Ohio State basketball: Defense carries OSU to win over Wisconsin

The Ohio State basketball team came into today’s game playing some of their best basketball of the season. They beat Duke last week and then beat Penn State last weekend. Facing a ranked Wisconsin team was not supposed to be an easy task.

It ended up being just that. After turning the ball over a lot in the first half and falling down by 8, they ended up blowing out the Badgers in the second half. They ended up winning by 18 points. As impressive as the Buckeyes’ offense was, it was the defense that was the reason they won.

Ohio State held Wisconsin to only 55 points on 33% shooting and a terrible 20% from three. They smothered the Badgers in the second half and let their offense carry the way. E.J. Liddell once again showed why he is one of the best players in America too.

Liddell tied a career-high with 28 points on 11-16 shooting. He added 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks as well. He really couldn’t be stopped the entire game. Wisconsin had no answer for Liddell. In most games this season, he will be the best player on the floor.

Zed Key was the only other Buckeye in double figures, scoring 11. He had a lot of dunks and layups in this one because of some really good passing. Kyle Young added 14 rebounds off the bench as well. The team as a whole shot 51% from the field against a really good defensive team.

All of a sudden, the Ohio State basketball team looks like a really dangerous team. While it’s only December, they look like a really strong team. They’re going to need to keep up that strong play because they take on Kentucky next. That won’t be an easy game.

Chris Holtmann is doing a good job after those shaky losses to Xavier and Florida. He’s got his team playing with confidence and strength. I’m interested to see if they can keep that going.