four straight coast-to-coast points for DFL! Minnesota calls timeout and the Buckeyes lead it 51-40. Wow!
4:53 LOL! And now a beautiful baseline move and basket for Lighty. I feel like a cobra watching a flautist when David Lighty is moving towards the basket.
4:54 Threebler! Jon Diebler comes around the screen and gives the Buckeyes a 14-point lead with 9:00 to play. The momentum is going with the good guys right now.
4:55 DFL for three more! Love the Lighty! He’s got 15 points now, and at least 13 of them have been spectacular. Buckeyes lead it by 14 one more time.
4:56 Diebler for three more! That’s seven straight made field goals now. Buckeyes lead it 62-45 with 7:40 to play and the crowd is making some noise. Just imagine what the score would be if the Buckeyes weren’t so tired right now!
4:58 Another breakout for the Buckeyes, and this one ends in an Evan Turner layup and foul. That should be intentional, but since that would make sense and these are Big Ten refs, let’s not count on it.
4:59 Ohio State is 12-0 this season when David Lighty scores 15 points or more. He has 15 now.
5:02 William Buford just got called for a technical foul. Hightower teed him up. Apparently he didn’t laugh at Ed’s joke.
Hightower: A priest, a rabbi and an alligator go golfing…
Buford: Man, I ain’t got time for this.
Hightower: [blows whistle] Technical foul, number 44!
5:04 What? WHAT?? A new rendition of “One Shining Moment”? And it’s sung by Jennifer Hudson? No. NO! Why mess with perfection? That’s like superimposing Larry the Cable Guy over Marlon Brando in “The Godfather”. Did CBS have a meeting and say, “How can we screw something up that has never ever sucked?” Did they consult the folks in charge of New Coke on this one?
5:07 While I’ve been ranting, Evan Turner has been spinning, scoring and getting fouled repeatedly. He has 29 points now and the Buckeyes lead it 72-50 with a little over five minutes to play. Anyway, back to ranting…
5:08 I can’t wait for Puffy’s remix of “One Shining Moment”.
The ball is tipped.
(Yeah…yeah…tipped…)And there you are.
(Just like Biggie…)You're running for your life
(Like a marathon…)You're a shooting star
(Star…)And all the years
(All of ‘em, baby…)No one knows
(Not even Biggie…)Just how hard you worked
(Hard like math…)But now it shows...
(Shows, baby…yeah…)In one shining moment, it’s all on the line
(Like laundry…yeah…)One shining moment, there frozen in time
(Like a popsicle alarm clock)[Repeat 8x]
5:09 David Lighty for another three. That’s like eleven straight made field goals for the Buckeyes, who now lead it 75-53 with 4:20 remaining.
5:10 Ha ha. Lighty with two more. Ohio State hasn’t missed a shot in the last eight minutes. I think they should use the rest of the 3:50 left in this game to all take turns trying Turner’s game-winner against Michigan.
5:16 Evan Turner just hit a floater for his 30th and 31st points of the afternoon. He will probably be leaving the court shortly. Buckeyes lead it by 20 or so.
5:17 Another three-pointer for Diebler as the clock was winding down. Yawn. Buckeyes lead it 82-57.
5:17 LOL. Buford just drained a three because he’s getting ready to get subbed out and he wanted a few more points. Here comes a mass substitution. All five come out. I don’t think I realized all five could be replaced at once, and Dallas Lauderdale didn’t even come in.
5:19 Nikola Kecman wasted no time in shooting - and scoring. But then, he never does. He’s like a kid in a candy store, except this kid never knows if he’s ever going to be in another candy store, so while he’s in there, he’s gonna find him something good and plenty.
5:20 Wow. Ohio State is leading 90-59 with 17.7 remaining. It was a three-point game at halftime.
5:21 There’s the final…as Jeremie Simmons misses a three at the buzzer. Ohio State wins 90-61 and they are your Big Ten Tournament Champions one more time!
5:22 People say it only takes two or three Buckeyes to play well for the team to win. I think we just saw what happens when all four of the perimeter guys play well.
5:25 And now we just sit and wait to see where the Committee puts us. I’m guessing we’ll probably be playing Thursday at noon in American Samoa against Samoa Commonwealth University.
Big Ten Tournament Championship Locker Room Shirts and Tees available at Football Fanatics!!!
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