#20 Ohio State 87, Garner Webb 58 (final)

[crazybuckfan40]

I don't know how the rest of you guys felt about the game because this was only the second time ive been there all year, but i was making some noise. Me and my friends were getting on Gardner players early and we were trying to get OSU players pumped up during warm ups. I thought the crowd was pretty good tonight. It seemed like high school day because the hole south side of the stadium i think it was was filled with high school students. They definitely were making some noise. I had a blast....just wish i could have those tickets during big ten season because that would be insane.


GO Bucks

The Mongoose

Yeah it seemed there has been more noise at the past two games than earlier in the season.

Also the best thing about this game is we only had 5 to's.

 

[NFBuck]

Another great game for the BBall Bucks! 10-0 going into conference play sounds real nice, coach Matta has these guys playing really well. Anyone know if the LSU game is gonna be televised on ESPN? That may piss the GF off when it comes to our new years plans!:tongue2:

 

[Golferdow01]

Agreed! I think I already am enjoying this season! A few quick thoughts.

The computers had us at 12-19 point favorites tonight but these guys weren't cupcakes. They played played NC and Minnesota tough even if they did get beat by 27 at Auburn.

Across the various computer ratings, we should be ranked in the #6-#13 space after this win. The computers aren't as good after ten games as is the case in football because the OOC schedules may inflate some teams ratings (e.g., a higher winning performance because of scheduling easy wins). Our schedule is not highly ranked by most of the computers and that is a reason for caution. Nevertheless, that's far higher than most of us thought and it is a good indication of just how good this team is, after so many games being played.

I didn't hear the game but wonder why they did so much worse than previous games at the foul line. Tired from cranking it on defense? They won't be able to beat good teams shooting less than 80%.

I really like the distribution of the ball and scoring by this team and I like Lewis off the bench.

I got a seat promotion to 105 and I'll tell you what; the crowd was as lively as we've seen all season. If we can beat LSU and go 10-0 into the big ten season, we're gonna get rowdy. Check out the rpi...we're looking very good. The team I've been watching this year is hands down the most unselfish team I've seen in 16 years of Ohio State basketball. I kid you not...

 

[coastalbuck]

The LSU game is on ESPN U on Sat. NFB! Shouldn't upset the GF too much unless you start really early, it's on a 1 o'clock!!! :osu:

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

scout.com (free)

12/29/05

Game wrap-up by Dave Biddle.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

rivals.com$

12/29/05

Game wrap-up by Jeff Rapp.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

link

12/29/05

OHIO STATE 87 | GARDNER-WEBB 58
Buckeyes dial up the defense
Players take coach’s criticism to heart, respond with intensity

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Bob Baptist

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

</IMG> RENEE SAUER | DISPATCH Ohio State’s Terence Dials, who scored a game-high 23 points, grabs a rebound away from Gardner-Webb’s Mike Jones.


Coach Thad Matta wondered about the whereabouts of Ohio State’s defense after a lackluster victory over Tennessee State last week.

Evidently, it was just under wraps before the holiday.

A renewed effort and awareness on that end of the floor last night might have been a belated Christmas gift to Matta from the Buckeyes men’s basketball team.

Ohio State started unwrapping it by holding Gardner-Webb without a shot on its first possession. Je’Kel Foster and Jamar Butler tore into it more with floor-burning dives for attempted steals in the first 10 minutes. The end result was an 87-58 runaway in Value City Arena against a team that this season lost by three points at North Carolina on a last-second shot and won by one point at Minnesota.

"The Tennessee State game, we didn’t have the intensity we had shown in previous games. Coach wanted us to come out with great intensity and not let an upset happen on our home court," center Terence Dials said.

"We knew their resume coming in, beating Minnesota and taking North Carolina to the buzzer. So we knew we had a quality opponent and we just tried to come out and play our hardest. Good things happen when you play hard."

Dials led Ohio State with 23 points and nine rebounds in only 22 minutes on the floor.

"This is one of the few games I’ll ever have where I’ll be quicker than the guy guarding me," Dials said with a smile. "I tried to use that to my advantage."

Foster and Ron Lewis added 14 points apiece for the No. 21-ranked Buckeyes (9-0), who remained one of 10 undefeated teams in NCAA Division I.

But the more impressive numbers for the Buckeyes were these: 19 assists against a season-low five turnovers for the home team vs. 20 turnovers and 36.1 percent shooting for the Runnin’ Bulldogs, who despite their pedigree were outscored 18-2 in transition and 19-4 off turnovers.

Foster had six steals, tying the third-highest total in a game in school history.

"It’s hard to evaluate a tape when you’re not playing hard," Matta said, "and that’s what I told them after Christmas, (that) we didn’t play hard enough against Tennessee State.

"I think they’re coming to grips (with the fact that) we’re not a good enough basketball team if we don’t come out and play with the intelligence and the intensity we have to. It’s going to be long nights for us (if we don’t)."

Ohio State opened up a 33-12 lead with 6:24 left in the first half with a 24-4 run during which Gardner-Webb had six turnovers and the Buckeyes scored eight points in transition.

A 21-10 run to open the second half, in which Ohio State scored on 10 of its first 13 possessions, put the Buckeyes ahead 62-35 with 13:20 left.

After that, it was a matter of watching the seconds expire off the clock.

Center Simon Conn led Gardner-Webb (5-4) with 14 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out with six minutes left.

"The first question y’all probably got is how did we beat Minnesota and how did we play Carolina so close?" Gardner-Webb coach Rick Scruggs said.

"We played great against those teams, but Ohio State just took it to us tonight. We just didn’t have an answer, and a lot of it had to do with Ohio State and not us.

"Minnesota and Carolina, we matched up well and could stay with them and be competitive. We thought it would be the same way tonight. We thought we would have a good chance to match up. But from the very start . . . we just did not compete. We could not get going the way we did against some of the other big schools. Ohio State took us out of everything we wanted to do."
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Thursday, December 29, 2005