Bucks Bump Bees at Bradley

Sweet Sixteen for Scarlet (and Gray)
Evan Turner recorded a game high 24 points in second seeded Ohio State’s victory over tenth seeded Georgia Tech. The Buckeyes eliminated the Yellow Jackets in the second round of the Midwest region, escaping Milwaukee with a 75-66 win. Ohio State moves on to the Sweet 16 in St. Louis, where the Tennessee Volunteers greet them on Friday. Tennessee bounced Ohio 83-68 on Saturday.
Turner, a junior, provided nine assists and nine rebounds for the smooth-in-transition Buckeyes. Georgia Tech went down with little resistance despite their size and depth advantage. ACC Freshman of the Year, Derrick Favors left the game after five minutes with two fouls. Favors and Gani Lawal picked up three fouls a piece in the first 22 minutes of the contest. Fast breaks by Ohio State hurt Georgia Tech early and a flourishing Ohio State defeated and ailed them late. Tech’s defense spotted a lead in the opening three minutes on three Buckeye turnovers but Ohio State came alive soon enough. The Yellow Jackets yielded two points in the first seven minutes of the contest as the miserable Bucks shot 3-of-13 from the field. Tech dominated at times in the first half but couldn’t hang with the high flying second half Buckeyes. The ACC representatives made adjustments on offense to try to get back in the game. It was challenging to get within striking distance with their foul troubles. The starting frontcourt for the Yellow Jackets didn’t rebound from the loss of their best shooters, but did threaten in the final minutes. Ohio State held off Tech’s last ditch effort to earn their Sweet 16 bid.
Ohio State led 28-26 at the break despite a 34.6% shooting from the field. The Yellow Jackets were sloppy and careless with the ball, committing 21 turnovers. Ohio State also benefited from Tech’s 12 personal fouls in extending a two point halftime lead to 15 points with five minutes in the game. Thad Matta’s Buckeyes did have 18 miscues themselves, but were able to wreck Tech’s rhythm. The Buckeyes have tremendous chemistry and seem to always know what they want to do with the ball. Turner makes every player around him better. The guard did turn the ball over eight times and missed a pair of key free throws in the final two minutes. He was helped the effort of his teammates at Bradley Center yesterday. Jon Diebler scored 17 of his 20 points to lift Ohio State in the second half. Diebler fired four 3-pointers, two in three consecutive possessions, as the Buckeyes continued to drain shots from downtown. David Lighty notched a 3-pointer to ignite a 14-2 Ohio State run, culminating in a 46-32 lead with just over 12 minutes remaining. Favors dazzled in the second half to pull the Yellow Jackets within nine points at the nine minute mark. The Tech freshman finished with 10 points.
The Buckeyes needed pinpoint free throw shooting to ward off an 11-0 Yellow Jacket run in the final minutes. Ohio State hit eight of its last ten from the stripe to stem the comeback. William Buford and Dallas Lauderdale pounded the ball on the inside off Turner feeds. Buford was strong on the glass with 8 rebounds and 6-of-7 from the floor in a 9 point effort. Lighty and Diebler both notched double-digit games, combining for six of the Buckeyes’ eight 3-pointers. Lawal finished with 11 points and Glen Rice, Jr. netted for Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets notched just four from the arc and didn’t accumulate enough points inside. The team that single-handedly defeated Oklahoma State on free throws, made 73.7% of their shots from the line Sunday. Ohio State was slightly better, succeeding 73.9%. The Buckeyes seem to have great energy and can win even when Turner draws the attention of defenders. They lack depth, but Matta likes what he has in his strong starting five or six men. The Bucks will have to do more than just ride the hot hand of Turner against Bruce Pearl’s veteran Vols.

Parting Points: Pittsburgh crumbles against Xavier to miss out on the Sweet 16. Only West Virginia and Syracuse survive the weekend for the Big East.

The Twins locked up Joe Mauer with an $184 million extension. Phil Hughes gives up a homerun to end today’s Yankee Spring training game.

Song that sums up Pitt in the first half yesterday- “Basket Case” by Green Day