BY: BRENDAN STILES (DailyIowan.com) –

Relinquishing a double-digit lead and falling to West Virginia may not have been the highlight of Ohio State’s weekend.

But the Buckeyes managed to seize some positives from the 69-65 loss to the Mountaineers on Jan. 23.

For one, the defeat didn’t knock Ohio State out of the AP top 25. Instead, it only helped the squad ascend to a No. 20 ranking after a week that also included a conference victory over Northwestern.

“I thought we played, at times, some very good basketball,” Buckeye head coach Thad Matta said on Monday during a teleconference. “West Virginia is the type of team that when you make a mistake, it has the type of players to make you pay, and it was probably the difference down the stretch. We weren’t able to put the ball in the basket in the final minutes.”

When the Buckeyes visit Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday night, they’ll boast one of the best players in the country in junior Evan Turner.

Despite missing six games earlier this season because of a back injury, Turner is still the only Division-I men’s basketball player averaging 18 points, nine rebounds, and five assists per contest.

He finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds in the Buckeyes’ loss to the Mountaineers, who are now ranked ninth in the…..

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