OSU-BUT: Buckeyes Lack of Leadership Evident in Loss to Bulldogs 74-66

Ohio State had a long hard look at how the next eight to ten weeks of its season will be. The Buckeyes struggled without injured Evan Turner on both sides of the court and it was clearly obvious his leadership is sorely missed.

Turnovers and fouls didn’t help the Buckeyes, but shooting 29 percent from three and 49 percent from the field really hurt in the second half. On the game, Ohio State had 11 turnovers to match the three Buckeye starters in foul trouble.

Jon Diebler, a player expected to step in Turner’s absence had seven points. His lack of production was accentuated with a brick late in the second half putting him at 0-5 from the field. He finished 2-7 from the field and 1-4 from three-point range.

David Lighty had a solid game with 16 points and seven rebounds, as did William Buford who added 20 points and seven rebounds. Buford has continued to play well in these last few games and hopefully continues to peak with his increased playing time.

Dallas Lauderdale was and enforcer in the paint, but still gets unnecessary fouls for being too aggressive.  His 12 points and 4 rebounds were a highlight his four personal fouls in the second half were a lowlight.

The point guards, PJ Hill and Jeremie Simmons struggled as well against the stifling Bulldog defense. Simmons had 11 points, but it was after Butler already had the game in hand. Hill on the other hand had a game he’d rather forget with one turnover and no points. Ohio State needs these two to step up and performances like these will hinder the struggling Buckeye offense every time.

Butler had four starters in double figures with Gordon Hayward with 24 points and eight rebounds. The Bulldogs shot 42 percent from the field and 38 percent from behind the arc. They owned several double-digit leads over the Buckeyes in both halves.

Butler is a good team, as is Ohio State, but Butler outplayed them today. Ohio State will continue to struggle until either Diebler, Lighty, or even Buford steps up to be the new team leader. Thad Matta will have his hands full for the rest of the season either way, as it only gets harder once Big Ten play begins in a few weeks. One thing Matta can be proud of is that even in a loosing effort when his team played poorly they never gave up and kept clawing the entire game.

Ohio State (7-2) will try and pick up the pieces against Presbyterian (2-7) on Wednesday at 7:00pm. This should be a perfect time for the Buckeyes to gain some renewed confidence and allow for a easy win in front of the home crowd.