The 13th ranked and undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes, owners of the nation's longest winning streak, found out what pressure defense is all about Saturday afternoon as they suffered a beatdown by the Bob Huggin's coached West Virginia Moutaineers, 76-48.
19,049 fans at The Schott witnessed the Buckeyes jumping to an early 8-3 lead, only to see the Mountaineers score 11-straight points enroute to a 35-28 halftime advantage. The second half was all West Virginia, as the Mountaineers outhustled and outplayed the Buckeyes to the tune of a 41-20 score.
Senior Alex Ruoff (pictured) led the Mountaineers with 17 points and was all over sophomore Jon Diebler, holding him to 5-points. Junior Da'Sean Butler added 16, and was followed by freshman Truck Bryant with 11 and freshman Devin Ebanks with 10. Wellington Smith added 9 and southern Ohio's own Cam Thoroughman pitched in with 6. Thoroughman played well all over the floor, at one point nearly boxing-out OSU's Dallas Lauderdale completely off the floor.
The difference in the game was West Virginia's defensive pressure and Ohio State's lack thereof. The Buckeyes were held to 31% shooting from the floor, 11% from 3-point range. Of course I'm sure that, according to the announcers, they just had an "off night" shooting.
The smaller Mountaineers held a 35-33 rebounding advantage, holding Lauderdale and B.J. Mullens to 10 boards between them.
Ohio State seemed to pack it in around the 12:00 mark, as did their fans and head coach, who rarely got off the bench as time ticked away. With around 5:00 remaining and the OSU crowd heading for the exits, the West Virginia fans took over The Schott with their familiar "G-o-o-o-o-o Mountaineers!" chant.
The win will likely put the 10-2 Mountaineers into the Top 25, while the Buckeyes dropped to 9-1 on the season. The Buckeyes begin Big 10 play at Iowa on 12/31 while West Virginia has a week off before traveling to Seton Hall on 1/3.
You can check out more about the game here.
Note: I just watched my DVR of the game, and my boy Bill Raftery did in fact acknowledge the West Virginia defense and its impact on the game. Good for him.
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