The Ohio State Buckeyes have finally — finally! — won a game at Wisconsin’s Kohl Center. They beat the Badgers today today, 58-52, in as tough and hard-fought a game as you would ever expect to see.
Jared Sullinger was a beast on the inside; he scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Wisconsin really had no answer for him. Deshaun Thomas showed why he is one of the best forwards in the Big Ten, grabbing many rebounds and making some clutch buckets. Aaron Craft played a standout defensive game against Badgers stud point guard Jordan Taylor, and made some key free throws to help ice the game, Lenzelle Smith, Jr., played a fine floor game, and William Buford — poor, much maligned William Buford, who just could not get a shot to go down — made a three-point dagger in crunch time.
This is the kind of game you expect to see in a balanced conference like the Big Ten, where road wins are like pearls of the highest price. Wisconsin played its normal deliberate game and its in-your-face defense, but today, the Buckeyes were just a little bit better. Winning at the Kohl Center is a huge step forward for Ohio State, because winning in an intimidating atmosphere says a lot about your team’s mental toughness — and there are a lot of challenging games yet to be played.
The Buckeyes have enjoyed great success under Coach Matta — but not at the Kohl Center. There, they are 0-6, and many of the losses have been of the last-minute, heart-breaking variety. Last year, Wisconsin was the first team to beat the Buckeyes, winning a bruising battle behind the heroic efforts of stud point guard Jordan Taylor. It also was a game marred by controversy. Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger said one of the Wisconsin fans who rushed the floor spit on him; the Wisconsin faithful denied the charge and called Sullinger a crybaby. During Saturday’s game, expect Wisconsin fans to razz Sullinger unmercifully — and perhaps wear a raincoat or two.
In either case, this year’s rematch should be a great game. Wisconsin struggled to score points at the start of the Big Ten season, but has righted the ship and reeled off six wins in a row. Taylor is still around — it seems like he has played forever — and he is the main cog in the Wisconsin machine. But the Badgers also have a hard-nosed inside-outside player in Jared Berggren and a slew of other versatile players who can shoot the three and crash the boards. Under the tutelage of their great coach Bo Ryan, Wisconsin also plays a deliberate offensive game that means every possession counts.
The game was every bit as exciting as advertised, with great swings and crucial plays. Wisconsin went ahead in the early minutes, but Ohio State’s defense clamped down. The Buckeyes slowly ground their way back and finally ended the first half with their first lead of the game. The second half was played at a faster pace and was a game of runs. Ohio State put on a clinic in the first few minutes and went ahead by 15, but then it was Wisconsin’s turn. The Badgers — led by stud point guard Jordan Taylor — seemed to make every shot they put up and erased the Buckeyes’ lead and pulled ahead in a barrage of three-pointers. To their credit, the Buckeyes refused to give up, and the game came down to whether a red-haired Badger could make a three-pointer to put the Buckeyes away. He did, and Wisconsin won.
The odds favor the Badgers. They have a well-coached, talented team — and Wisconsin is ridiculously hard to beat at the Kohl Center. Bo Ryan’s record there is absurdly good. Thad Matta, who has a fine Big Ten road record since he began coaching the Buckeyes, has never beaten Wisconsin at the Kohl Center. And if, like me, you are a Buckeye fan who believes in karma, your heart must have sank when you saw Wisconsin recently pull out a gritty road win against Iowa in a game where Wisconsin simply could not knock down a shot. That probably means that the Badgers will be lights out tomorrow.
Webner House 