Welcome to Final Analysis!

We will try and provide this special extra column for most Ohio State men’s basketball games the rest of the way.

We’ll provide some quick answers to some ordinary questions as well as some analysis on how things transpired in each OSU game.

This time we look inside tonight’s 76-70 victory by the No. 15 Buckeyes over No. 13 California at Madison Square Garden in New York City in the consolation game of the 2K Sports Classic benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer.

Here we go:

* Player Of The Game – Mr. Dallas Lauderdale, you, sir, are a beast.

Ohio State’s 6-8 center earned his first start of the season and absolutely shut down Cal’s inside game and forays to the basket.

In a game where there were 10 recorded block in the entire 40 minutes, Lauderdale had seven of them to tie a career high. Plus, the Solon, Ohio, product affected many, many other shots

As the second half wore on, the recurring question that arose was “Why does Cal keep going at him?”

The answer apparently was that Golden Bears coach Mike Montgomery was hoping he could get the big fella in foul trouble and force his counterpart, Thad Matta, to pull him out off the floor. Instead, Matta played the junior a vast majority of the second half and by the time Cal found some success inside and drew some fouls on Lauderdale it was basically too late.

Montgomery pleaded his case so passionately at one point that he was slapped with a technical foul with 13:39 to play. A pair of free throws by Jon Diebler after that infraction upped OSU’s lead to 54-34.

The Bears mounted a charge to trim the OSU lead to 61-52 but on the very next trip down Lauderdale menaced them again by altering yet another shot.

Evan Turner’s putback basket upped the lead back to double digits at 63-52 with 6:21 to play and effectively quelled the rally.

Speaking of Turner, OSU’s multifaceted 6-7 point guard was back to filling up the box score and finished with 26 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. He also had four turnovers, but that was six shy of his total the night before against North Carolina.

Yes, it’s criminal not to appoint Turner, who logged his fourth double-double of the season in as many games, as the star, but Lauderdale deserves to at least share the mention. His defensive presence was almost immeasurable and allowed ET to do his magic down the stretch.

Lauderdale also finished with eight points, five rebounds and a steal to go along with his block total. He was 3 of 4 from the field.

* Key Moment – In a reversal of last night’s 77-73 loss to No. 6 North Carolina in the semifinals at MSG, the Buckeyes got off to a quick start shooting the ball. They had three made threes before the first television timeout and owned a 13-7 lead with several players already settled in offensively.

At halftime, the Buckeyes led 38-25 one night after trailing 38-24 at the break. Lauderdale fueled the final spurt with several solid defensive plays, a basket and even a pair of free throws (the first one went in off the window, proving the bank is open on a Friday night in midtown Manhattan).

But the key sequence of the game was the start of the second half. Cal point guard Jerome Randle, who hit several acrobatic shots, nailed a three to open the stanza and tighten the score to 38-28 but the Buckeyes countered as they ran a play with Turner in the high post finding William Buford who flipped a pass to Lauderdale on the baseline. Lauderdale finished the play with a high two-handed flush.

On the next possession, he blocked a shot, which led to Turner nailing a top-of-the-key jumper that was first ruled a three then changed to a two.

Montgomery called a timeout after that basket at the 18:43 mark, but the Buckeyes got another block from Lauderdale on the defensive end and David Lighty made his prettiest play since the ridiculous flip over his head last week at Value City Arena.

He spun inside, drew a foul and banked in a hoop. The made free throw and three-point play upped OSU’s lead to 47-28, which Diebler extended to 50-28 with 16:02 left in the game with a three-ball.

* Unsung Hero – The Buckeyes just appear much more capable of beating top-20 teams with Lighty on the floor. The 6-5 redshirt junior played in just seven games last year before breaking his foot and Ohio State never quite regained the form it showed early on with No. 23 in wins over Miami (Fla.) and Notre Dame. Lighty didn’t shoot particularly well in New York but he played his usual brand of hustle and brought athleticism and intangibles. When he’s out on the floor, the Buckeyes simply function better on both side of the ball and seem to have an added level of maturity.

Against the Golden Bears, Lighty logged 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals.

* Best Sign – The Buckeyes soundly defeated a team on par with the second tier of the Big Ten – think Illinois or Minnesota – if not a squad comparable to a Michigan State in terms of talent. The run, of course, came, as Cal cut the lead to 54-45 with 11:16 to go and 56-48 at the 10:40 mark. It also shrunk to 63-57 with 5:08 to play.

But the Buckeyes had enough poise and answers. Diebler joined Turner with clutch plays down the stretch. In fact, he extended the lead back to eight with a pair of free throws with 4:48 to play and also drew a charge on Cal guard Patrick Christopher with 4:04 to play to protect the 65-57 edge.

Turner, meanwhile, helped salt away the win with efficiency on the foul line.

* Worst Sign – In the two games at MSG, backup center Zisis Sarikopoulos never peeled off his warm-up and entered the fray. Neither did backup guard Walter Offutt, who was showing promise in the early wins over Alcorn State and James Madison. Meanwhile, reserve guard Jeremie Simmons never played in the second half against Cal, leaving OSU fans to wonder just how deep this team really is.

It’s a concerning question knowing how difficult and demanding the road ahead will be and also considering that Turner fouled out of both games in NYC.

* Overall – Cal is going to win a lot of games. Montgomery knows how to get it done and no doubt will use the experience in New York, which also included a blowout loss to Syracuse, to teach his team going forward.

But Ohio State presumably will garner more from the week. The Buckeyes learned that they can beat a quality team with Turner primarily at the point and also showed that they can slow down a high-octane team with their man-to-man defense. Those two elements cannot be underplayed, especially as Ohio State continues to delve into a nonconference schedule that also includes games with Florida State, Butler and West Virginia.

* This Was A Step … forward. The Buckeyes needed to salvage something out of this trip and posted a solid win over a top-15 team that just may go on and win the Pac-10. That carries a lot of good will, and seed consideration in all the bracketology that is out there anymore. Also, the run by the Bears to tighten the score forced Ohio State handle time-and-score situations and for the most part they did that laudably.

* Next Up – The Buckeyes return home to face Lipscomb on Tuesday night (7 p.m. Eastern, Big Ten Network). The Bisons return four starters to a team that was 17-14 overall last season and 12-8 in the Atlantic Sun. Lipscomb is 0-3 on the young season and features three players who are averaging 16.0 ppg or higher. Adnan Hodzic, a 6-9 junior center, has pumped in 22.7 ppg and also pulled down 7.7 rpg so far.