Buford Steps up in Close Win Over Purdue

William Buford’s impact on Ohio State’s 87-84 (stressful) victory over Purdue on Tuesday night cannot be overstated. Not only did the team’s only senior score a career high 29 points, his leadership down the stretch saved the Buckeyes from a loss to a mediocre Boilermaker team, preserved the nation’s second longest home winning streak, and helped overcome the Mr. Magoo officiating crew.

Not to spoil the ending or anything, but when recapping Buford’s night you have to start with the last five minutes.

Shannon Scott, Evan Ravenel, and Sam Thompson – two of whom are freshmen – were all in the game during crunch time as Jared Sullinger and Aaron Craft sat with (questionable) foul trouble. Typically, when three bench players are in together, the formula is simply to tread water (or hold your breath if you’re a fan). But, as the clock wound down Tuesday, with the teams trading baskets and leads, the Buckeyes needed their senior to step up.

And that’s exactly what he did.

Buford hit clutch shot after clutch shot, basically facilitated the offense, and was a vocal leader for the youngsters during the tense breaks late in the action. In only a handful of possessions, Buford stretched what was a tie game into a seven point lead, capping his effort off with an exclamation point dunk in the final minute that sent the Schott into a cathartic frenzy.

Moreover, while the crowd and other Scarlet and Gray players were becoming increasingly frustrated by the fact that Craft and Sullinger were being assaulted on one end of the floor and getting whistled for tick-tack fouls on the other, Buford kept his cool. (For the record, Craft was literally choke-slammed on one defensive possession late in the game without a single whistle. Hulk Hogan would have been proud.)

While his heroics took place late in the game, Buford laid the foundation for his efforts early on. After forcing his first shot from three over two defenders, he immediately altered his approach. With a mixture of pump fakes, slashes, and post ups (primarily reserved for when the miniature Lewis Jackson was guarding him – the Big Ten’s answer to Spud Webb), Buford continued to generate action in the lane throughout the first half.

This was a noticeable – and welcome – contrast from past games when Buford has seemed to just drift behind the three point line and jack up questionable shots. Making Buford’s aggressive play even more important was the fact that Deshaun Thomas and Lenzelle Smith Jr. each had relatively quiet nights offensively on Tuesday.

After halftime, the lone Buckeye senior did not change his tune. In the first four minutes of the second half, Buford knifed his way through the lane and scored the half’s first basket for the Bucks. The next trip down, Buford threaded a beautiful post feed to Sully, who eventually drew the foul. A couple of possessions later, Buford drilled an open three.

What we didn’t know at that point was the foreshadowing that was taking place.

It will be interesting to see how Buford comes out Saturday against Michigan State, considering that he has been somewhat of an enigma most of the year. Sure, he is climbing the all-time Ohio State scoring charts, but every once in a while he throws in a game that parallels last year’s 2-16 effort in the Sweet Sixteen. More games like Tuesday’s – by far Buford’s best individual effort of the season – will do wonders for the Buckeyes’ Big Ten championship hopes.

His entire career, Buford has always seemed to play the second fiddle, lurking behind the shadow of Evan Turner, Jon Diebler, or Sullinger (who has a slightly larger shadow to lurk behind). Perhaps after hitting the game’s biggest shot at Wisconsin and putting on a one man show against Purdue, Ohio State’s only senior is beginning to come out from behind these shadows to lead the Buckeyes during his final March.

Either way, it was fun to watch Tuesday.

Editor’s Note:
This post is one in a series by the newly formed Buckeye Bloggers Network in which each member of the BBN will be analyzing individual performances during Tuesday night’s game against Purdue. Give full credit to Scott who called dibs on Buford Monday before the game. I will update when the rest of the BBN series becomes available.