#2 Ohio State 64, Penn State 62 (Final)

[Mike80]

IF the players don't hit the "snooze" button for 35 minutes, we win.

Hopefully we will know the answer to that at the half....

 

[sandgk]

The Buckeyes need to show no love to Penn State on Valentine's Day.

 

[Sean]

I'm hoping to see the Buckeyes start making their threes again. Penn State has the worst defense in the Big Ten, and they're the worst in the Big Ten at defending the outside shot. So far the occasional off night from Butler or Harris (and the somewhat more frequent off nights from Lewis) haven't hurt the team, but come tournament time, I think they will. This is a great opportunity for the shooters to get some confidence and get the ball rolling again.

Oh, and hi. I'm Sean, and I'm new (more accurately, I've decided to stop lurking and start reading and participating more regularly). I'll try not to make an idiot of myself.

 

[Yertle]

Although I don't really think Cook holds the key to success, I am a bit disappointed that he hasn't found more consistency. Maybe he struggles coming off the bench... I don't know. All I know is I love his post-up move and he uses the glass as well as anyone I've ever seen. He also leads the team with 47% behind the arc. The dude is an offensive power-house, but needs to show it every game.

And then there's his defense...

 

[Cornerback6]

I think Cook's offense sputters at times and lacks confidence because he knows his defense is a liability. Just my two cents. It's hard to be full-go when you know that you might be hurting the team on the other end of the court. He's not the worst defender ever, it's just the polarity between his o-game and his d-game is extremely obvious.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

We are at the point in the season where this team needs to maintain their focus and intensity each trip down the court. They have learned how to win close games and play on the road, now its time to keep the intensity for the whole game. If they can do that, they will make a run in the tourney. All the pieces are there.

 

[NorthEndBuck]

I'm hoping to see the Buckeyes start making their threes again. Penn State has the worst defense in the Big Ten, and they're the worst in the Big Ten at defending the outside shot. So far the occasional off night from Butler or Harris (and the somewhat more frequent off nights from Lewis) haven't hurt the team, but come tournament time, I think they will. This is a great opportunity for the shooters to get some confidence and get the ball rolling again.

Oh, and hi. I'm Sean, and I'm new (more accurately, I've decided to stop lurking and start reading and participating more regularly). I'll try not to make an idiot of myself.

I agree, I have no clue what happened to Ivans and Rons shot, earlier this year they were automatic from downtown. Maybe they are suffering from tired legs, I donno but hopefully they get it figured out soon, becuse we will need to hit threes down the stretch. Its also ironic that these two are seniors and this should be the part of the season that they step up and lead this team, but I have not seen it yet.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

In spite of our slump shooting the ball from the perimeter, we are still finding ways to win games, that is the mark of a good team.

 

[briegg]

To me, the outside shooting is reminiscent of last year - we shot so well at the beginning of the year, and as the season wore on, the threes fell less and less. I wonder if the lack of depth / tired legs that we've had over the last couple of years is one of the causes. I bet we'll see a real difference when we have a full complement of Matta's scholarship players.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

To me, the outside shooting is reminiscent of last year - we shot so well at the beginning of the year, and as the season wore on, the threes fell less and less. I wonder if the lack of depth / tired legs that we've had over the last couple of years is one of the causes. I bet we'll see a real difference when we have a full complement of Matta's scholarship players.

i think thats a very good point, ive mentioned it somewhere. is it a slump or is it the wall?

 

[NorthEndBuck]

I just have a hard time imagining that these kids are tired after only 25 games, I mean they play over 80 in the NBA and you dont really here about them getting tired. If tired legs has really been the case the last two seasons, I would expect Thad to bust their asses this coming offseason, because we cant have that if we want to win championships.

 

[LitlBuck]

To me, the outside shooting is reminiscent of last year - we shot so well at the beginning of the year, and as the season wore on, the threes fell less and less. I wonder if the lack of depth / tired legs that we've had over the last couple of years is one of the causes. I bet we'll see a real difference when we have a full complement of Matta's scholarship players.

I could buy the tired legs last year but not this year. I think that is one of the reasons Matta keeps on substituting is because he is trying to keep the legs fresh.

In spite of our slump shooting the ball from the perimeter, we are still finding ways to win games, that is the mark of a good team

The fact that we are still winning without hitting the outside shot is good but if we don't start hitting from the outside against teams like Wisconsin and in the tournament we are going to be in trouble.

 

[Okinawa's#1Buck]

In spite of our slump shooting the ball from the perimeter, we are still finding ways to win games, that is the mark of a good team.

I'll buy that for our road wins against Purdue and Michigan St. Outside that, we simply out-talent everyone else and should be winning with or without our outside game. I am personally a little more worried by the close home games against Michigan and Michigan St than encouraged by our record.

 

[Sean]

The fact that we are still winning without hitting the outside shot is good but if we don't start hitting from the outside against teams like Wisconsin and in the tournament we are going to be in trouble.

Exactly. Though most of the Big Ten season, teams either haven't been able to contain Oden or haven't been talented enough to take advantage of containing him or getting him into foul trouble. Eventually the Bucks are going to run into a team that is talented enough, and they'll need the outside scoring in order to pick up the slack. And if they can't make a respectable percentage of their threes against a defense as bad as Penn State's, I'll start to get worried.

 

[Mike80]

I'll buy that for our road wins against Purdue and Michigan St. Outside that, we simply out-talent everyone else and should be winning with or without our outside game. I am personally a little more worried by the close home games against Michigan and Michigan St than encouraged by our record.

The first Michigan State game didn't worry me much.

I think that at the half, the freshmen let up a bit. that happens with young players. Maybe a 20 point margin was too much, but clearly everyone knows who the better team was/is.

As for Michigan, again, I think that was a focus issue. That and Michigan was getting every single bounce and roll and was still losing. The defense could be better, sure, but they did win the game.