At the beginning of the week most Buckeye fans and national analysts would have laughed if you would have told them that the matchup versus Eastern Michigan would be more imperative to the Buckeyes season than their matchup in the ACC/Big Ten challenge. Those experts wouldn’t be laughing now.
Coming off of a big (and I am talking dominance as well as importance) win over ranked Florida State on Wednesday night the Buckeyes looked to cruise into it’s matchup with 20th ranked Butler with a tune-up against the aforementioned directional school.
For the first eight minutes you would have been right to think that was the case. Then Evan Turner drove to the basket and raised for what looked to be a highlight dunk. Turner was fouled, lost his grip on the rim and slammed hard on his back well behind the backboard. In the fall Turner fractured two vertebrate knocking him out for the next eight weeks and for the first half of the Big Ten schedule. (As a side note the foul was not malicious or harmful and it looked just like Turner lost his grip. )
If you are a Buckeye fan or a fan of college hoops this is not news to you. Turner was an All-American candidate and in my estimation the leading candidate for the Naismith Trophy, which is handed out to the best player in college basketball. Turner is such a force not only scoring but running the offense and crashing the boards that it might be hard for the Buckeyes to fully recover.
Don’t get me wrong, this team is very talented and not just because of Turner. Diebler is a sharpshooter who can drain an outside shot from the parking lot. Lauderdale is a big strong PF who can be a force on the boards. Hill and Bufford are the two wild cards in the mix. Hill has been known for his energetic play off of the bench. He can distribute the ball and create turnovers with the best of them. The question is can he sustain that energy over the course of an entire game.
I am confident that Thad Matta will have the boys ready next Saturday for Butler. But the real tests will come on Year’s Eve when The Buckeyes travel to Wisconsin for Big Ten opener.
Without Turner the road to the big dance just got a little bumpier. Let’s just hope when he returns he will be the same Evan Turner and will lead the Buckeyes to the tourney.
Follow Tim on Twitter @Twebster1229
