Columbus’ Cool Customers Continue Creaming Competition

Buckeyes Blast Boilermakers
William Buford drained 19 points and was one of six Buckeyes scoring in double figures as top-ranked Ohio State pasted Purdue in Columbus 87-64 Tuesday. Ohio State won for the 21st consecutive time and remains unbeaten after dismantling the 12th ranked Boilermakers. The streak marks the fourth longest in Buckeye basketball history. The red hot Buckeyes have been tearing up the hardwood since day one of this season. The fever pitch remains on the rise and the Bucks continue to add credibility to their number one ranking with solid defensive rebounding and stellar inside shooting. OSU shot 52% from the field in Tuesday’s Value City Arena victory. The Buckeyes outrebounded the Boilermakers by 14 and led by as many as 31 points against their Big 10 opponents. Purdue fell to 17-4 with the loss.
Ohio State made 6-of-9 from beyond the arc in the first half. The Bucks took a commanding halftime edge and shot 56.7% in the opening session. Jon Diebler poured in 10 points during the first half and finished with 19 on the night. The defense held Purdue without a second-chance point in the first half. Freshman Aaron Craft contributed nine points off Thad Matta’s deep bench as the Buckeyes spread the ball around throughout the game. Buford, David Lighty and Deshaun Thomas all had seven buckets by the break. JaJuan Johnson was the only Purdue shooter able to get anything going offensively. Johnson had 11 points by the half for a Boilermaker team that struggled to hit their three-point shots. Johnson finished with a game high 22 points and led Purdue with seven rebounds. the Buckeyes snatched any momentum back with runs of 14-2 and 13-5 to swell their lead to 35-13 with roughly six minutes left in the half. Purdue trailed 46-26 at halftime.
Jared Sullinger, the hard-to-guard rookie, made his mark in the second half for the dazzling Buckeyes. Sullinger knocked down 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the win. He also added seven from the charity stripe. Purdue played a better second half and trimmed their deficit to 17 three times. The lethargic Boilermakers, relying on Johnson and E’Twaun Moore as their only offensive sources, couldn’t piece together a rally. Purdue scored 38 second half points to OSU’s 41 as Buford and Sullinger exchanged late treys to seal the deal for the home team. OSU carved out a 30 point advantage, aided by Thomas’ rebound with 4:19 on the clock. Thomas finished with 13 points, while Lighty scored 11. OSU hit 11-of-19 from the rainbow and now reside two games in front in the Big 10.

Parting Points: The Big East is stacked.

A quote from the epitome of cool- “I never planned anything in my life”- Cool Hand Luke