Written by David Regimbal

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With under 13 minutes to play in last night’s game, the Ohio State Buckeyes (7-0) trailed the IUPUI Jaguars 50-41. The Value City Arena crowd grew anxious as the Jaguars hit shot after shot in building the stunning nine point second half lead.

Jared Sullinger turned an anxious crowd into an electric one as he helped the Buckeyes put together a 24-4 run to take over the game.

Sullinger had a career night for the Buckeyes, scoring 40 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in the 75-64 victory. During the Buckeyes pivotal second half run, Sullinger scored 14 of Ohio State’s 24 points. With IUPUI’s defense focused mainly on stopping Ohio State’s talented perimeter players, the freshman forward had more opportunities than he usually gets.

“You have to give [credit] to my teammates for finding me in the post,” Sullinger said after the game. “We have outside shooters like David Lighty, Aaron Craft, William Buford and John Diebler... it’s obvious that you can’t really double team the post.”

And if the Jaguars had double teamed the post, it may not have mattered. Sullinger looked absolutely unguardable as he set a freshman record for points scored in a game (the previous record was 30 by Michael Redd in 1997). IUPUI was severely undersized in this matchup, with no player in their starting five taller than 6-7. In his postgame comments, IUPUI head coach Rob Hunter was asked what could be done when Sullinger finds that kind of a scoring groove. His response, “Get him in the draft early.”

While there was a lot of excitement about Sullinger’s performance, Ohio State coach Thad Matta was disappointed in the defensive effort. The Buckeyes allowed the Jaguars to shoot 51% (26-51) from the field and 47% (8-17) from the three point line. “IUPUI came in here and knocked us on our heels a little bit tonight,” Matta said. “I don’t think in the first half we ever drew the line in the sand and said 'we’re going to get a stop'.”

Both teams started hot in this game as the Jaguars connected on seven of their first 10 shots, while Ohio State saw six of their first seven field goal attempts go in. The teams exchanged leads seven times and were tied five times in the first half alone. When the half came to a close, it was all knotted up at 35.

IUPUI continued their hot shooting after intermission, starting the second half on a 15-6 run. After a timeout was called, Diebler connected on a three point shot that sparked Ohio State’s rally. Jared Sullinger was heavily featured down the stretch of the game, scoring 22 of his 40 points in the final 13 minutes. The talented freshman not only rebounded and shot the ball well, he got to the charity stripe often, attempting 23 free throws (making 16 of them). The 40 points he scored was the most for a Buckeye since Dennis Hopson in 1986.

Three players for Ohio State combined for 67 of Ohio State’s 75 points as William Buford scored 14 and Diebler scored 13. This wasn’t a textbook win for Ohio State, but one that Thad Matta will take as his team remains unbeaten.

Who’s Next?

The Buckeyes stay home and host the Western Carolina Catamounts this Sunday, December 12. The game will be played in St. John Arena at 2:00 PM EST, and will be carried by the Big Ten Network.