Written by David Regimbal

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The No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes notched their fifth straight victory of the season after shooting 67% from the field in a 107-74 rout of the Virginia Military Keydets Wednesday night.

William Buford led all scorers with 23 points while also collecting six assists and three rebounds. Jared Sullinger added 17 points and 12 rebounds (his third double-double of the season), Aaron Craft had 13 points and eight assists, Deshaun Thomas scored 11 points and J.D. Weatherspoon chipped in 10 points off the bench. The Buckeyes connected on 46 of their 68 shots while racking up 30 assists in the game, resulting in the best offensive performance so far this season.

For those not familiar with VMI’s style of play, the final score might be a surprise. They Keydets like to push the ball and score as many points as possible with their strategy leaning more toward offensive production than defensive stops. That translated on the court in Columbus Wednesday night when VMI had success scoring the basketball but failed to produce any consistency on defense.

“They are a really good team,” Buford said after the game. “At times we couldn’t really stop them, but we just had to keep pushing our offense. I’m just trying to find my way and take good shots.”

Buford definitely found his way in this one, especially early on for the Buckeyes. The only senior on the team scored nine of the team’s  first 14 points -- jump starting an Ohio State offense that connected on 16 of their first 19 shots. Craft was very active as well, notching six assists on Ohio State’s first 12 made shots. The Buckeyes had built a 36-17 lead midway through the first half before VMI’s powerful offense, an offense that has led the country in scoring the last five consecutive years, started finding a rhythm. They Keydets ran off a 13-6 run against the Buckeyes to draw within 12, a point differential that VMI was able to maintain through the rest of the half. At halftime, the Buckeyes were able to take a 57-44 lead into the locker room.

“It’s easy to fall in the trap in a game like this,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. “A team gets out there and all of a sudden the guys are hoopin’.”

The Buckeyes settled into the game, offensively and defensively, coming into the second half. With Ohio State scoring 57 points in the first half, it was surprising that Sullinger only accounted for nine of those points. Looking to establish a tone, Matta got the ball to his sophomore big man, who rewarded the coach by scoring the first six points of the second half. Craft continued to show more aggressiveness driving to the hoop against VMI which resulted in 13 big points for the speedy point guard. Ohio State went on a 17-6 run to start the second half, a stretch that put the game out of reach for the offensively gifted Keydets.

“We knew the beginning of the second half should be a big point of emphasis,” Craft said. “They had momentum closing the lead, but we just had to lock down on our defense.”

With the Buckeyes up 25 and just over 10 minutes to play, Thad Matta was given the chance to give valuable minutes to a developing bench. Led by Shannon Scott, the stud point guard recruit from Georgia, the Buckeyes were able to keep their foot on the gas. Scott scored six straight points, mainly from perimeter jumpers, to set the tone for the second unit.

10 Ohio State players played double digit minutes Wednesday Night, and after seeing the full strength of this Buckeyes team, VMI coach Duggar Baucom was impressed, “They are as advertised – very good. (Jared) Sullinger is a load inside and they have some tremendous guard play.”

The Buckeyes get one more tune-up game Friday night against Valparaiso before hosting the No. 6 Duke Blue Devils in a huge non-conference matchup.

(Photo credit - Jim Davidson - TheOzone.net)

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