In fact, behind Michigan and Penn State, Florida might be the next most hated opponent the Buckeyes can line up against.
After the double-dose of National Title heartbreak due to the Gators, OSU made up for it slighty, 93-75, on national television in Gainesville. The most “highly anticipated” matchup of ESPN’s marathon run of over 25 hours of straight basketball and the only game pitting two top ten teams ended with one team being completely over matched.
"Ohio State has a better chance of being a better team this year than they did a year ago," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "Evan Turner's a great player, the player of the year in the country and they won 29 games and did a great job.
"But when you have that kind of player, you really kind of become a little more one-dimensional. They are a complete team that probably has a chance to do a little more this season because there's going to be a lot more balance to their team."
The game was close at halftime before David Lighty and Jared Sullinger took over in the second half.
Sullinger put up one of the best freshman road performances in some time with 26 points and 10 rebounds, his second double-double of his career.
"He had a great demeanor coming in here," Matta said of Sullinger. "He knew he was going to have to play well for us to have a chance to win."
Lighty, five years older than the freshman behemoth, also added 26 points and always brings his stellar defense. It looks as if the game has really slowed down for Lighty, the only player on the Buckeyes who was in uniform for the Buckeyes two losses to Florida with Oden and company.
Fellow veteran William Buford added great play with 16 points, eight assists and three steals and played mostly mistake free basketball with only one turnover. Jon Diebler also added 14.
The Buckeyes have two more non-conference games that could be challenging, including South Carolina and Florida State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
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