Buckeyes Bounce Back in Rout of Nebraska

The Buckeyes returned to Columbus licking their wounds after suffering a 74-70 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers on New Year’s Eve. It took very little time to recover as Ohio State (14-2) destroyed the Nebraska Cornhuskers 71-40 on Tuesday night.

Ohio State Coach Thad Matta wanted his team to bounce back after the tough loss, “I told our guys it’s about keeping the focus on you and making sure you get better,” Matta said. “There will be bumps in the road and I think that’s why we’ve always sort of kept it on us.”

Nebraska didn’t feel as much like a bump in the road as they did something the Buckeyes just ran over. Jared Sullinger earned his eighth double-double of the season (and no. 26 of his career), scoring 19 points and 12 rebounds in just 27 minutes of play. Deshaun Thomas added 15 points and Buford scored 13 in an effort that saw the Buckeyes shoot 54% (30-56) from the field. The Buckeyes shot a blistering 72% from inside the 3-point line and absolutely dominated in the paint, outrebounding the Cornhuskers 44-21 while outscoring them by 16 down low. The only areas where Ohio State struggled were 3-point shooting (they were just 2-17 on the game) and turnovers (with an uncharacteristic 19 giveaways). Even with those terrible numbers, Nebraska was unable to keep the game within 30 points.

“The things we were able to do tonight, we felt like we were where we needed to be,” Matta said. “Offensively, with the exception of three-point shooting and turnovers, we did what we needed to do and had the right intensity.”

That intensity carried over to Ohio State’s defense as well. The Cornhuskers shot just 30% from the field and had more turnovers (17) than made field goals (16). Each Nebraska starter had at least two turnovers, and up until Sullinger went to the bench midway through the second half, the All-American big man was outrebounding the entire Cornhuskers team himself.

“We knew we were coming here to play a good basketball team and that wasn’t a surprise. Defensively, they are so long and physical” Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said. “They had intensity and they sustained it.”

Aaron Craft started the game in a similar fashion to the way he ended the nightmare at Indiana Saturday night. Craft turned the ball over on Ohio State’s first possession, leading to an easy Nebraska basket at the other end. That would be the only similarity between Ohio State’s last two games.

The Buckeyes blew the game wide open with a 17-2 run after Nebraska’s first bucket. The Buckeyes forced seven turnovers in as many minutes, and Aaron Craft was directly responsible for four of them. Ohio State got Sullinger going early and that sparked the offense. The Buckeyes shot 68% from the field (19-28) in the first half while maintaining balance as Sullinger scored 12, Thomas scored nine and Buford eight before halftime. Despite forcing nine first half turnovers, Nebraska couldn’t capitalize because of nine turnovers of their own. Shooting just 33% from the field -- the Cornhuskers buried themselves into a 44-20 halftime deficit.

The second half was nearly identical to the first. Nebraska kept pace for the first three minutes, but they couldn’t handle the pressure Ohio State created on both sides of the floor. With just under 14 minutes to play, Ohio State was able to build a 30 point lead and the coaching staff began to substitute freely.

"Nobody likes to lose more than we do," Matta said. "Like I told the guys, last year we learned a great lesson in the Kentucky game (a loss in the NCAA regional semifinals). But the season was over. Do we have the ability to learn a lesson here in the end of December and continue to move forward?"

We’ll find out if the Buckeyes can continue moving this forward Saturday as the team travels to Iowa City to play the Hawkeyes.

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