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He may be pale, but he's no ghost anymore.

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I'll talk about another ridiculous night from Evan Turner in a minute. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the New Jon Diebler. Diebler has been taking smart shots for the better part of the year, but for whatever reason, they weren't falling as consistently as anyone would like. In an interview played early in the game, Thad Matta attributed it to Diebler's ability to deal with expectations; when the crowd inhaled, expecting him to make the big trey, he'd tense up. That's not happening quite so much anymore, and this team is that much better for it.

That's two wins in the Big Ten-ACC challenge in a row now for Thad Matta. Last year, the Buckeyes traveled into Miami and scored an upset over the favored 'Canes. This year, the Buckeyes controlled the game almost from the get-go, hitting timely shots, forcing key turnovers and limiting the ability of FSU's big men to affect the tempo of the offense.

Some other thoughts:

• Turner was unstoppable, and this is happening with such regularity that I'm starting to wonder if it even needs to be brought up. He racked up his 6th double-double of the season, notched a ridiculous block on a breakaway bunny for Florida State, and helped us remember that, barring foul trouble, he's completely able to will this team to a win
• Lauderdale didn't get shredded today nearly as badly as I thought he would against FSU's post guys. That partly had to do with turnovers, but only one FSU big man - Solomon Alabi, who, to be fair, most people will have a hard time defending - got into double digits. 
• I was surprised that we got quality minutes out of Jeremie Simmons in the second half. He finished with 14 points, hit a couple open threes, and didn't show the hesitation that had plagued him up to this point. Hopefully he can build on tonight's performance.
• As you may have noticed, Ohio State got outrebounded - again - by a bigger team. It's 35-29 in favor of FSU at the time of this writing. I guess you can sort of expect this, given that FSU had the height advantage across the board. Lauderdale finished with just two boards, to Turner's 14. Turner has to do everything in the post too, and that's a bit of a buzzkill.
• If I hear Fran Fraschilla say "length" again I'm going to do something ridiculous.
• Wherefore art thou, William Buford? Dude has had a really, really slow start to the season, and I'm a bit dumbfounded. Last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year might not get any all-conference honors whatsoever this time around if he doesn't step up his game. 

I'll be blunt: I wasn't expecting a win in this game. I expected FSU's "length" to give us trouble all over the court, and I wasn't sure the shots were going to fall consistently from the outside. Luckily, they did, and it earned Ohio State another quality scalp to add to their wall in anticipation of March. They'll have another opportunity to do much the same against Butler in a few weeks.