Minnesota passed their second Big Ten test with flying colors today, turning back Ohio State, 68-59. This was a huge game for Tubby Smith's Golden Gophers, in light of the fact that they were coming off their first loss of the season -- a home loss to Michigan State by 12 earlier this week. Some drastic improvements were made from the last game. After being decimated on the boards by Michigan State (41-22), Minnesota controlled the boards today against Ohio State. The defense was much tougher, especially inside, as the Buckeyes were held to 34 percent shooting from the field overall. A balanced scoring attack, along with really solid ball movement (17 assists on 25 field goal attempts), also helped them control a game which was never really in doubt in the second half -- even though a late Buckeye surge trimmed the margin to seven on a Jon Diebler three with 45 seconds left.
For Ohio State, they simply aren't the same team without David Lighty. He's not their scorer, nor is he their main distributor, but the team has seemingly fallen apart without him. They were making national noise before his injury, yet today couldn't piece together an extended run nor could they avoid the turnover. This was yet another unimpressive game without the junior swingman.
In the game immediately following his injury they found themselves trailing Iona -- at home -- in the second half. They were summarily embarrassed at the hands of West Virginia, barely squeaked by an underwhelming Iowa team at home, and now didn't really remain competitive in Minnesota.
Does Lighty make this huge a difference, or were we overrating Ohio State after wins over Miami and Notre Dame? The answer, as with most things of this nature, probably lies somewhere in the middle. They'll head to Michigan State Tuesday and will almost surely be dismantled at the hands of the high-powered Spartan offense.
Minnesota has some momentum and extended rest before they head to Iowa next Thursday for what is a very winnable game. If they want to stay towards the top of the league, this is a game they must learn to win. Today was a confidence-builder, so now it's time for Tubby's boys to start gaining a swagger.
