Saturday, January 22, 2011

Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Illinois Fighting Illini - Box Score - January 22, 2011 - ESPN

Bucks win a very exciting -- and important -- road game over Illinois, 73-68.

Sullinger and Diebler played great, but there was a lot of iffy play from Lighty, and I spent an inordinate amount of time yelling at Aaron Craft for his many miscues. Still both he and Deshaun Thomas redeemed their poor first half play during the 11-0 run that turned the game.

Would like to see the Bucks develop more of their inside-outside game, but Sullinger is so good in the paint that kicking out to the three point shooters is actually the less desirable option. Lighty on the other hand can't seem to hit shots after contact and always looks like he's expecting a foul to be called -- like a desperate receiver looking for pass interference on every play. Craft also had a bad habit of leaving balls on the front of rim when he tried to drive the lane. Finally, big man Dallas Lauderdale didn't see much playing time, probably because the OSU D did a good job of keeping Sullinger out of foul trouble.

Ohio State advance to 20-0 and defend their #1 ranking.