Buckeyes lose composure, then lose game to Gophers

Big Ten Basketball

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — This is the way coach Tubby Smith wanted Minnesota to rebound.

Three days after a humbling defeat to 10th-ranked Michigan State, the Gophers got another chance against a Top 25 team. They went after the ball with gusto, got their shots to fall, and sent an outhustled Ohio State home furious.

Lawrence Westbrook led a typically balanced offense with 15 points, and No. 21 Minnesota salvaged a split in the opening week of Big Ten play by beating the 24th-ranked Buckeyes 68-59 on Saturday.

“It feels good,” Westbrook said. “I wouldn’t say we were, like, depressed about the last game, but we were a little really down. We knew Ohio State was a good team, so once we won this game I think it just builds up our confidence.”

The Gophers (13-1, 1-1) went 8-for-20 from 3-point range; Westbrook was 3-for-5.

The lack of pressure on the shooters, plus the occasional lapse that left a would-be dunker wide open on a backdoor cut, had the Buckeyes (10-2, 1-1) steamed.

“Hats off to Minnesota, but we lost this game on ourselves,” said Evan Turner, who had 21 points and eight rebounds.

Dearly missing junior guard David Lighty, his contagious energy and his 10 points per game, Ohio State made a late charge but trailed by seven or more for the last 16 minutes.

Guard Jon Diebler had 15 points and five steals for Ohio State, but the Gophers held a 42-30 rebounding advantage after getting destroyed on the boards against the Spartans. Damian Johnson had 12 points and six rebounds for Minnesota.

“Lighty’s gone. Lighty’s gone. We can’t keep saying, ’If Lighty’s there,’ ” Turner said. “We’ve got to just take responsibility and grow up. We’ve got to grow up, for crying out loud, and play our roles. Minnesota had a bunch of role players, but they knew how to play. We’ve got to grow up. Don’t even mention Lighty.”

“We put so much pride in our defense and, honestly, the last I don’t know how many games we just haven’t had that bite,” Diebler said, reflecting on a 76-48 loss to West Virginia and a 68-65 win over Iowa in the previous week.

Lighty is out for at least another month, and likely two, following surgery to fix a broken left foot a week before Christmas. Without the leader of this senior-less team, the Buckeyes seem to be lacking mental toughness.

“We lost our composure, really, on both ends,” Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said. “We had a couple of bad shots that led to a runout and a turnover and just kind of took our wind out of our sail.”