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Buckeyes come up short in Madison, Fall to Wisconsin 79-68
Scott via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
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The Wisconsin Badgers are not exactly a prolific three-point shooting team but you’ll have a hard time convincing Ohio State that.
Wisconsin, which makes just 33.3 percent of its three-pointers, sank 13 of 27 from long range en route to a 79-68 win over the Buckeyes at the Kohl Center Thursday night. The 48.1 percent was the second-highest rate this season and the 13 made shots was a season high.
None was bigger than Jordan Hill’s late trey, which turned a 5-point game into a 73-65 margin with less than two minutes to play. The Buckeyes could get no closer than five the rest of the way in falling to 14-10 overall and 6-5 in the Big Ten.
Freshman JaQuan Lyle made a solid case to crack the starting lineup again, scoring a game-high 27 points, while sophomore Kam Williams added 10. Nigel Hayes had 21 for the Badgers (14-9, 6-4)and came alive in the second half after a rather pedestrian first half.
That the Buckeyes even had a chance was remarkable considering they fell behind 11-0, causing Coach Thad Matta to call a timeout just seconds before the first media timeout would have occurred.
The Buckeyes battled back and trailed 19-15 midway through the first half and then led 22-21 after Trevor Thompson made two free throws with 7:08 left.
Bronson Koenig caught fire and hit a pair of threes for Wisconsin, but a Lyle three cut it to 27-25 with 4:50 left. Hill hit a three-pointer for Wisconsin, but Tate followed with a basket to make the score 30-27 at the under-four timeout.
A late run by the Badgers gave them a 38-32 lead at halftime and a quick spurt gave Wisconsin 10-point lead seven minutes into the second half.
The Badger lead reach 62-50 four minutes later, but OSU answered with a 9-0 run to make the score 62-59 with 6:58 left. Keita Bates-Diop started the run with a tip-in and Marc Loving continued it with a three-pointer.
After a Wisconsin timeout, Lyle and Jae’Sean Tate scored back-to-back. Minutes later, a pair of Bates-Diop free throws made the score 65-63 but that’s as close as OSU could get.
The Buckeyes played well enough to win, making 9 of 12 free throws and only turning the ball over 10 times. But that was not enough to overcome the hot shooting of Wisconsin, which won its fifth straight game and kept itself within striking range of the NCAA Tournament.
OSU isn’t out of the discussion, but because of poor early season losses, the Buckeyes will likely need to get to 20 wins. Wins over Northwestern, Rutgers, Nebraska and Michigan are “must-haves” along with perhaps an upset of Iowa or Michigan State and a win or two in the B1G Tournament.
That would get the Buckeyes at least 10 conference wins and a decent record in their last 10 games.
It would also mean Thad Matta would keep his streak of 20-win seasons alive.
The post Buckeyes come up short in Madison, Fall to Wisconsin 79-68 appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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Scott via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The Wisconsin Badgers are not exactly a prolific three-point shooting team but you’ll have a hard time convincing Ohio State that.
Wisconsin, which makes just 33.3 percent of its three-pointers, sank 13 of 27 from long range en route to a 79-68 win over the Buckeyes at the Kohl Center Thursday night. The 48.1 percent was the second-highest rate this season and the 13 made shots was a season high.
None was bigger than Jordan Hill’s late trey, which turned a 5-point game into a 73-65 margin with less than two minutes to play. The Buckeyes could get no closer than five the rest of the way in falling to 14-10 overall and 6-5 in the Big Ten.
Freshman JaQuan Lyle made a solid case to crack the starting lineup again, scoring a game-high 27 points, while sophomore Kam Williams added 10. Nigel Hayes had 21 for the Badgers (14-9, 6-4)and came alive in the second half after a rather pedestrian first half.
That the Buckeyes even had a chance was remarkable considering they fell behind 11-0, causing Coach Thad Matta to call a timeout just seconds before the first media timeout would have occurred.
The Buckeyes battled back and trailed 19-15 midway through the first half and then led 22-21 after Trevor Thompson made two free throws with 7:08 left.
Bronson Koenig caught fire and hit a pair of threes for Wisconsin, but a Lyle three cut it to 27-25 with 4:50 left. Hill hit a three-pointer for Wisconsin, but Tate followed with a basket to make the score 30-27 at the under-four timeout.
A late run by the Badgers gave them a 38-32 lead at halftime and a quick spurt gave Wisconsin 10-point lead seven minutes into the second half.
The Badger lead reach 62-50 four minutes later, but OSU answered with a 9-0 run to make the score 62-59 with 6:58 left. Keita Bates-Diop started the run with a tip-in and Marc Loving continued it with a three-pointer.
After a Wisconsin timeout, Lyle and Jae’Sean Tate scored back-to-back. Minutes later, a pair of Bates-Diop free throws made the score 65-63 but that’s as close as OSU could get.
The Buckeyes played well enough to win, making 9 of 12 free throws and only turning the ball over 10 times. But that was not enough to overcome the hot shooting of Wisconsin, which won its fifth straight game and kept itself within striking range of the NCAA Tournament.
OSU isn’t out of the discussion, but because of poor early season losses, the Buckeyes will likely need to get to 20 wins. Wins over Northwestern, Rutgers, Nebraska and Michigan are “must-haves” along with perhaps an upset of Iowa or Michigan State and a win or two in the B1G Tournament.
That would get the Buckeyes at least 10 conference wins and a decent record in their last 10 games.
It would also mean Thad Matta would keep his streak of 20-win seasons alive.
The post Buckeyes come up short in Madison, Fall to Wisconsin 79-68 appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...