OSU Basketball Update

Just a few notes on the basketball team...

OSU tied a record allowing only 22 points against Samford. This week OSU faces its first ranked team of the season, in fact OSU will play two ranked teams this week with Miami (7 PM) on Tuesday and Notre Dame (4 PM) on Saturday. The game versus Miami is part of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.

Dallas Lauderdale is looking good so far, as he has 16 blocks in three games, and he is hitting shots he would not have attempted last season. Evan Turner is scoring and rebounding, but he is also turning the ball over with 11 in three games. It is early in the season but the players with the most minutes so far are Diebler, Turner, Lighty, Simmons, and Lauderdale. Jeremie Simmons is a 6'2" guard junior college transfer, who spent the last two years at NJCAA team Mott Community College, where he was national player of the year averaging 21 points and five assist per game.

The Dispatch explained the altercation between BJ Mullens and Samford guard Bermudez. Evidently during an inbound Bermudez threw the ball and hit the crotch of Mullens. Then Bermudez faked another throw at the midsection of Mullens and the referee had a talk with Bermudez. Sixteen seconds later on the same possession Mullens had a physical block, which put Bermudez on the floor. Griffin, another guard for Sampson, reacted by pushing Mullens. OSU guard Simmons came to the defense of Mullens and pushed Griffen. Bermudez sat on the ground clapping as he expected a technical foul on Mullens. The refs called a personal foul on Mullens for the block, a technical on Samford player Griffen, and a technical on OSU player Simmons. It seems like Bermudez should have had a technical foul called. Those of us watching on the Big Ten Network missed the inbounds event, as the camera was following David Lighty as he walked to the bench.