Written by David Regimbal

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Ohio State traveled to Tallahassee for their matchup in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge Tuesday night and came away with a 58-44 victory over the Florida State Seminoles.

The Buckeyes (6-0) didn’t have the greatest shooting night, but they continued their great play defensively by suffocating an already porous Florida State offense. Ohio State held the Seminoles to a season low 44 points, making everything hard to come by as Florida State only connected on 17 of their 48 shot attempts (35%). The Buckeyes also forced 22 turnovers (14 in the second half) to grind out a tough victory over a solid ACC opponent.

Freshman forward Jared Sullinger said this about the Buckeyes pregame mentality, “We knew defense was going to win the game.”

Sullinger scored 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against a strong Florida State interior. The Seminoles boast great size in three of their players with Chris Singleton (6-9), Xavier Gibson (6-11) and Bernard James (6-10). Those three players for Florida State combined for 10 blocks during the game, making points in the paint a near impossibility for the Buckeyes. It was the toughest test for Ohio State’s offense so far this season, and whether they passed it or not, the Buckeyes still notched a 14 point victory.

Ohio State only scored 58 points (a season low), but Florida State is one of the best defensive teams in the country. The Seminoles are holding their opponents to just 33% shooting, third best in the NCAA. Ohio State had a hard time getting good looks at the basket because the Seminoles play a very active zone defense.

In a physical, low scoring game, the Buckeyes did what they had to do to get the win. Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton addressed that in his postgame remarks, “I hate to say it, but they outmuscled us... We gave them too many extra possessions.”

On offense, the Buckeyes used a balance attack to score their points. Diebler led the team with 12  while Sullinger had 11, Lighty had 10 and Buford had nine. Ohio State also held the rebounding advantage against the Seminoles, grabbing 39 boards compared to just 29 for Florida State.

Ohio State never trailed in this game and had a 17 point lead early in the second half. The Seminoles were never able to get within eight points in the final 20 minutes, but were able to make things interesting with a 7-0 run that began at the 15 minute mark. Florida State’s star player Chris Singleton struggled in the game and only scored eight points on 2-9 shooting. It was his defense that made the biggest impact as he collected five steals and three blocks, but in the end, it wasn’t enough.

After the game, Lighty had this to say, “We’ve been on the road in difficult situations before. I think it’s us not being rattled and just being ready for everything that comes at us.”

So far, so good for the unbeaten Buckeyes.

Quick Hits:

• With less than a minute to play in the first half, Deshaun Thomas collected an offensive rebound and went up for a put-back bucket. During the attempt, he was fouled and hit the court hard. He left the game (unable to shoot his free throws), and did not return.
• The Buckeyes have beaten Florida State in consecutive seasons. The two teams met last year in Columbus, and Ohio State won that matchup 77-64.
• Jared Sullinger collected his third double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
• Coming into the night, the ACC had a 1-0 advantage in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with Virginia’s upset win over Minnesota Monday night. After Tuesday night, the Big Ten regained control with wins by Ohio State, Michigan, Illinois and Northwestern. Iowa lost their matchup with Wake Forest, making the current tally 4-2 in the Big Ten’s favor.

Who’s Next?
 
Ohio State reaches a lull in the schedule and won’t play another game for nine days. The Buckeyes will host IUPUI on Thursday, December 9. The game will be carried by the Big Ten Network and will tip off at 7:00 PM.