Written by David Regimbal

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The Ohio State Buckeyes pushed the nation’s longest winning streak to 24 on Sunday afternoon by beating the Minnesota Golden Gophers 82-69. In front of a sold-out Williams Arena, the Buckeyes used incredible balance on the offensive end to wear down the 20th ranked team in the country.

David Lighty and Jared Sullinger headlined a strong performance by the Buckeyes that saw all five starters score in double digits. Lighty had a game-high 19 points while adding three rebounds, four assists and two steals. Sullinger started the game slowly on offense but finished strong with 18 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Buford finished with 15 while Lauderdale and Diebler both added 10.

The game started with both teams clicking on offense. Minnesota got things underway by connecting on their first two shots while Ohio State countered by hitting three of their first four. Ohio State was shooting well on the perimeter and connected on four of their first six 3-pointers. Lighty in particular was impressive as he showed a ton of aggression when driving the ball. His dedication to taking his man off the dribble paid off as he scored 13 points through 15 minutes of play on 6-7 shooting. Sullinger didn’t have to do much because Ohio State’s backcourt took control of the game scoring 28 of the Buckeyes’ 38 first half points.

Ohio State used a 13-3 run midway through the first half to build a 12 point lead. At that point, the Buckeyes were up 28-16 and in complete control of the game. Minnesota would make a small run before the end of the half, but Ohio State still managed to take a 38-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The second half started for Minnesota much like the first as the Gophers made their first two shots. The Buckeyes got an unexpected lift from Dallas Lauderdale, who benefited from Sullinger getting double-teamed. Lauderdale scored Ohio State’s first six second half points and eight of their first 10. His first bucket was a tip-in off a Sullinger miss, but his next three baskets were a result of great assists from Buford, Lighty and Sullinger.

Five minutes into the second half, Buford stole the ball off an errant pass and laid it in on the other end, giving Ohio State a 13 point lead. The Gophers turned the ball over 19 times, a big reason why Ohio State was able to pull away in the second half. That, combined with the Buckeyes getting an incredible 22 offensive rebounds was the difference game. Minnesota was never able to cut the Buckeyes’ lead to single digits after Buford's steal and Ohio State cruised to an easy (but impressive) road victory.

"We're never scared," Sullinger said after the game. "Even on the road, or at home, we just keep playing basketball. That's what we do."

Those who watched the first 30 minutes of game time and nothing else would be surprised by Sullinger’s postgame stats. The freshman phenom struggled shooting the ball as he was only 4-13 to start the game. But in the final 10 minutes, Sullinger turned it around and went 4-7 from the field, scoring 10 of his 18 points to help secure Ohio State’s 13 point win.

Something to watch moving forward is Sullinger at the free-throw line. Since going 13-15 from the line against Illinois two weeks ago, Sullinger has gone 16-34 in games against Purdue, Northwestern, Michigan and Minnesota. Something is clearly wrong as he came into these contests shooting well over 70% from the free-throw line. If you take away the Northwestern game (where he shot 7-10 from the line but struggled to close out the game in the final minutes), Sullinger is shooting just 37.5% on free-throws. The freshman has demonstrated he can be a very good free-throw shooter, but that’s sure to be a point of emphasis for the coaches leading into the home stretch of Big Ten play.

Who’s Next?

The Buckeyes get a five day break in the schedule as they prepare to play the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison on February 12. The game will tip-off at 2:00 PM EST and will be televised by ESPN.