#17 Ohio State 94, #22 Michigan 85 (final)

[OH10]

Man, some tough arguments here on this thread, so here's my 2 cents:

1. Sylvester. Well, he forces far too many shots especially late in the game. Sure, there are those head scratchers that go in, but those are the ones that are noticed more. There have been many many times where he gets the ball, and I just call out "shot," and of course he comes through on cue. He made a nice pass on a back cut to Lewis, which shows his vision. I just wish he would utilize it more. His defense was better in the post tonite that either Twigs or Dials. He was the only one that realized you shouldn't front Sims or Hunter and forced them to play with their back to the basket. He did get a couple of chippy fouls, but he did he best he could. Overall though, I would say I'm as critical of Syls as anywhere here for his poor decision making.

2. Butler. "The man". Much more like Scoonie than people realize. He runs a very efficient offense, knows his role, and plays like a true point guard should. He rarely, if ever, places himself as the focus of the offense. He will be the starting PG for the next two years, no question.

3. Lewis. He is the third best player on this team right now behind Dials and Foster. I love his ability to take the ball to the rack. On the break out dunk he had in the second half, he could have easily tried to pull some pussy move to juke the defender. Instead he challenged the defender and took it straight up. He's just the type of player you want with the ball with under 2 minutes left because he doesn't play passive, and he doesn't get ridiculously flashy with the ball. He will be a starter next year over Cook at the SG, unless we continue to go with a pure 3-guard set, in which case it's Butler-Lewis-Cook.

4. Mayes. I know he was hurt tonite, but I see his role on this team becoming smaller and smaller. I like his work ethic on defense, but he hasn't shown me much on the offensive end. I have to think he'll be behind Conley and Cook next year when it comes to guys coming off the bench.

5. Big win tonite, but we were exposed on the inside. Not that it was a big secret, but we have absolutely no depth down low. If we hadn't hit our threes, we would have lost, and probably big.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

a few quick observations

i once again liked us going big with syl at the 4, harris at the 3, and lewis/jj at the 2.

why is everyone keep talking about harris playing under the hoop more, i dont know how it could be any more obvious he is a perimeter player. the people who say he needs to play under the hoop are the same as those who say eddie was to big to be a tailback.

4 play, not getting much out of the 4 especially on help and checking out.

sullinger/sylvester have a tendency to "chase" the ball not box out.

dials, once again poor postioning. partially his fault, partially poor entry passes, partially cuz they dont have anyone else eating space at the line or opposite block.

jamar is continuing to come along.

good defense down the stretch on sims, how many touches did he have in the last 10 mins (if this was an UM board id be ripping tommy a.)

its thads frist big ten ranked road win.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

A few more pics from the game.....

Ohio State Je'kel Foster (23) laughs at a comment from his coach Thad Matta, right, in the final minute of their 94-85 win over Michigan in a Big Ten basketball game Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Foster scored 17 points and dished out five assists in the game.
(AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Ohio State guard Jamar Butler, left, hits one of his two three-point shots against Michigan center Courtney Sims in the second half of a Big Ten basketball game Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Butler led the team with 20 points in their 94-85 win.
(AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Ohio State forward Terence Dials (34) dunks over Michigan guard Hayes Grooms, left, in the second half of a Big Ten basketball game Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Dials scored nine points in their 94-85 win over Michigan.
(AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

 

[billmac91]

So who does Duke have at the PF spot that would dominate Sylvester.

Lee Melchioni doesn't start at the four, he does occassionaly get the start at the 3.
Josh McRoberts plays the 4 for Duke.....Melchioni starts at the 3 sometimes, or gives McRoberts blows at the 4 occassionaly, lots of times DeMarcus Nelson will play a few minutes at the 4 as well

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Lee Melchioni doesn't start at the four, he does occassionaly get the start at the 3.
Josh McRoberts plays the 4 for Duke.....Melchioni starts at the 3 sometimes, or gives McRoberts blows at the 4 occassionaly, lots of times DeMarcus Nelson will play a few minutes at the 4 as well

Yeah I forgot about McRoberts, but while he would be a mismatch problem on the one end, who is going to guard Sylvester on the other end.

I think Dials matches up well with Williams, Butler with Paulus, Foster with Reddick, Sullinger with Melchioni.

I think that we would hold our own against Duke. We have a better pg and we have someone to match up with Williams. While they might hit the boards hard with McRoberts Sylvester will be able to take him off the dribble on the other end. It becomes a game of chess, and while coach K is good, Matta is one helluva a tourney coach.

 

[buckeyeboy]

Man, some tough arguments here on this thread, so here's my 2 cents:

3. Lewis. He is the third best player on this team right now behind Dials and Foster.

Not to cut on Dials, but he's not in the top two players on the team right now. In my opinion, that honor belongs to Foster and Butler.

 

[EdDantes22]

Yeah I forgot about McRoberts, but while he would be a mismatch problem on the one end, who is going to guard Sylvester on the other end.

I think Dials matches up well with Williams, Butler with Paulus, Foster with Reddick, Sullinger with Melchioni.

I think that we would hold our own against Duke. We have a better pg and we have someone to match up with Williams. While they might hit the boards hard with McRoberts Sylvester will be able to take him off the dribble on the other end. It becomes a game of chess, and while coach K is good, Matta is one helluva a tourney coach.

I'd agree with some of that; I especially think that, between Foster and Lewis, we could give Reddick headaches. But Williams is much better than Dials, sorry it's the truth, and Sylvester isn't consistent enough to take advantage of any match up problems he should supposedly create at the 4. He can't guard, he can't rebound, and let's be honest, he takes stupid shots and he's not a great shooter (merely serviceable) to begin with. He does some nice things here and there but overall he's the most frustrating fifth year senior I've ever seen.

Here's hoping Ivan Harris starts getting a bit more PT over Syl. He's a better shooter and certainly more athletic. Syl may have more experience, but it doesn't appear to be helping him outside the last 5 seconds of the game.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I'd agree with some of that; I especially think that, between Foster and Lewis, we could give Reddick headaches. But Williams is much better than Dials, sorry it's the truth, and Sylvester isn't consistent enough to take advantage of any match up problems he should supposedly create at the 4. He can't guard, he can't rebound, and let's be honest, he takes stupid shots and he's not a great shooter (merely serviceable) to begin with. He does some nice things here and there but overall he's the most frustrating fifth year senior I've ever seen.

Here's hoping Ivan Harris starts getting a bit more PT over Syl. He's a better shooter and certainly more athletic. Syl may have more experience, but it doesn't appear to be helping him outside the last 5 seconds of the game.

Did you miss the Illinois game last year when he was taking their big 4 off the dribble all game. I actually think Sylvester is a good shooter and more of his forced shots go in than his good shots so what are you to do.

As JO said above, Harris is not a very good four, he wont mix it up inside. I know that Williams is better than Dials but Dials has the body to be able to bang with WIlliams, and I think we would see a very different Dials in a game like that when it could be his last if he doesnt come to play.

 

[vrbryant]

Funny thing is, if you go back 4-5 games and look at the threads (before Syl's most recent shooting slump), you see shit like, "Syl's so clutch! He's really carrying this team in a big way!" Don't know why I'm saying it again, except to just put it into fewer words: Conjecture is pointless. What is to gain from jabbering about what you would do with the team? Does anyone here really believe that they're going to convince anyone? Of anything? Matta comes in, and he wins, and wins, and wins. And you still don't trust him. Boggles my fucking mind.

And as for the 'Duke vs. OSU' match-up...

___

 

[OH10]

Not to cut on Dials, but he's not in the top two players on the team right now. In my opinion, that honor belongs to Foster and Butler.

This team needed to shoot out of their minds last night to win because TDials had an off night. Without Dials on this team, we would be the most one-dimensional team in the NIT. We need Butler, so don't get me wrong, but without him, I think we are still a tourney team.

You could even see last night how important Dials presence is down low at the end of the game. Michigan focused almost entirely in the second half on getting perimeter pressure and they overreacted, allowing Dials to cut to the basket and get some big buckets.

The fact is that on most nights, Dials has to play around 35 minutes if he can stay out of foul trouble. He's the only consistent inside presence on this team, and nearly unstoppable against smaller defenders. He has the best awareness around the basket of any big man in the conference. He is the most important player on this team. If we were to lose any other player, it would hurt, but it wouldn't leave the massive gap that losing Dials would leave.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Funny thing is, if you go back 4-5 games and look at the threads (before Syl's most recent shooting slump), you see shit like, "Syl's so clutch! He's really carrying this team in a big way!" Don't know why I'm saying it again, except to just put it into fewer words: Conjecture is pointless. What is to gain from jabbering about what you would do with the team? Does anyone here really believe that they're going to convince anyone? Of anything? Matta comes in, and he wins, and wins, and wins. And you still don't trust him. Boggles my fucking mind.

And as for the 'Duke vs. OSU' match-up...

___

Very Well stated.

 

[OH10]

Funny thing is, if you go back 4-5 games and look at the threads (before Syl's most recent shooting slump), you see shit like, "Syl's so clutch! He's really carrying this team in a big way!" Don't know why I'm saying it again, except to just put it into fewer words: Conjecture is pointless. What is to gain from jabbering about what you would do with the team? Does anyone here really believe that they're going to convince anyone? Of anything? Matta comes in, and he wins, and wins, and wins. And you still don't trust him. Boggles my fucking mind.

And as for the 'Duke vs. OSU' match-up...

___

I've been critical of Syls throughout the last couple of years. When people started hanging from his sack last year after the big shot against Illinois, I knew they hadn't watched the team all year. He's clutch. No argument against that. I'm actually of the opinion that he has improved his entire game immensly since last year. He's become more unselfish and more disciplined with the ball in his hands. But he still takes silly shots and far too many of them. Why on earth is he shooting with over 20 seconds left on the shot clock under 2:00 minutes with the Bucks with a good lead? He did it against Minnesota and Michigan. That's just poor discipline.

 

[jwinslow]

when butler went out of the game in the second half, our offense sputtered somewhat. There were times in the second half with Dials on the bench that we were still running a good offense.

 

[OH10]

when butler went out of the game in the second half, our offense sputtered somewhat. There were times in the second half with Dials on the bench that we were still running a good offense.

If you want to base it on last night, sure Butler was the better and more important player. But it was an aberration against a team that Dials does not match up well against, and against a team that defends the three pointer very poorly.

I think Butler is a terrific player and vital to this team's success, but can you honestly say that if you had to give up either Dials or Jamar, you would choose to give up the big man?

 

[jwinslow]

not with our lack of depth, no. I just do not think we have a very good replacement for Butler either (he is coming... as a backup ). I think Foster is an excellent guard, I just think he belongs at the 2.