Buckeyes Knock Off Second Straight Ranked Conference Opponent

In their first matchup of the season, the Ohio State Buckeyes traveled on New Year’s Eve to Madison, Wisconsin where they got dominated 65-43 without star Evan Turner who had been sidelined with a back injury.

With Turner healthy and coming off a career-high 32 points in a victory over the 6 th ranked Purdue Boilermakers on the road, the Buckeyes sought out revenge against the 16 th ranked Badgers on Saturday night in Columbus.

Revenge they received as the Buckeyes knocked off the Badgers in an impressive 60-51 victory despite limited minutes from Tuner who had been sidelined with foul trouble.

Despite Evan Turner's foul trouble, Junior David Lighty stepped up by scoring 18 points to lead the Buckeyes who improved their overall record to 13-5 including 3-3 in conference play.

Turner added 15 points, and William Buford added 12 rebounds for the Buckeyes, who have seemed to have found their stride after losing three of four while Turner was coming back from broken bones in his back.

Badgers Senior Trevon Hughes led the Badgers with 18 points as fellow Senior Jason Bohannon contributed 10 points for the Badgers (14-4, 4-2), who struggled all night to find an offense answer for the Buckeyes aggravating defense.

A deadlocked game at 14 halfway through the first half, the Buckeyes converted on seven of their next 10 shots to close out the half with a double-digit lead at 34-22 regardless of Turner’s foul trouble which saw the Buckeyes star sit the final 14 minutes of the half.

The Buckeyes ran off 11 of the final 13 points of the half, with Lighty scoring the next nine points for the Buckeyes.

Ohio Sate continued their solid play using a 15-4 run in the second half to take control of the game.

The Buckeyes built a 15 point second half lead with just over 8 minutes left before the Badgers trimmed the lead to seven points inside a couple minutes remaining, but it was too little too late for the Badgers who drop to 14-4 overall and 4-2 in the conference.

With the victory, Ohio State improves to 11-0 at home this season and 4-3 against ranked opponents, including 4-1 when Turner is in the lineup.

After having played four out of their first six conference games on the road, the Buckeyes look to remain unbeaten at home as they play their second straight home conference game hosting the Northwestern Wildcats this coming Tuesday.

> Find more Big Ten football news online at Big Ten Fans!