It wasn’t pretty, but for the second time this season, Ohio State traveled to the state of Florida and came out with a win.
In a game with 37 turnovers and 71 missed shots, No. 2 OSU beat Florida State 58-44 Tuesday night as a part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
OSU scored the first seven points of the game, but the Buckeyes seemed uncomfortable on the offensive end for most of the first half. They shot just 38 percent in the first 20 minutes and were forced several times to take contested, low-percentage shots near the end of the shot clock.
But as off as the Buckeyes were to start the game, FSU was worse. The Seminoles made only six of their 23 first-half shots and were out-rebounded by 14 as OSU took an 11-point lead at the break.
OSU opened up a 17-point lead in the second half, but the Seminoles answered with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 10. The remainder of the game went back and forth with the Buckeyes’ lead hovering around 10 points as both teams continued their offensive struggles.
A 3-pointer from FSU’s Deividas Dulkys cut the lead to seven with about four minutes to go, but that was as close as the Seminoles would get. OSU senior Jon Diebler got a steal and an easy basket in transition, giving the Buckeyes an insurmountable 11-point lead with just more than two minutes remaining.
Diebler led all Buckeye scorers with 12 points but was just 3-of-12 shooting from the field. Freshman Jared Sullinger finished with 11 points and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds, recording his third double-double of the season. Junior William Buford fouled out with just less than eight minutes to go and finished with nine points, going 4-for-12.
The Buckeyes finished 19-of-59 from the field and 4-of-20 from beyond the arc.
OSU is off until Dec. 9, when it hosts IUPUI.
