Following a gridiron win over Miami and a big statement dismantling of Florida on the court, the Buckeyes hoopsters have completed the sweep with a 58-44 victory against the FSU Seminoles. It was certainly not the prettiest game the Bucks will play, but I am still surprised how well all of their moving pieces fit together so early in the season. OSU shot 32% from the floor and turned the ball over 15 times and, unsurprisingly, it was the defense that stood out. Aaron Craft had 4 turnovers to 1 assist and the Bucks had only 6 dimes total. There was too much of the "dump it inside to Sullinger and watch" offense and the freshman seemed briefly over-matched for the first time all year. Although the D forced 22 turnovers (including 4 steals in 40 minutes by Jon Diebler of all people), it was the rotation that was most impressive. Outside of the transition opportunities that FSU got off of their pressure, they did not get many easy shots. Leading scorer Chris Singleton certainly played lock-down defense (5 steals), but he shot only 2-of-9 and finished with 8 points. An ugly win is still a win (see Cleveland Browns) and there are still quantifiable positive results: Jared Sullinger with 11 and 13, 76% as a team from the line. Regardless, all the pieces (leader, outside shooter, true wing, true point, lock down defender, rim defender, both end big man, instant O off the bench) are in place. This team is only going to get better. The fact that they can gut out a double digit win and survive the brutal physicality of this Seminoles team speaks to how the team is built for a deep run in March.
Cheers.
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