Diebler Shines, Bucks Win

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Whether wide open, fading away from a defender or with a bad look at the basket with a hand in his face, Ohio State's Jon Diebler had one of those games in which he just couldn't miss.
The senior some fans call "3bler" lived up to his nickname in Happy Valley.

Diebler had a career-high 30 points and set a school record with 10 3-pointers Tuesday night to lead top-ranked Ohio State to an 82-61 rout of Penn State to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten title.

Diebler went 5 of 6 from behind the arc in the first half as the Buckeyes (28-2, 15-2) built a 15-point halftime lead and never let up.

Senior Talor Battle scored 18 points in his final regular-season home game for Penn State (15-13, 8-9).

Diebler's 10 3s tied a conference record.

"Ironically, I told him in shootaround, 'We need a big night from you tonight. You're going to get your shots," Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said.

That would be 10-for-12 shooting for Diebler, all from behind arc, including a stretch of nine straight 3s until he missed his last shot from behind the arc with 2:03 left.

No matter, Matta let him sit out the rest of the game with Ohio State ahead comfortably by 23 points. Diebler had no idea was having a record-setting night.

"I just found out. It's cool, I guess it's something I'll look back on later down the road," Diebler said. "I'm just happy we won. It was a great team effort."

Freshman center Jared Sullinger bullied his way through the lane for 10 points and 10 rebounds -- though he wasn't needed much in the second half with Ohio State leading by as many as 26 points.

The win allowed the Buckeyes to earn at least a share of their fourth conference championship in six years and stay one game ahead of second-place Purdue.

But there wasn't much talk afterward about tying for the title -- a loss by No. 6 Purdue at Iowa on Saturday or an Ohio State win over No. 10 Wisconsin on Sunday would give the Buckeyes the title outright.

"We still have one game left," Matta said. "We've at least got a share of it and that was about all that was said."

The Nittany Lions fell way short of an upset that could have drastically improved their fading NCAA tournament chances. There was so much anticipation on campus, the game drew 15,403 fans -- the sixth-largest crowd in the 15-year history of the Jordan Center -- and a record student turnout of more than 6,000.

Instead they got to watch Ohio State dissect Penn State's defense with ease in ascending to another Big Ten crown.

"You don't see that very often," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said about Diebler's shooting. "We didn't have any answers for them."

David Jackson had 12 points, while Andrew Jones added 10 for Penn State.

After an emotional pregame ceremony honoring the seniors, Penn State never found its footing and didn't have an answer for Diebler. With Diebler's hot hand leading the way, Ohio State shot 55 percent overall, including 60 percent (18 of 30) in the second half.

A 3-minute stretch of the first half exemplified Penn State's frustrations. Sullinger hit a 12-footer over Jeff Brooks before William Buford dunked following a steal to make it 22-10. Buford finished with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting.,

Following a timeout, Battle tried to regain momentum for the Nittany Lions with an acrobatic scoop shot in the lane. But Diebler rushed down on the break for a 3 from the wing to make it 25-12 with about 5 minutes left in the half.

The rest of the game was a mere formality.

Diebler, who already holds the Big Ten record for career 3s, set a Jordan Center record for 3-pointers.

In contrast, the Nittany Lions had some bad luck, with some early shots rattling in and out of basket. They had a slim margin for error against the Big Ten's best offense (72.9 points per game).

"It didn't help that Diebler just could not miss," Battle said. "It's disappointing. It's very disappointing. ... We've just got to move on and leave this one behind."

Buckeyes Thump Indiana

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Deshaun Thomas, last year's Indiana Mr. Basketball, came out of a slump with 22 points to lead No. 2 Ohio State past Indiana 82-61 on Sunday.
Thomas scored all the points during a 14-3 first-half run that spanned 3:36 and turned the game into a rout. He had managed just 13 points in his last seven games.
William Buford added 15 points and Jon Diebler and David Lighty each had 11 for the Buckeyes (27-2, 14-2 Big Ten), likely to ascend to No. 1 next week after top-ranked Duke lost at Virginia Tech on Saturday night. The defeat was Indiana's sixth in a row to Ohio State.
Verdell Jones III had 14 points for the Hoosiers (12-17, 3-13), who have lost six in a row and remain the only Big Ten team without a road win this season (0-10).
Jared Sullinger, leading Ohio State in scoring (17.8) and rebounding (9.9), picked up two fouls early and was limited to five points and seven rebounds in just 13 minutes.
The victory helped Ohio State maintain a one-game lead in the Big Ten with two games remaining - at Penn State on Tuesday night and home against Wisconsin on Sunday. It was Wisconsin that hung the first loss on the Buckeyes on Feb. 12 in Madison.
Ahead by 15 at the break, the Buckeyes scored 13 of the first 17 points against the Hoosiers in the second half and rested many of their top players the rest of the way.
Thomas, who Indiana coach Tom Crean had tried to recruit after he had verbally committed to Ohio State, was the story for the Buckeyes in the first half. He gave them a lift after starters Sullinger, Lighty and Dallas Lauderdale each picked up two fouls.
Indiana, which hasn't beaten a Top 25 team on the road in more than nine years, led 8-7 after Derek Elston scissored through the lane for a layup at the 16:35 mark, but didn't score again for almost 8 minutes, until Elston scored again on a short jumper.
Then Thomas took over, hitting two foul shots, then swishing back-to-back 3-pointers. He took an assist pass from Lauderdale for another bucket inside, then spun in a reverse layup and ended the run with another reverse move off glass.
The Buckeyes led 38-23 at the half, with Thomas totaling 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, his only miss coming on a shot behind the arc.
Indiana never seriously threatened in the second half.
The Hoosiers' Victor Oladipo and Ohio State's Aaron Craft collided while going for a loose ball with 12:33 left. Oladipo went to the Indiana bench but later returned.
The victory gave Ohio State 19 home victories this season, a record in the program's 112 seasons. The Buckeyes are 36-1 in Columbus over the last two seasons.
Sullinger hit two free throws early to become only the fourth Ohio State freshman to score 500 or more points in a season, joining current NBA players Michael Redd (658), Kosta Koufos (534) and Greg Oden (501).
Indiana was playing consecutive games against top-10 teams for the first time since 2004. The Hoosiers lost on Wednesday night to No. 8 Purdue, 72-61.

OSU Rebounds From 1st Loss, Beats MSU

William Buford had 23 points
in OSU's win over Michigan State.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio State did its best to forget its only loss.
Michigan State served notice that, as is annually the case, it may just be a force to be reckoned with in the postseason.
William Buford scored 23 points and Aaron Craft had a hand in two critical plays down the stretch to lead the No. 2 Buckeyes to a 71-61 win over the Spartans on Tuesday night.
It was a hard-fought struggle for Ohio State (25-1, 12-1 Big Ten), playing for the first time since having their unbeaten season ended with a 61-57 loss at Wisconsin on Saturday.
''One loss doesn't make or break a season,'' said freshman center Jared Sullinger, who came in averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds and was limited to 11 and 2. ''We just wanted to come out and get the win.''
Jon Diebler and David Lighty each had 12 points. Craft, a freshman substitute point guard, had seven points, four assists, four steals and three rebounds - and a hustle play that was the talk of both head coaches.
Kalin Lucas led the Spartans (14-11, 6-7) with 14 points, while Adreian Payne and Draymond Green each had 10. They've lost six of their last eight but fought hard throughout.
''I wouldn't count us dead yet,'' an emotional coach Tom Izzo said. ''This is a pretty good team if we can regroup down the stretch and get three guys to play together instead of just two.''
As he left the postgame interview room, he repeated, ''We ain't dead yet.''
The Buckeyes finished the game on an 18-10 run to pull away on a night when nothing came easily for either team.
The game turned on two quick defensive stops.
With the Buckeyes hanging on to a 45-44 second-half lead, Buford stepped in front of a bad pass by Lucas and went coast to coast for the basket. The next time down the floor, Craft forced Lucas to give the ball up in the backcourt, leading to two free throws by Diebler. After the Spartans scored a second-chance bucket, Diebler flipped in a line-drive 3 from the top of the key for a 52-46 lead.
A capacity crowd of 18,809 roared its approval.
Diebler hit two 3-pointers to move into a tie for second with Michigan State's Shawn Respert, one back of Big Ten career 3-point leader Pete Lisicky of Penn State, with 332.
Asked the turning point of the game, Matta pointed to the defensive pressure.
''It was some of the defensive plays we made,'' he said. ''Will had a steal and Aaron had a steal. ... We weren't defending as well as we need to and those gave us the lead.''
Now on top, the Buckeyes relied on Buford.
After Michigan State had cut it to 53-51, Buford hit consecutive jumpers - the first a 3 from the left wing and the second a stop-and-pop jumper from 15 feet to make it 58-51.
''Every shot I take I think it's going to go down,'' the junior said.
Craft came up with a big effort play soon after.
As the ball was going out of bounds under the Michigan State basket, center Garrick Sherman turned and fired it down the court. For an instant no one reacted. But then Craft sped the length of the floor, corralled the ball and hit a twisting reverse layup while being fouled. He completed the three-point play.
Craft also figured in another pivotal play. With the Buckeyes on top 66-59, he had a steal and was fouled by Green at the other end with 1:42 left. Green was then assessed a technical foul. Craft stepped to the line and hit three of the four shots to swell the lead to 69-59, the biggest of the game for either team to that point.
Izzo twice referred to Craft's big plays during his postgame remarks.
Of Green's technical, he said, ''He blew up at himself. It was probably deserved. I don't have any problems with that. I have more problems with us not chasing down a loose ball.''
Near the end, Ohio State fans taunted the Spartans - who have made it to the Final Four in six of the last 12 seasons - with a cheer of ''N-I-T! N-I-T!''
The Buckeyes were 23 of 29 at the free-throw line to the Spartans' 5 of 6, another aspect of the game that rankled Izzo.
''It just seemed like they walked to the line every freakin' time,'' he said.

Buckeyes Defeat Minnesota

OSU's David Lighty had 19 points
in the Bucks win over Minnesota,
Sunday.

By:  Cooper Ledford


The #1 Ohio State Buckeyes were in the state of Minnesota, and taking on the #20 Minnesota Golden Gophers.  The Bucks were looking to stay perfect, and go to 24-0, while Minnesota was looking to stay ranked, after losing to Indiana earlier this week, they needed a win.  Ohio State accomplished their goal, as they beat the Gophers, 82-69.


David Lighty lead the way with 19 points.  Up next it was who else, Sullinger, who had a double-double, as he had 18 points and 13 rebounds.  Three other Buckeyes were in double-figures, Buford, who had 15, and Diebler and Lauderdale, who both had 10.  So all 5 OSU starters scored in double-figures.


From the bench, the two freshmen, Aaron Craft, and Deshaun Thomas, both had 5 points.


For Minnesota, Hoffarber lead the way with 16 points.  Sampson III and Armelin both added 14 points.


So the Buckeyes pick up a nice road win.  A big reason why OSU won is because of how they exploded in the 2nd half, as they only had an 8 point lead at the half and end up winning it by 13.  


O State goes to 24-0 overall and 11-0 in the Big Ten, while Minnesota falls to 16-7 overall and 5-6 in Big Ten play.


The Buckeyes get a long time off, until Saturday.  That is good for OSU, because they will need as much time as possible to prepare for their next opponent, Wisconsin.  That is a road game, so that makes it even tougher.  That game is Saturday at 2:00 PM ET and will be on ESPN.