If you were expecting a huge performance by Evan Turner, to maybe seal up the Player of the Year trophy, you would have been wrong, along with just about everyone else in the College Basketball world. The Gauchos came out with a plan, and that was to stop and shut down Evan Turner. It worked, but it also back fired, because Ohio State's Jon Diebler, William Buford, and David Lighty, with a little bit of Lauderdale sprinkled in, totally dominated the Santa Barbara squad. With this performance, the Buckeyes were totally fine without their star on the court. Evan Turner was frustrated, there's no doubt about that. He was happy with the win, but he only finished with nine points on 2-of-13 shooting from the field. He did have 10 rebounds, though, that helped his teammates out in the long run.
Despite being called out sick with the flu, Diebler had the most impressive performance thus far this year, adding 23 points. He was so hot from the three area, that the Buckeyes went straight to him for three straight shots, all resulting in a total of a 9 point stretch. Speaking of domination, Dallas Lauderdale came out to prove he was still the go-to big man for the Buckeyes, and he had eight rebounds and 12 blocks, becoming the third player since 1997 to reach those levels in a tournament game (Cole Aldrich 2009, Kelvin Cato in 1997). Along with that, William Buford became hot in certain times in the game, which ended with 16 points. In all, if the Buckeyes continue to play like this throughout the tournament, with the addition of good play by Turner, (don't worry, he will) Then they are a legitimate title contender. Of course, it was UCSB, but we will really get to see how good these Buckeyes are when they face Georgia Tech on Sunday at 2:20 PM EST.
Despite being called out sick with the flu, Diebler had the most impressive performance thus far this year, adding 23 points. He was so hot from the three area, that the Buckeyes went straight to him for three straight shots, all resulting in a total of a 9 point stretch. Speaking of domination, Dallas Lauderdale came out to prove he was still the go-to big man for the Buckeyes, and he had eight rebounds and 12 blocks, becoming the third player since 1997 to reach those levels in a tournament game (Cole Aldrich 2009, Kelvin Cato in 1997). Along with that, William Buford became hot in certain times in the game, which ended with 16 points. In all, if the Buckeyes continue to play like this throughout the tournament, with the addition of good play by Turner, (don't worry, he will) Then they are a legitimate title contender. Of course, it was UCSB, but we will really get to see how good these Buckeyes are when they face Georgia Tech on Sunday at 2:20 PM EST.
The Buckeyes jumped out to a 17-point halftime lead and cruised to a 17-point win, despite Evan Turner going 2 for 14 from the floor. Turner finished with nine points.
Jon Diebler tied a season-high with seven 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 23 points.
Evan Turner, happy with his first ever NCAA win.
