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Sullinger, Buford lead as OSU routs Duke
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Duke’s Mason Plumlee, right, attempts to shoot over Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger during the first half of a game Tuesday in Columbus.
By Doug Lesmerises
Cleveland Plain Dealer
COLUMBUS
Ohio State’s introduction video Tuesday night included a video of ESPN’s Dick Vitale crowing about Duke, and then the Blue Devils’ logo exploding in flames.
That’s about what the game was like.
In front of a sellout crowd of 18,809 that included what amounted to almost an NBA All-Star team seated courtside, the No. 2-ranked Buckeyes seized the moment and blew up No. 3 Duke on the court as well, never trailing in a dominant 85-63 win as part of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.
“It’s unbelievable,” former Buckeye and current Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley Jr. said. “It just goes to show how great basketball is at Ohio State.”
The second win this season over a ranked team, after beating No. 7 Florida two weeks ago, included contributions from everywhere on offense and the kind of game-changing defense that coach Thad Matta wants most from his players.
Jared Sullinger had 21 points and seven rebounds, William Buford scored 20, DeShaun Thomas had 18 and point guard Aaron Craft had 17 points and eight assists.
The Buckeyes (7-0) jumped out from the start, stunning Duke with an 11-0 run that featured stifling defense that didn’t allow the Blue Devils (7-1) to catch their breath. The crowd and the Buckeyes played off each other, the students that started camping out for seats 52 hours before tipoff now shouting behind the Duke bench at timeouts.
Meanwhile, Conley, Turner, Greg Oden, Daequan Cook, Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd were among the former OSU stars watching and cheering. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade arrived as well, James leaping to his feet after a William Buford layup during the early run.
Sullinger did his work inside, while Buford found his jumper outside. Even when Duke rallied the Buckeyes never allowed the Blue Devils to get over the hump. Then the Buckeyes were rolling again, a 10-0 run highlighted by a flying tip-in from sophomore Jordan Sibert.
The highlights just kept coming, and the crowd never stopped cheering. To win was one thing. To stagger Duke was another.