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#12 Ohio State 79 , #16 Michigan State 68 (Final)

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OSU at MSU tix still available

In case anyone's interested, tickets are still available for the game tomorrow in East Lansing. I just got 2 upper bowl, no problem.

Click ME!!!!


Edit: Oh, and sorry for the extra thread, but I'm attention whore-ing for a good cause, our BUCKEYES!
 
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i see this one going down much like
wiskey...hopefully OSU can hit some
shots late and get a win..but this game
scares me the most...IF OSU can win I would say
a share of the big ten title is theirs esp. with
the remaining schedule
 
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PlainDealer

2/22/06

<H1 class=red>OSU hopes trip to MSU a good one

</H1>

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Doug Lesmerises

Plain Dealer Reporter

Columbus - Big Ten teams started the week 20-48 on the road in conference games. Ohio State has lost 10 straight games at the Breslin Center, the most recent win in 1992 led by Jim Jackson and Chris Jent.

When the No. 13 Buckeyes visit No. 18 Michigan State tonight, they'll find in the Spartans what they've seen across the league this year - an unbeatable home team (11-0) that's been quite beatable (8-7) everywhere else.

With the start of the Big Ten Tournament 15 days away, and the NCAA Tournament to follow a week later, the Buckeyes' national reputation has been growing in part because they don't quite fall into that category.

Ohio State is 14-1 at home and 5-3 on the road, the three losses by a total of 12 points. The Buckeyes are listed as No. 2 seeds in projected NCAA brackets on espn.com and sportsline.com this week, a seeding which, ironically, could help give them a near-home-court advantage in first-round games in Dayton.

"You can't win the national championship at home," said Ohio State forward J.J. Sullinger, who said he'd be worried if the Buckeyes exhibited such a split home-road personality. "Teams like to protect their home floor, and you have to have a different mind-set on the road and sometimes that can be hard to come by."

Ohio State coach Thad Matta pointed with pride to his 19-5 road record his final two seasons at Xavier, though noting road life in the Atlantic 10 is easier than traveling in the Big Ten. Last year, the Buckeyes were 4-9 overall away from home in the regular season, but Matta has liked their road efforts this year.

"You find yourself at times saying, 'Man I would like to have that play back or that timeout back,' " Matta said. "But all the losses we've had, we led in the second half. We just haven't been able to finish the games off."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

[email protected], 216-999-4479
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Dispatch

2/22/06

OSU MEN’S BASKETBALL

Fatigue isn’t an option for Buckeyes

Despite team being short-handed, Matta focuses on winning

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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Ohio State men’s basketball coach Thad Matta said he sometimes asks his players if they’re tired. He doesn’t know what he would do if one actually answered in the affirmative. Matta admits to once swearing at a player who asked to come out of a game because he was gassed. Matta also confessed to turning his back on players signaling for a substitute.

"Have you seen the movie The Fugitive?" Matta asked yesterday. His question, relayed later to Jamar Butler, drew a weary smile from the sophomore point guard, who hasn’t seen the movie but has heard more than enough about one scene in it.

"Where Harrison Ford is in that tunnel and Tommy Lee Jones drops his gun," Matta said. "Harrison Ford turns around and says, ‘I didn’t kill my wife,’ and Tommy Lee Jones says, ‘I don’t care.’ "

The point, Matta said, is that Jones’ job was "not to prove him innocent or guilty, just to catch him. Our job is just to win. I don’t care if you’re tired. . . . We’ve got a job to do. We’ll rest after the game."

Matta dusted off this bromide yesterday to address this issue: How will the 13 th-ranked Buckeyes (19-4, 8-4), with a trusted rotation of only six players getting most of the minutes as the Big Ten title chase nears the end, handle the accelerated pace that No. 18 Michigan State (19-7, 7-5) is expected to set tonight when the teams meet in the Breslin Center?

"They play fast, and I know they’re not going to change that," Matta said. "Maybe in the back of their minds they’re thinking, ‘Hey, we can wear them down,’ because they did do that to us last year up there."

The Buckeyes shot 63 percent from the field and made 6 of 7 free throws in building a 43-41 halftime lead at Michigan State last season. They shot 34.5 percent and made 3 of 10 free throws in the second half and lost 83-69.

And that was with eight players playing 15 minutes or more.

With forward Matt Sylvester out because of a tight back, Matta played the same five players the entire second half Saturday against Northwestern and later said he thought fatigue was a factor in the Buckeyes’ lead dwindling fron 15 points to two in the last 11 minutes of the game. They had enough left in their tank to win 61-52 but shot only 37 percent for the game and made 3 of 23 three-point attempts.

Sylvester’s status for tonight will not be known until warm-ups. But if there is a silver lining for Ohio State, it is that Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has been dividing most of his minutes among only seven players and one of them, forward Matt Trannon, is out with a broken jaw.

"Their bench isn’t too deep, either," Butler said, "but they’re probably going to try to run us. We’re going to try to run them. The toughest team is going to win."

Matta said several weeks ago that he was concerned about Butler and Je’Kel Foster, his best defenders, wearing down late in the season if he wasn’t able to spell them with substitutes he could trust. Since then, the relief corps has shrunk by one with the disappearance of Sylvester Mayes, who hasn’t played in four games after averaging 15.3 minutes in the first 19. Mayes missed the first of those four games because of an ankle injury but has been cleared to play the past three.

Matta said yesterday that Mayes’ inactivity is solely the result of unsatisfactory play and the fact that Butler has raised his performance level. Matta said Mayes is not suspended or ineligible and that he could play tonight. Mayes was not made available to answer questions.

"He just has to understand what we’re trying to do," Matta said. "Scouting (the opponent) is obviously important. Taking care of the ball is obviously important. Execution. Attention to detail.

"If he would (do those things), he can help us. He has shown he can play great basketball."

[email protected]
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Wednesday, February 22, 2006
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yahoo.com

2/22/06


(13) Ohio St. (19-4) vs. (18) Michigan St. (19-7)Preview - Box Score - Recap



Game Info: 8:00 pm EST Wed Feb 22, 2006


The last meeting between Ohio State and Michigan State was fairly memorable. It's not so easy to remember the last time the Buckeyes won at the Breslin Center.

Looking to end a 14-year drought at East Lansing, No. 13 Ohio State looks to avenge a heartbreaking home loss when it meets the 18th-ranked Spartans on Wednesday.

The rankings were nearly reversed -- the Buckeyes stood 19th and the Spartans were No. 14 -- when these Big Ten rivals met on Jan. 15. Drew Neitzel hit a runner and two free throws in the final 44 seconds of the second overtime to lead Michigan State to a 62-59 victory.
It was the 18th win in the last 21 meetings for the Spartans (19-7, 7-5), who have not lost at home to the Buckeyes since Feb. 29, 1992. Ohio State has lost 10 in a row at the Breslin Center.

No visiting team has won in that arena in more than a year. Michigan State has won 15 in a row at home, including an 11-0 mark this season, since falling to then-No. 1 Illinois 81-68 on Feb. 1 of last season.


"They're very tough mentally and physically," said Ohio State forward Matt Sylvester, who scored 17 points in the double-overtime loss. "I think it reflects on the character of (coach) Tom Izzo."

Izzo, however, has seen his Spartans undergo an inconsistent season while the Buckeyes have surprised many by contending for the Big Ten title.

Michigan State is fifth in the conference, but only 1 1/2 games out of first place.

"We have a long way to go but we are still in the race," Izzo said. "I'm not giving up on the Big Ten, but we just aren't in control so we just have to let it play out and focus on getting better every day until the Big Ten tournament and the NCAA tournament. We have lots of big games we need to focus on, but it feels good to be home."

A featured matchup in this game will be Ohio State's Terence Dials, seeking his fourth consecutive double-double, squaring off against Michigan State center Paul Davis. Dials had 19 points and 10 rebounds in the first meeting, compared to 18 and 12 for Davis.

While Dials has averaged 19 points and 14 boards in the last three games, Ohio State is looking for Je'Kel Foster to get back on track. Second on the team in scoring at 14.0 points per game -- Dials averages 14.6 -- Foster has totaled nine points on 4-of-16 shooting in the last two games.

Both contests were unimpressive performances by the Buckeyes, a 78-73 loss at Wisconsin last Wednesday and a 61-52 home win over lowly Northwestern on Saturday.

Ohio State, the conference's best 3-point shooting team, made 3-of-23 from behind the arc on Saturday after going 4-of-17 against Wisconsin.
"We had good shots that we have made before, but they just weren't going down," coach Thad Matta said. "We need to continue shooting the ball. We need to stick with it and get our confidence back."

Michigan State beat Michigan 90-71 on Saturday, bouncing back from consecutive losses at Minnesota and Iowa.

After scoring a combined 15 points in the previous two games, Maurice Ager recovered against the Wolverines with 19 points. Ager is the team's leading scorer with 18.5 points per game.

"Well, I'm happiest for Maurice (Ager)," Izzo said. "To his credit he had some tough games. He came up and talked to me after the Iowa game and said he was working hard and getting his rest, and he really needed to have a good game. I thought he was excellent." Michigan State will play without reserve Matt Trannon, who broke his jaw on Saturday after colliding with Shannon Brown and a Michigan player. He averages 4.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in 22.1 minutes per game.
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How BIG is this game tonight? Well, its very, very BIG when you look at the remaining schedules of the top 5 teams in the Big Ten....

Iowa 9-4

at #8 Illinois
Penn State
Wisconsin

Obviously, they have one more hurdle at Illinois and the other two games are very winnable at home.

Ohio State 8-4

at #18 Michigan State
Michigan
at Northwestern
Purdue

We haven't beaten MSU on the road since 1992 and the other road game at NW will not be a picnic. We have our work cut out for us. Michigan and Purdue at home doesn't scare me.

Wisconsin 8-4

at Northwestern
Minnesota
at #18 Michigan State
at #20 Iowa

Having 3 of the 4 remaining games on the road is tough, plus playing MSU and Iowa in a 4 day span is tough. They are a longshot to keep pace with Iowa and Ohio State.

Illinois 8-5

#20 Iowa
at Minnesota
at Michigan State

2 out of 3 on the road, one against a very tough Minnesota team who excels at home.

Michigan State 8-5

#13 Ohio State
at Indiana
Wisconsin
#8 Illinois

MSU is set up right now with the chance to have a huge say in the conference championship, playing the top 3 teams at home in the coming weeks. MSU is 11-0 at home.
 
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bucknuts44820 said:
How BIG is this game tonight? Well, its very, very BIG when you look at the remaining schedules of the top 5 teams in the Big Ten....

Iowa 9-4

at #8 Illinois
Penn State
Wisconsin

Obviously, they have one more hurdle at Illinois and the other two games are very winnable at home.

Ohio State 8-4

at #18 Michigan State
Michigan
at Northwestern
Purdue

We haven't beaten MSU on the road since 1992 and the other road game at NW will not be a picnic. We have our work cut out for us. Michigan and Purdue at home doesn't scare me.

Wisconsin 8-4

at Northwestern
Minnesota
at #18 Michigan State
at #20 Iowa

Having 3 of the 4 remaining games on the road is tough, plus playing MSU and Iowa in a 4 day span is tough. They are a longshot to keep pace with Iowa and Ohio State.

Illinois 8-5

#20 Iowa
at Minnesota
at Michigan State

2 out of 3 on the road, one against a very tough Minnesota team who excels at home.

Michigan State 8-5

#13 Ohio State
at Indiana
Wisconsin
#8 Illinois

MSU is set up right now with the chance to have a huge say in the conference championship, playing the top 3 teams at home in the coming weeks. MSU is 11-0 at home.
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Nice breakdown. It is time to saddle up and get it done now.

If we win, I think we win the title outright.

If we lose, I think that Iowa @ Illinois will determine if there is a 3 or 4 way tie or if they win outright.
 
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If we win today, we will get a big boost in the polls. Winning on the road is incredibly tough this year in the big ten. Doing so against a tough, ranked team like MSU just makes that even more impressive. We should easily sneak into the top ten with that win.
 
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jwinslow said:
If we win today, we will get a big boost in the polls. Winning on the road is incredibly tough this year in the big ten. Doing so against a tough, ranked team like MSU just makes that even more impressive. We should easily sneak into the top ten with that win.
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I would put us in the top 7

With

Duke
Nova
Memphis
UCONN
Zaga
Texas

ahead of us. Lets first take care of business tonite tho, and then the rankings will take care of themselves.
 
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Well with a win we have a way better resume than UF, also have Illinois and BC lost last nite. That puts up to 10 by default. We also have a better resume than GW.

The only teams we might not jump to get to 7 are Pitt and Tennessee. But I think we should.
 
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