I have simple proof that Ohio State is better than the best team in the country: Duke was only able to beat Michigan once. Ohio State has spanked them on their bare bottoms twice this year. (Pay no mind to the fact that Duke just lost, mkay?)

Ohio State’s defense stymied Michigan for the entire twenty minutes of the first half, forcing them into bad shots and holding them scoreless behind the three-point line, something Michigan lives by. They clawed back into the game at points of the second half, but every run Michigan made, Ohio state had an answer. The frustration was visibly noticeable.

On the Ohio State side, everyone played a solid game, with Evan Turner and his 22 leading the way. Mullens and Simmons poured in a dozen a piece as well, and Lauderdale was a defensive manimal, absolutely stuffing Harris on a wide open dunk. That was a text-book “Not in Mr. Lauderdale’s Neighborhood” rejection. And of course there’s P.J. Hill. Oh how we love your energy, P.J. Your shot makes us cringe, your dribbling in traffic forces us to cover our eyes with our hands, but we still love you and your dreds.

Of course, there was the unfortunate delay of the game at the end of the game, after Michigan’s round mound of hustle, Zack Novak, elbowed Ohio State’s energy source, P.J. Hill. I’m willing to give Novak a pass on this one. It was because of his obvious frustration with how bad of a basketball player he is. When people talk about your “hustle” and your willingness to “dive after loose balls,” that’s polite-speak for “you stink.”

So another solid Big Ten win for Ohio State, with Purdue coming to town next week, should be building a solid resume for an invite to the tourney.

Here’s an open thread for the Michigan State game this afternoon (3:45 on CBS). Should be a doozie at the Schott. I’m on kid duty this afternoon, so I won’t be able to semi-live blog it, but I will check in periodically to have my say.

Enjoy the game!

OSU: 31 MSU: 26 Halftime

Nice first 12 minutes of the game, with OSU doubling up Michigan State. I’ll take it!

Michigan State came back with tough defense and finally finding their shot to close the gap to 5 at the half. Ohio State is going to have to continue to hit their shots and continue the tough match up zone they’ve been playing on defense. It’s frustrated the Spartans to a degree, but they pressure has to stay on for the Buckeyes to have a chance. Oh, and it sure would be nice if someone could look for Diebler’s missing shooting touch, because he sure can’t find it.

On a slightly related note, I just read that Michael Redd is done for the season with a torn ACL and MCL. That stinks.

OSU: 67 MSU: 78 Final

Well, that stunk. A few observations:

• This team has a shallow bench. Apologies to Kyle Madsen, but we’ve got Mullens and Hill off the bench and that’s it. You can’t go far on a seven-man rotation. I think that’s what has been dooming them late in the game. This team is just running out of gas at the end of close games.
• For having two relatively big men, we rebound poorly. The 15-3 offensive rebound differential is a killer. A lot of Michigan State’s rebounds were just out-hustling Ohio State. Refer back to #1 as to why that may be.
• This is a young team, and if Mullens and Buford stick around, they could be very good in the next few years. There’s no reason to be down on them, they played a good Michigan State team tough and they are just one more key player from being a very good basketball team. There’s a lot to still be excited about.

I don’t care if it’s football or field hockey, I love it when Ohio State beats Michigan.

If it wasn’t so late, I’d like to figure out why I can’t get a read on this team. There are flashes of brilliance and stretches of frustration. They really came together in the last ten minutes of and finished impressively. I hope this continues.

David Lighty is out for a couple months, just as the Buckeyes were getting into a groove.

(Sorry for the brevity. Illnesses and work are conspiring together to prevent more activity at the MotSaG HQ)