Buckeyes Sneak Past Northwestern For Win

Thanks to a David Lighty steal, and a free throw from Jared Sullinger to go up by one, the Buckeyes were able to escape from Evanston with a win in a close, but expectedly so, Big Ten match-up.

Sullinger finished with 21 points and Aaron Craft had 13 points for Ohio State.

Leading by only two at the half, Ohio State (22-0, 9-0 Big Ten) pulled out to a 13-point lead in the second half with a 14-4 run. The Wildcats, though were still coming after OSU hard even withoutleading scorer John Shurna because of a concussion, came back behind senior guard Michael Thompson, who led the Wildcats with 16 points -- 13 in the second half.


Surprisingly, the Wildcats were able to lead on the boards, which usually means tough times for the Buckeyes, even without Shurna. Ohio State shot 57 percent for the game and Sullinger was 7 for 12 from the field.


Ohio State's record was moved to 22-0, a very good start obviously, but the longest Buckeyes win streak in a single season was the 1960-61 season, in which they started out 27-0. This is a possiblity for OSU, and would be pretty amazing to see. Thad Matta can certainly lead this team to do it, he's got all the talent and heart he could ever want. 


Notes:


- Northwestern is now 0-15 all-time against teams ranked No. 1.


- Northwestern is now 0-7 against ranked opponents this season.


- The Buckeyes held on to improve to 20-1 all-time against the Wildcats.