Buford holds the key to Ohio State's season

By Ari WassermanBuckeyeSports.com If William Buford is the difference between a Final Four run and an early exit in the NCAA Tournament for the Ohio State basketball team, its quite strange that the people closest to the senior have a hard time describing his game. Even Aaron Craft, viewed as the teams intellectual, cant seem to find the perfect way to sum up what Buford is or what hes about. Will is Will, Craft said, opting to submit to the general statement widely used by those who know the teams lone senior the best. Its often easier reverting to that instead of trying to explain get into the intricacies that make up Buford. Seldom are things constant with Buford, whether it is something as small as analyzing his shooting percentage or as large as his role on this years team a squad fighting to make a run deeper in the NCAA Tournament than the Sweet 16 for the first time in his career. Consistency is something Buford is driving to find, as hes admittedly struggled at times this season while attempting to get a handle on how to be the focal point of Ohio States offense at least from the perimeter. A year ago, Buford was kind of the lost man. He was one of the most lethal scoring threats in the Big Ten during his junior season, but his role wasnt quite as magnified with three senior starters and freshman All-American Jared Sullinger surrounding him. It is an interesting dynamic for William this year, Ohio State assistant coach Jeff Boals told BuckeyeSports.com. Your role changes on a yearly basis and he understands that. Sometimes thats not always easy. Hes like the Last Mohican, per se, without Jon Diebler, David Lighty and Dallas Lauderdale. Were relying a little more on him this season to score the basketball. Statistically, Buford is having a very similar season to last year. Through Feb. 11, he was making 42.4 percent of his field-goal attempts after shooting 46.2 percent from the floor as a junior. His percentage from beyond the arc is down to 37.1 percent from 44.2 a year ago, but the 15 points per game this season are the most he has averaged in his career. This season, though, the scoring has come in spurts. Five times in the Buckeyes first 25 games, Buford had failed to score in double figures, and his offensive struggles are amplified specifically during games when an opponent has big men inside to contain Sullinger. That was on full display Saturday when Michigan State ended the Buckeyes 39-game home winning streak with a 58-48 win. In that game, Buford made only 2 of 12 shots from the floor and tallied four points just four days after a career-high 29-point performance during an 87-84 win over Purdue. The back-to-back performances seem to be Bufords game in a nutshell this season. Even as a streaky shooter, there are obviously no guarantees hell carry over a career performance into the next game. Every performance is a self-contained effort. Nevertheless, one thing remains constant and maybe its the only thing that matters with Buford. He always wants the big shot, OSU head coach Thad Matta said, and I am always confident hes going to make that shot. Matta knew Buford wasnt shooting the ball particularly well when drew up a play for the senior to shoot a three late in the Wisconsin game on Feb. 4. Buford had converted on only three of his last 14 shot attempts as Matta called the play, but the senior buried the attempt, giving OSU a four-point advantage over the Badgers in the Kohl Center with 2:27 remaining. Bufords shot the only three Ohio State converted in the game turned out to be the difference in perhaps the teams biggest conference victory to date and seemed to give him a boost in the next game against the Boilermakers. Basketball is a lot like life, and when you spend a lot of time with people you develop a relationship with them, Matta said when discussing his decision to give Buford the shot. You develop a trust in them. That shot along with the Buford-fueled victory over Purdue is what has helped the Buckeyes keep pace in the Big Ten regular-season race despite the loss to Michigan State. Both of those teams were 9-3 in league play through the weekend with Michigan a half-game back at 9-4 and Wisconsin a full game behind at 8-4. But theres no question Buford will have to do it again both in the regular season and the postseason if the Buckeyes want to accomplish the lofty goals set long before the season started. Opposing teams now have a handle on how to beat Ohio State if they can duplicate the game plan drawn up by Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. The Spartans ran their big men on offense and constantly harassed Sullinger in hopes hed tire, putting the onus on OSUs perimeter shooters to knock down tough outside looks. Buford was unable to do that despite the fact he came into the game playing perhaps the best basketball of his senior season. I felt fortunate because I think they missed some shots they normally make, Izzo said. Buford is already working against a negative reputation that has been building since he played arguably the worst game of his career in Ohio States Sweet 16 loss to Kentucky a year ago. Buford had a 2-of-16 shooting performance in that game, which included a missed three-point attempt in the final seconds that would have helped the Buckeyes extend a season that was all but destined to go to the Final Four. Instead, Ohio State was left with the 62-60 loss and one gaping hole in the box score that remains in Bufords head today. To this day, some question his ability to come up big in the biggest games, and now Michigan State game is the latest example. I want to go out with the bang this time, Buford told BSB while not necessarily calling attention to the final game of his junior season. Even in the worst shooting game of his career vs. Kentucky, Buford was where he wanted to be with the ball in his hands, the game on the line and a clean look at the basket with seconds quickly ticking away. I always want that shot, Buford said. Id take it again. If Ohio State loses early in the NCAA Tournament this year, its hard to imagine it will be in a game in which Sullinger is having his way in the paint. That means Buford will likely get his chance at redemption. The difference this year is the team is relying on him not only to make that final shot, but to have the kind of shooting performance that prevents opponents from collapsing their defense on Sullinger. And if the pressure of making a game-winning shot isnt enough, add in dark memories of Ohio States Sweet 16 loss from a year ago onto his already burdened shoulders. Will he make it this time? Who knows? Will is Will.