Ken
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2nd Thoughts: OSU vs MSU III
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Frankly, I think that Thad deserves a hand this season.
It seems like I’ve been doing a lot of ‘2nd Thoughts’ articles with a “MSU beats OSU” theme lately. Thankfully, this is the last one for this season. Friday night’s Michigan State win, 81-54 again highlighted the capabilities difference between these two teams this season. This will be a bit shorter article, since there isn’t too much to add regarding these three games over 17 days. You’ve pretty much seen what you need to see.
I felt there was never any doubt how this game would end up. The magnitude of the defeat was a bit larger than I expected/hoped, but the outcome should never have been in doubt in anyone’s mind.
I think that the Ohio State team is just gassed at this point in the season. This is a freshman-heavy rotation, particularly late in the season after Jae’Sean Tate’s injury. Nearly one-third of the team’s 6,675 floor minutes were played by freshmen. However, that understates their use coming down the home stretch, with Mitchell filling in for Tate and Thad using a two-guard offense (Lyle, Harris) the freshmen floor time was in the 40%-50% range.
This physical, and mental adjustment is something that I think the freshmen have been challenged with the past few games. A year ago, these kids were playing 22-28 games of 32 minutes each. These players were most likely some of the bigger, stronger players on the court. Now, they are playing 30-35 games of 40 minute duration against players who can match them physically.
The physical fatigue leads to mental “fatigue” which can take many forms; lack of focus, poor decision making, indecisiveness, etc. Typically, when a coach has a young team, the opportunity to play additional games, and the practice that accompanies that is seen as a good thing.
Right now, I’m not sure that I agree with that approach. At this point in time, I don’t think this team needs practice, I think it needs rest.
Viewing Experience
Well, here we go…
Up Next…
The Buckeyes (20-13, 11-7) will most likely gt an invitation to play in the National Invitational Tournament. The “who”, “when” and “where” will be determined later.
The post 2nd Thoughts: OSU vs MSU III appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Frankly, I think that Thad deserves a hand this season.
It seems like I’ve been doing a lot of ‘2nd Thoughts’ articles with a “MSU beats OSU” theme lately. Thankfully, this is the last one for this season. Friday night’s Michigan State win, 81-54 again highlighted the capabilities difference between these two teams this season. This will be a bit shorter article, since there isn’t too much to add regarding these three games over 17 days. You’ve pretty much seen what you need to see.
I felt there was never any doubt how this game would end up. The magnitude of the defeat was a bit larger than I expected/hoped, but the outcome should never have been in doubt in anyone’s mind.
I think that the Ohio State team is just gassed at this point in the season. This is a freshman-heavy rotation, particularly late in the season after Jae’Sean Tate’s injury. Nearly one-third of the team’s 6,675 floor minutes were played by freshmen. However, that understates their use coming down the home stretch, with Mitchell filling in for Tate and Thad using a two-guard offense (Lyle, Harris) the freshmen floor time was in the 40%-50% range.
This physical, and mental adjustment is something that I think the freshmen have been challenged with the past few games. A year ago, these kids were playing 22-28 games of 32 minutes each. These players were most likely some of the bigger, stronger players on the court. Now, they are playing 30-35 games of 40 minute duration against players who can match them physically.
The physical fatigue leads to mental “fatigue” which can take many forms; lack of focus, poor decision making, indecisiveness, etc. Typically, when a coach has a young team, the opportunity to play additional games, and the practice that accompanies that is seen as a good thing.
Right now, I’m not sure that I agree with that approach. At this point in time, I don’t think this team needs practice, I think it needs rest.
Viewing Experience
Well, here we go…
- Rebounds-MSU 40,OSU 29. Ohio State had 9 offensive rebounds, which isn’t too bad; they contributed to 5 2nd-chance points. Michigan State had 14 offensive rebounds that led to 13 2nd-chance points. In their previous match-up, I excoriated Kieta Bates-Diop and Daniel Giddens for combining for 1 rebound. On Friday they (KBD-6, Giddens-3) did much better). So, it wasn’t all bad…
- Ball Handling – OSU 14 Turnovers, MSU 8 Turnovers. This facet hurt far more than the previous game. Michigan State outscored Ohio State 21-8 in ‘points off turnovers’.
- A Tale of Two Halfs. Ohio State did a nice job of keeping things with “possible upset distance” in the 1st half, trailing only 33-26, but the game got away from them early in the 2nd half. An A.J. Harris jumper two minutes into the half ended a 8-0 MSU run, but over the next two minutes the Spartans went on another 6-0 run to push their lead to 19 points, 47-28. With 15 minutes to play, the Buckeyes had a very steep hill to climb. Ohio State had 19 rebounds in the 1st half, only 10 in the 2nd half. They had 6 turnovers in the 1st half, 8 in the 2nd. When your rebounding and turnover numbers are that close, you are out of sync. To be fair, 2 of the 2nd half turnovers came in the last minute of play, so they were inconsequential.
Up Next…
The Buckeyes (20-13, 11-7) will most likely gt an invitation to play in the National Invitational Tournament. The “who”, “when” and “where” will be determined later.
The post 2nd Thoughts: OSU vs MSU III appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...