Misfires cost Northwestern against No. 2 OSU
COLUMBUS, Ohio —Northwestern is known for its precise, patterned offense and sticky defense.
Both were abandoned against No. 2 Ohio State on Wednesday night.
William Buford had career-highs of 28 points and five 3-pointers as the Buckeyes showed their marksmanship outside while dominating inside in an 87-54 victory in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
“I was very disappointed in (our play at) both ends of the court,” Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said after his team's 31st consecutive loss in Columbus, dating to 1977. “I knew it would be tough defensively, because they have a good number of guys who can score inside and out. I just thought we'd be able to get better shots than we did. But they had something to do with that.”
The conference's top two scorers, Northwestern's John Shurna and Drew Crawford, had miserable games. They were held to 11 and 13 points, respectively, on a combined 9-for-30 shooting.
Carmody was at a loss for their poor shot selection, in particular.
“You have to say it's the defense,” he said. “I thought Crawford played better in the second half, he was more aggressive. But Shurna, he just didn't have a good game in any regard. He looked tired. He wasn't doing things decisively. I don't know. We haven't practiced that hard the last couple of days. He just seemed he wasn't doing anything as hard as he can, or should.”
Freshman point guard Dave Sobolewski had 10 points and five assists in 38 minutes for the Wildcats (10-3, 0-1).
Ohio State (13-1, 1-0) came in next-to-last in the conference in 3-pointers at 4.8 per game, but hit seven in the first half to build a big lead and finished 10 for 20 from long range.
“We were saving it,” coach Thad Matta cracked.
The Buckeyes had their way inside as well.
Jared Sullinger added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Buckeyes, who dominated the boards 49-30.
Deshaun Thomas had 16 points for Ohio State, which broke the game open with a 13-0 first-half run fueled by 3-pointers. Jordan Sibert added 12 points, all on 3s.
With Shurna and Crawford struggling — shadowed wherever they went, taking bad shots when they did get a chance — the Buckeyes took a 41-26 halftime lead.
The pace favored the Wildcats in the early going. They pulled to a tie at 13 on Davide Curletti's 3 at the 12:16 mark.
But the Buckeyes suddenly found the range behind the arc and the game teetered in their favor.
Sibert, just 8 for 31 on 3-pointers previously this season, hit 3 of 4, as did Buford. Sibert's 3 ignited a 13-0 rally as the Buckeyes held the Wildcats scoreless for 4:36.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats weren't doing much of anything right.
The outcome was a stark contrast to last season's two meetings. Ohio State, ranked No. 1 both times, won by 58-57 in Evanston, Ill., and then pulled out a 67-61 overtime win in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament.
“Last year we tried to limit the possessions. It was pretty effective. We didn't win but we were right there,” Carmody said. “I didn't want to do that tonight. I just thought we took bad shots, ill-advised shots, and were not in the flow. If you run a certain set and the shot comes out of that, usually for whatever reason those shots go in more often. It just seemed like after 10 seconds of running our offense, it would break down and guys were trying to beat their guy. And we're not going to beat those guys doing that. I know that.”
Northwestern never got closer than 11 points after the first-half drought.
“Thad said at the end when we shook hands, `This was about as good as we can play,”' Carmody said, adding. “and we had a lot to do with that.”