Wisconsin Wears Out Buckeyes, Sends OSU Into Complete Meltdown

Throw expectations, conference title talk, and seeding completely out the window, because right now, the Buckeyes just need to stop the room from spinning. For the third time in the last three weekends, the Buckeyes were hit in the jaw by another Big Ten contender.

This time, Bo Ryan and the Wisconsin Badgers sent the Buckeyes to the canvas. Despite outshooting and outrebounding the Badgers and getting a strong performance from Deshaun Thomas, the Buckeyes were careless with the ball in the first half and missed too many free throws and defensive assignments late in the second half, as the Badgers beat the Bucks 63-60 on Senior Day in Columbus.

We learned post-game just how serious the situation is, as Coach Thad Matta kicked his players out of practice Saturday after a lousy showing. He also called out a good chunk of the team, saying his freshmen were the only ones who always came to practice with their all. In the game’s final few minutes, we saw just how disconnected the Buckeyes are on offense and defense. Offensively, the ball stuck, players who were open didn’t want to take charge, and the shot selection late was atrocious. Defensively, there were defensive lapses that led to open buckets.

In what could have been his last game in The Schott, Jared Sullinger turned in one of his worst performances as a Buckeye. Sully posted just 8 points on 4-of-10 shooting to go with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. The Buckeye big man also lost Wisconsin forward Jared Berggren twice in the game’s final minutes, and Berggren made him pay for it with five crucial points. Matta had this to say about his star sophomore center, “I do know that he’s playing his best basketball when he’s focused and engaged.” Sullinger never established good position on the block, as Berggren and others forced him up the lane and out to the corner. When he did get the ball, he was forced to take higher difficulty shots. In a game where the Buckeyes needed their big man to rise to the occasion, he failed to do it. After his 24-point effort in Madison earlier this month, it was clear Bo Ryan made it a goal to shut Sullinger down.

The one player who looked with it on offense was, once again, Deshaun Thomas. Thomas scored 13 of the team’s first 22 points, showcasing an impressive array of NBA-caliber moves from the block. Thomas also made Ryan Evans work with his defense, as the Badger forward shot just 5-of-17 for 10 points. The problem was that Thomas did not score for the rest of the half after those initial 13. During that stretch, the Buckeyes piled up the turnovers, with 10 in all in the first half, including 5 within a string of 6 possessions. Every time it seemed like the Buckeyes were two possessions up and looking to pull away, Wisconsin would pull back to even in the blink of an eye.

Matta tried to change things up with his rotations, inserting Shannon Scott and Evan Ravenel just four minutes into game for Craft and Sullinger. The two stayed on the floor for nearly five minutes as two of the Bucks’ top contributors rested. The problem was outside of Thomas, Sullinger, Craft, and Buford, the team got one, that’s right, ONE, point from Lenzelle Smith Jr. and the bench of Scott, Thompson, Ravenel, and Weatherspoon combined (off an Evan Ravenel free throw). On his senior night, William Buford did post 15 points on 4-of-11 shooting to go with 9 rebounds.

Truly though, Berggren and Taylor were the stars of this game. Taylor, the senior point guard who almost single handedly topped the Bucks last season in Madison, had a great battle at the end of the game with Aaron Craft. The two traded buckets a couple of times late as Craft scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, while Taylor posted 11 second half points of his own. Taylor once again found a way to rise high and drill multiple shots over the tight contests from Craft. Berggren and Taylor combined for Wisconsin’s last 13 points and 21 of their last 23.

The end of game sequence says it all for just how disjointed the Buckeyes are right now in high pressure situations. Following Jared Sullinger’s fantastic bucket that he willed in over the top of Berggren to make it 59-58 with 45 seconds remaining, nothing went right for the Bucks. On the high ball screen at the other end, Sullinger got caught getting out late on Berggren on the left wing, and the Badger forward drilled a clutch three to give the Badgers the two-point lead. Then, with Ohio State able to use the entire clock and after calling time, the ball was inbounded to Deshaun Thomas. Thomas shot almost immediately, got caught in the air by a shot contest, and had to readjust his shot attempt to avoid the block, chucking it just before he touched the ground as it bricked off the rim. The Badgers rebounded and two Berggren free throws later, the game was all but over. This team is making the kinds of mental mistakes that last year’s squad just never made.

Most painful of all was the second half free throw misses. The team missed eight in that second half, converting just 10-of-19 for the game, including a heart-wrenching pair of bricks from Craft with just 1:19 remaining up one. In just about every way you could slice it, the Buckeyes deserved to lose this game, and I don’t think I can honestly say that a win with the way they played would’ve made me feel much better about the team’s March prospects.

Next up for Ohio State, it’s the Northwestern Wildcats on Wednesday night in Evanston. The Buckeyes will need some help from the Indiana Hoosiers, who must knock off the Spartans in Bloomington on Tuesday night for Ohio State to have any chance at the regular season title.

(Photo: Neal C. Lauron/The Columbus Dispatch)