Most of the talk surrounding the suddenly troubled Ohio State men’s basketball team heading into Tuesday night’s contest at Minnesota was about shaking off the Michigan State loss with a quick turnaround.

The Buckeyes did just that, ripping off a 20-0 run in the first half and controlling matters at Williams Arena in a tidy 78-68 win. In the process they improved to 22-4 and 10-3 in the Big Ten while the Golden Gophers (17-9, 5-8) plummeted to 10th in the league standings.

In that same vein, I now offer my own rapid response with several different observations from the game. The following are 10 on which to chew:

I’m thinking the Buckeyes may yet become a good road team. That could be the one favor of the Michigan State game.

Jared Sullinger said the Buckeye looked like “spoiled brats” when they watched tape of themselves doing battle with MSU. He’s right. They bickered with each other, leered at referees on no-calls and tried to freelance too many plays instead of showing patience on offense and offering help on defense.

All of that went away at Minnesota. They not only pulled away from a 12-12 tie with crisp ball movement and offense efficiency, they also bolted out to 32-12 and took control by clamping down on defense and with the wings offering support on the backboards. In fact, William Buford ended up tying Sullinger for team-high honors with eight while off-guard Lenzelle Smith Jr. added seven.

The Buckeyes also feasted on Gopher miscues, logging a 17-7 edge in points off of turnovers and a 20-6 advantage on second-chance points.

But more than the statistical improvement, Ohio State simply seemed coherent and focused. When calls didn’t go the Buckeyes’ way, they shrugged them off, and when Minnesota brought the crowd back to life with a key basket they simply answered with a big one of their own.

If the Buckeyes are to get a piece of the Big Ten title or win it outright, this approach has to continue. Next up is “Gameday” battle with rival Michigan at the Crisler Center on Saturday night (9 p.m. Eastern, ESPN), and the final two games of the season are at Northwestern Feb. 29 and at Michigan State March 4.

It’s more fun to watch OSU play defense than offense. That’s funny to say after the Buckeyes improved their output by 30 points and were impressive in getting the ball zinged around, especially when Tubby Smith ordered up a zone defense. Plus, Buford returned to the dazzling form of the Feb. 7 Purdue game with 24 points and Sullinger ate up the Gophers inside with 23 points. Deshaun Thomas also made his mark with a dozen.

Still, this group is best served to lean on its defense and especially make life miserable for opposing backcourts.

The Buckeyes were called for 21 personal fouls but many of those were a result of aggressive play and some, quite frankly, were questionable at best (more on that later). Also, head coach Thad Matta made it clear he didn’t like how his players started gambling late in the second half when Minnesota whittled OSU’s 20-point lead in half.

However, Ohio State still was superior and disruptive on that end of the floor. The Buckeyes pursued the ball and anticipated passes. They also forced the Gophers into several low-percentage plays.

Ohio State can win this league title by clamping down defensively. Ditto for the Big Ten Tournament. And the Buckeyes will be a very tough out in the NCAA tourney as well if they can put together a concentrated effort on that end of the floor and avoid foul trouble.

Meanwhile, Buford is so important on the offensive end. Those who want to give up on him or label him merely as a “streak shooter” or worse just don’t get it. He’s one of the more talented wings in the country, especially when you funnel his game down to the intricacies of being able to shoot over defenders.

When he makes shots – and he drained 10 of 17 in this game – he tends to unhinge the necks of opposing coaches, players and fans. It’s a collective, “Damn, what can you do?”

Matta said during interviews Monday that film study by the coaches has shown that Buford actually hits a higher percentage of shots when he’s guarded than when he’s wide open. That, of course, makes him the exception to everyone else on the team. Buford hit 4 of 10 threes with Minnesota hugging the lane and then flying out (too late) onto him, but his performance is more noteworthy than that.

I’ve always believed he plays his best when he helps on the boards and doesn’t settle just for jumpers 18 feet and out. On Tuesday, he ball-faked and got to 16 feet a few times and also made some beautiful feeds inside.

The average OSU fans is quick to point out that another poor shooting effort by Buford will be the death of the Buckeyes in the postseason. While that may be true, I dare say it could be looked at the other way: A dialed-in Buford, as well as some scoring support by Thomas, makes Ohio State look darn-near unbeatable.

Willie B. is the key.

Steals. They are a beautiful thing – unless you are on the wrong end of the theft.

Ohio State compiled 10 of them against Minnesota and that was much more than the mediocre Gophers could handle. Aaron Craft, who leads the Big Ten in that department, grabbed six of them. There were three times I could remember where he literally ripped the ball cleanly out of a Golden Gopher who had two hands on the ball, including once right after a Minnesota big man came down with a rebound.

Sullinger, Smith, Shannon Scott and Sam Thompson – that’s a lot of esses – added one steal apiece. Thomas also tried to get in on the act and went grabbing at the ball a few times, pestering the player opposite him.

The Gophers still finished with only 14 turnovers, which means they probably would have had pretty good success in taking care of the ball against a team less determined to pilfer it.

I bring this up because OSU had zero steals, maybe the weirdest stat of the year, in the 87-84 survival against Purdue. That’s not Buckeye defense, and I’m guessing we won’t see that again for quite a while.

Craft turning his ankle is a scary sight. While it as kind of neat to see Scott log 13 minutes in a must-have road game, Craft’s second-half injury is not what anyone hoping for great things from the team needed to see.

We tend to believe Craft is indestructible, mostly because he gives us reason to believe it. Yet, a simple ankle roll like could really prove to be costly. He is the voice on the floor, the point guard, the quarterback, the brains on the operation, and on top of that he’s the most disruptive defender in the league. Tom Izzo just called him the best on-ball defender he’s ever seen. You just can’t put a price on what he does and how much he triggers what the Buckeyes are able to do on both ends of the floor.

Ironically, I jokingly asked Sullinger and Buford before the game if they were worried about Craft sliding off the raised floor in Williams Arena and hurting himself.

The 1989 season went up in flames after Jay Burson broke his neck at Iowa on Feb. 13 and five years to the day later the Buckeyes’ NCAA hopes were dashed when Derek Anderson wrecked his knee against Michigan (don’t ask me how I remember this stuff). Similarly, OSU’s outlook would turn very dire this season if Columbus’ favorite stunt man were lost with a significant injury.

Just sayin’.

Speaking of the postseason, the box score from Tuesday would be a nice template. Actually, flipping Scott’s 13 minutes with the five played by Evan Ravenel would make more sense, but it’s good to see 10 names listed under the words “Ohio State.”

It also is always a good sign when the Buckeyes are shooting and making free throws. OSU’s 28 attempts, including 12 from Sullinger, is a clear indication of its patience and willingness to get the ball dumped into the post. Also, Matta has to be pleased to see a 15-to-9 assists-to-turnovers ratio as well as the aforementioned 10 steals. The Buckeyes also beat a frontline-heavy team on the boards, 37-34.

OSU’s field-goal percentage of 44.6 wasn’t stellar but this team isn’t going to have to shoot the lights out to survive and advance in March.

Minnesota fans either don’t have very good sightlines in The Barn or just aren’t very basketball-savvy. Fans whine when calls go against their team. That happens everywhere. However, they groaned after very obvious infractions like UM players raking the arms of the Buckeyes or, my favorite, a Gopher swinging on the rim after a dunk and landing on the back of Craft, who wasn’t even looking up at the play.

Rodney Williams is another ready example of the type of power forward who gives Ohio State a lot of trouble. Days after dealing with the headache that is All-Big Ten forward Draymond Green, the Buckeyes had a tough time slowing down the 6-7, 200 Williams, who takes long strides to the basket and springs up well for rebounds.

Williams was aggressive throughout and finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots. Thomas presents mismatches at the four-spot with his face-up game but also can be a liability on defense against versatile power forwards.

There’s no real remedy for this other than the Buckeyes being aware of the problem and helping out when possible. Fortunately for them on Tuesday, it didn’t become an issue once the lead was extended.

Speaking of shortcomings, Smith probably should just stop shooting threes on nights where his range is not there. Granted, he came up big against Indiana and Michigan with 28 points and 17, respectively, but those games were at home, and teams are still going to roll the dice and slough off of him at times.

Yes, he needs to at least threaten to shoot from the outside but his game is to hustle, rebound, defend, push the ball when the opportunity is there and aid the offensive flow. Chucking up three from deep and not coming close to making any of them doesn’t go into any of those files.

He winds his jumper from behind his head and shoots with one foot ahead of the other, sometimes in a very pronounced way. It just doesn’t give the appearance of “dangerous shooter,” even though I do like Smith’s overall game.

Ed Hightower is now a walking punchline as a lead official. It’s no secret that the venerable ref is well past his prime and is getting these types of assignments on time served, but, seriously, do we have to watch this anymore?

He is too old to keep up with the action when the pace rises and simply stays out of most of the calls, leaving the “clean-up” to his cohorts. Some games he misses multiple calls, even several in a tight stretch of action.

He’s also notorious for the hometown makeup call, especially when the outcome is basically decided. Sure enough, late in this contest he made at least three questionable pro-Minnesota calls as if to say to Tubby, “See, I’m giving you a fair shake.”

I’ve been calling this guy Eddie Homegame for 20 years, and I used to mean it as a compliment when he was still a good ref. He knew how his bread was buttered and made sure to give the home team a little extra consideration, which is the way of the Big Ten and a good way to keep getting plum games.

But now it’s just blatant and sad.

Late in the game Tuesday, he called a jump ball right after Craft grabbed a defensive rebound. The play shouldn’t have warranted a whistle. Minnesota then was awarded the ball on alternate possession and the inbounder took FOUR STEPS before tossing the ball back into a teammate. (Watch the replay if you don’t believe me.)

Hightower, of course, was the closest official, and, of course, let the obvious travel go. He wasn’t about to give the Gophers a break and then take it back away right in front of their bench.

Look, I have covered Big Ten basketball for close to 25 years and watched it another 10. I know officials miss calls and I know how the homecourt-advantage thing works. But this is downright embarrassing now.

Ed Hightower was a very good ref in this league for a very long time, hasn’t been good for the last 10 years and has been abysmal for the last two or three. It’s time.