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#3 Wisconsin 72, #5 Ohio State 69 (Final)

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OSUBasketballJunkie

OSUBasketballJunkie

Never Forget 31-0
#5 OHIO STATE (13-2, 2-0) AT #3 WISCONSIN (15-1, 1-0), 1/9/07, 9:00PM EST, ESPN​

:bigten:​

:osu3: VS :wisc2: ​

Note: Rankings will most likely change when new rankings are released on Monday.​
 
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Matchup

This is going to be a great game and hopefully we can continue our win streak. Here is my evaluations:


Records:
OSU has two losses, coming against Florida and UNC. Wisconsin has 1 loss from Missouri State in a game decided by one field goal. When OSU has lost, they have lost badly and mainly due to 2nd half play, IMO. Wisconsin has the edge in this area, riding a 11 game win streak.

G Matchups:
OSU - Conley, Cook, Butler and Lewis.
Wisconsin - Taylor, Flowers.
Give the edge to OSU on this one. Wisconsin has the more experienced players in this area, but OSU has the depth. Wisconsin is not very deep at guard and will likely play Taylor and Flowers on the floor for 30-35 minutes each. This will leave our cutters like Conley and Cook the chance to make easier drives and shoot and dish for a perimeter shot.

SF Matchups:
OSU - Harris, Lighty
Wisconsin - Tucker, Krabbenhoft
Advantge: Wisconsin. Tucker will be a tough handle for OSU in this game. He is averaging over 20 ppg and will not likely be slowed down by Harris. I could see them putting heavy pressure and just substituting back and forth between Harris and Cook on him to not get either too fatigued. On our side, we need Harris to make sure he does not take bad shots; too often lately, he has taken bad shots and it has cost us points.

PF Matchups:
OSU - Hunter, Terwilliger
Wisconsin - Chappell, Butch
Chappell and Butch will most likely be on the floor together a lot. This two-headed monster is dangerous. They are 6'10" and 6'11", which makes a matchup problem for Hunter and/or Terwilliger. Butch is their third leading scorer and will take off pressure from Tucker in this matchup. I'd look to see Wisconsin take advantage of this until OSU readjusts.

C Matchups:
OSU - Oden
Wisconsin - Stiemsma
I wouldn't take any center in the league over Oden in a one on one matchup. He posesses all the assets you would want and is getting over his injury. He even shot a free throw right handed recently. Oden should dominate the boards and get plenty of blocks as well.

Coaches:
OSU - Thad
Wisconsin - Bo Ryan
Have to give it to Bo Ryan on this one. He has been a dominant D1 coach and has a solid team behind him. Thad is amazing, but you cannot deny Bo Ryan's ability to put together a winner.

Homecourt Advantage:
Wisconsin has won 38 of their last 40 games at home. Bo Ryan is 83-5 against Big Ten opponents at home.

OSU Keys:
  1. Spread the ball around.
  2. Taking good shots.
  3. Continuing their passion to win
Wisconsin Keys:
  1. Figure out what Indiana did to stop Oden in the first half.
  2. Get Tucker the ball.
  3. Stay fresh and not fatigued.
OSU Gamebreaker:
Other than picking the obvious Greg Oden, I will pick Mike Conley. Hopefully he can continue his streak of great games with a high assist-turnover ratio. If he can handle the ball well with Butler out of the game, OSU will fare well.

Wisconsin Gamebreaker:
Taylor. Can he handle the load if Tucker gets in foul trouble or is double teamed? That may be the deciding factor for Wisconsin's chances of winning.

Overall:
This will be a clash. The shame is that Buckeye country may be out of gas to support the troops because of the national championship victory coming up on Monday. This is definitely Wisconsin's game to lose as they have homecourt advantage and are much more used to playing with each other. Wisconsin has better leadership as Butler continues to shy away from taking command. I cannot pick Wisconsin to win, but I fear this may be a tough loss for OSU. Hopefully we win, but if not, I hope Oden and the freshman gang take a lot from this game as they did from Florida and UNC.

:oh:
 
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Very well done!
It will be interesting to see who guards Tucker. I can't see Harris/Cook on him very much but I don't know who else we have without losing that firepower. Lightly is probably our best defender but as of now he gives up too much on offense compared to Harris and Cook.
 
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LitlBuck;710192; said:
Very well done!
It will be interesting to see who guards Tucker. I can't see Harris/Cook on him very much but I don't know who else we have without losing that firepower. Lightly is probably our best defender but as of now he gives up too much on offense compared to Harris and Cook.
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We could see zone to to keep Tucker out of the paint as much and to keep Oden in the paint. Then we just have to close out on shooters and rebound on the backside with the guards.

Man, I would love to see Lighty on Tucker, but Lighty isnt getting enough minutes to make an impact on the whole game. Could see Harris/Hunter combo, but neither is athletic enough if Tucker drifts outside.
 
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crazybuckfan40;710196; said:
We could see zone to to keep Tucker out of the paint as much and to keep Oden in the paint. Then we just have to close out on shooters and rebound on the backside with the guards.

Man, I would love to see Lighty on Tucker, but Lighty isnt getting enough minutes to make an impact on the whole game. Could see Harris/Hunter combo, but neither is athletic enough if Tucker drifts outside.
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I just don't see Lighty being able to handle Tucker. He's too big and strong to be guarded by a wing and too quick to be guarded by a big guy. If I had to pick, I'd say Hunter would be the most capable of handling him. Not as quick as Lighty, but bigger and stronger. If Harris ends up on Tucker, it won't be pretty. Harris isn't strong enough OR quick enough to deal with Tucker. I can't wait for that guy to finish up at Wisky. What is this, his seventh or eighth season?
 
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apwessen;709285; said:
When OSU has lost, they have lost badly and mainly due to 2nd half play
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I would disagree with this characterization. OSU certainly lost badly to Florida, and in particular the half-court offense, or lack thereof, was disheartening. But things were already looking bad by halftime. The second half, after the initial comeback, just made it worse. And while the UNC game was lost entirely in the second half, I don't think OSU lost badly at all. Rather, I think they acquitted themselves pretty well in that game.
 
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What a great week where we get to enjoy tOSU play in a national championship football game followed by a top 10 mens hoops battle. Give me a couple of wins and I'll be calling the Viagria hotline (for having wood more than 4 straight hours).
 
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As far as the position matchups, Marcus Landry is the backup power forward for the Badgers, and he's averaged exactly the same minutes as Chappell this year. He's played very well lately overall, and he really can block and alter shots in help defense. Brian Butch is the starting center so to speak, if we have one. He's not the power forward. Stiemsma can be the most positive influential actor for the Badgers behind Tucker in some games, but he's very inconsistent. He's always a threat to block shots and a good man to man to defender. If anybody has the biggie people to contend with Oden, it's the Badgers. I think it will be a team effort. I'm not really too concerned with Oden on the offensive end. I think he'll be neutralized, and held under 15. So he won't be too much of a factor on that end. I'm more worried about the defensive end. He could put a lid on inside baskets for the Badgers, although Tucker has an uncanny knack to not get blocked in the 8-10 foot range. If the Badgers can't score inside, that could spell trouble. They are not as effective when they are limited to outside shooting, as evidenced by Missouri State's zone against them (not a particularly good team against the zone, although not as bad as some). On defense, I'm not worried about inside scoring, or penetrating from Ohio State. Wisconsin seems to contain both. If Ohio State wants to win, they are going to need to snipe from the outside. Wisconsin's weakness on D is defending the 3. Winthrop torched Wisconsin there, and almost pulled off the upset at Kohl this year. Ohio State shoots pretty proficient and efficient in that area, but not great. That's their chance. Ron Lewis and Jamar Butler bombing. They also have the experience edge vs. Ohio State's youngsters. Overall, Wisconsin has the definite experience edge. Plus they have a strong homecourt advantage typically. And Alando Tucker is the most capable of taking this game over by himself, on either team, and he has expanded his range this year. I like Wisconsin by 7 points at home.
 
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I think individually, the Buckeyes have slightly more talent, but it is pretty apparent that they aren't a cohesive team yet. Since Oden has taken the floor, the Bucks have simply outskilled everyone other than Florida. Wisconsin is a good team right now. Bucks still have some group growth to do as they lose by single digits.
 
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Dispatch

Ohio State?s Oden will be the center of attention against Wisconsin
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


W hen Ohio State secured Greg Oden?s commitment to play basketball for the Buckeyes, coach Thad Matta said the program had netted the only 7-footer in that recruiting class who actually wanted to be a center. Wisconsin will try to make him a forward.

Continued....
Click to expand...
 
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