Written by David Regimbal

---

By the end of the game, most of the Buckeye starters were watching from the bench as Ohio State defeated UNC-Wilmington 81-41.

Ohio State (3-0) dominated the game defensively from the initial tip-off until the final buzzer. The Buckeyes held UNC-Wilmington (2-2) to their lowest scoring output, and lowest shooting percentage of the young season. The Seahawks were only able to connect on 18 of their 57 field goal attempts (31%), in addition to turning the ball over 19 times.

Scoring was hard to come by in all aspects of the game as UNCW was held to just 18% on their three point field goal attempts (3-16). When they tried to feed the ball down low, they had to deal with Dallas Lauderdale, who had five blocked shots in 21 minutes of action.

Meanwhile, the Ohio State offense used a balanced attack to push the game out of reach early. No Buckeye player scored more than 17 points in the game, while five different Buckeyes reached double digit point totals. Ohio State was led by freshman Deshaun Thomas, who came off the bench to score a team-high 17, while collecting seven rebounds. Two other Buckeye freshman, Jared Sullinger and Jordan Sibert, chipped in 11 points. Ohio State shot 45% from the field, and collected 16 assists on their 29 made baskets. They also out-rebounded the Seahawks 47-24 in a game that was never really close.

Head coach Thad Matta wanted his team to set the tempo early, “I thought we played really well. My challenge to the team was to start off with high intensity..." I think it's fair to say his team answered the challenge.

After scoring the games first seven points, the Buckeyes used their strong defense to build a lead that never dwindled. Through the first eight minutes of the game, Ohio State led 18-4, and from that point on, the Seahawks never cut the deficit to single digits. Ohio State went on to close out the half on a 30-12 run, giving them a 46-16 advantage at the break.

While holding a 40 point lead for nearly the entire second half, Matta was able to give valuable minutes to every player that dressed for the game. Sibert was a bright spot for Ohio State, hitting three first half triples while bringing a ton of energy off the bench defensively.

Following the game, Sibert talked about the Buckeyes depth, “We have a lot of depth, which is always a plus. We play extremely unselfishly and that makes it hard to stop us as a team. Any night can be anybody’s night to score. As long as we keep playing unselfishly, we should have a great season.”

So far, the Buckeyes are looking very good.
 

Quick Hits

• The Buckeyes are outscoring their opponents by an average of 33 points so far this season.
• Jared Sullinger missed recording his third consecutive double-double, mainly because the coaching staff pulled the starters about mid way through the second half.
• Big Ten teams are turning some heads nationally, with some thinking this might be the toughest conference in the country. The Big Ten has eight undefeated teams remaining, and five teams are currently ranked in the coaches poll (Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin).

Who's Next?
The Buckeyes will stay in Columbus to host the Morehead State Eagles on Tuesday, November 23.  The game will tip off at 7: 00 PM on ESPN 3.