Lighty Brings Buckeyes Back

Jared & Buckeyes were able to rely on Lighty

David Lighty scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half and William Buford had all 17 of his in the first to lead Ohio State (No. 3 ESPN/USA Today, No. 2 AP) past Illinois 89-70 on Tuesday night, an impressive bounce-back game after two recent losses for the Buckeyes.


The Buckeyes never trailed after tying it 2-2, building a 15-point lead at halftime and then trading runs with the Illini, but eventually pulling off the win 89-70.

Ohio State shot 53 percent from the field to end Illinois' string of 37 consecutive games holding an opponent under 50 percent. The last team to reach 50 percent was also Ohio State, which shot 53.1 against the Illini on Feb. 14, 2010.


Buford, though, was the chief reason the Buckeyes pulled away. He had 17 points to go with two assists, feeding Diebler for a 3 from the right corner at the buzzer to send the large crowd into intermission with a sustained roar. 




My Thoughts:


- Ohio State had just 3 turnovers on Tuesday against Illinois, the fewest its had in the last 15 seasons


- That is 13th time this season that a team has had 3 turnovers or fewer in a game and the 9th different team to do so (Wisconsin's done it 4 times)


- When Ohio State plays like this, they are the best team in the country. If they can play at a consistent level during the month of March, then Thad Matta will be wearing a championship ring.


- DeShaun Thomas provided some very key plays for the Scarlet and Gray, and to win a championship, the Buckeyes will need a lot out of him when he gets into games, much like tonight.