Evanston, IL (Sports Network) - Still with a shot at winning the Big Ten
Conference's regular-season title, the 16th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes hit the
road for the first of two straight bouts, as they pay a visit to the
Northwestern Wildcats on Thursday night.
Including this one, Ohio State has just three games remaining in the regular
season, and with a league ledger of 10-5, it currently trails first-place
Indiana (12-3) by two games. The Buckeyes play at Indiana next Tuesday, before
closing out the campaign at home versus Illinois on March 10. OSU has won two
straight, and three of its last four to improve to 20-7 overall, and the team
is hoping to add to its less-than-stellar road record (3-5) with a win in this
contest. The Buckeyes' took care of visiting Michigan State in their last
outing, 68-60, this past Sunday.
Northwestern hasn't had anywhere near the success as its counterpart tonight,
the team logging a 13-15 overall mark, which includes a 4-11 record in Big Ten
action. The Wildcats are tied for 10th place in the conference standings, and
they are hoping to snap a five-game losing streak and even their home record
at 9-9 with an upset of the Buckeyes.
These two teams met in Columbus on Valentine's Day, and Ohio State prevailed
in a 69-59 final. With that win, the Buckeyes increased their lead in the all-
time series to 112-45. OSU has won the last seven meetings now, and 18 of the
last 19 overall.
While sporting talent across the roster, Ohio State goes pretty much as star
forward Deshaun Thomas goes. A serious contender for Big Ten Player of the
Year honors, as well as All-America status, Thomas leads the conference in
scoring at 19.9 ppg, and he adds 6.1 rpg, while shooting 37.3 percent from 3-
point range, 44.5 percent from the field overall, and an astounding 84.5
percent from the foul line. No other OSU player averages double figures in the
scoring column, although guards Lenzelle Smith, Jr. (9.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and
Aaron Craft (9.6 ppg, 4.4 apg, 3.7 rpg) are close. As a team, the Buckeyes are
putting up 70.6 ppg while permitting only 59.1 ppg, and they own favorable
margins as well in both rebounding (+3.8) and turnovers (+2.4). Craft was high
man for OSU in the recent win over Michigan State, going 7-of-12 from the
floor and 7-of-8 at the charity stripe in tallying 21 points. He handed out
six assists as well, but the team only had eight helpers in the game. Thomas
tacked on 14 points and seven rebounds, but he was off the mark with his shot,
going just 4-of-16 from the field. Evan Ravenel came off the bench to chip in
10 points for the Buckeyes, who made good on 44 percent of their total shots,
despite missing 13 of their 18 3-point tries. Ohio State committed only nine
turnovers, while goading the Spartans into 14, and MSU converted only 2-of-11
attempts from downtown.
Northwestern has really struggled to put points on the board this season,
coming in with an average of 61.1 ppg behind typical shooting efforts of 40.2
percent overall, 34.2 percent from 3-point range, and 66.2 percent from the
free throw line. Fortunately, the team's defensive effort has allowed it hang
with at least some of the teams on its schedule, its foes averaging just 63.0
ppg despite laying claim to a +6.7 edge on the glass. The Wildcats feature two
active double-digit scorers in Reggie Hearn (13.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and Dave
Sobolewski (10.2 ppg, 3.9 apg), but no one hit that mark in a 74-43 loss at
Purdue last Sunday. Tre Demps came closest with his nine points, as the
Wildcats shot a horrific 28.6 percent from the floor, hitting a mere 4-of-18
long-range launches in the process. Meanwhile, the Boilermakers made good on
52.9 percent of their total shots, hitting seven treys, and they more than
doubled NU's effort on the boards, 48-23.
The Sports Network