#5 Ohio State 66, Michigan State 64 (Final)

[buckiprof]

Well come ranking time, the AP or other experts dont really look at how you win, just if you win. But I understand what you are saying, for OSU, this was a bad win, but ranking wise, a win is a win.

As for rankings, I have to agree with NFBuck that this team is overrated. I think it has been overrated all year. It's early season high ranking was obviously due to the incredible class that was coming in. But an Oden-less team ranked #1 back in December?!?!? That is being overrated. I now have a sense of what it is like to be a ND football fan .

While the prior paragraph will have some disagreeing, it appears that one thing there may be a consensus on is the lack of leadership. I think we tend to naturally look to Lewis, Butler, or possibly Harris due to their upperclassmen status. Sadly, Lewis seems to have disappeared with the turning of the calendar. Harris isn't IMO a real candidate for the leadership role, which leaves me with Butler. At times I do see flashes of leadership traits from him and I really, really hope that over the next month he does emerge as the team leader that this team needs. If so, then I think that this team could be worthy of its lofty ranking and make a serious run in the NCAA; if not, well I don't envision a deep run in the NCAA tourney.

Neitzel was creeping me out. He looks like a skinhead psycho.

At times I had similar creepiness vibes. A big hats off to Neitezel for his play in the second half. It has been a while since I have seen someone put his team on his back, at a "hostile" arena no less, and almost will his team to a tremendous come-from-behind victory. As a college basketball fan, I enjoyed the heart, will, and skills he showed in the second half.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

I completely disagree. When you're hot nobody can touch you and you come out to a 20 point lead. When you're cold you can't hit anything.....if you have the guts to pull through that cold streak and get the win then you have learned something.

First half FG%:

OSU -- 62.5%
MSU -- 30.0%

Second half FG%:

OSU -- 23.8%
MSU -- 62.5%

It's more than just "We were hot and then we weren't" and "They were cold and then they were hot". MSU came out ready to play in the second half and we came out like the game was over and MSU would roll over. As soon as MSU scored the first 5 points, I knew the game would get way closer that it should. You could see we weren't ready for that and we started taking poor shots, and throwing up threes as soon as we crossed the midcourt line. We played with intensity in the first half and with apprehension in the second....

 

[Jaxbuck]

IMO this team just keeps waiting for the opponent to quit once it builds a good lead. They absolutely lack the proverbial "killer instinct", they just don't know how to close. The disturbing part to me I don't think its due to youth, I think its just the psychological makeup of this team. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

IMO this team just keeps waiting for the opponent to quit once it builds a good lead. They absolutely lack the proverbial "killer instinct", they just don't know how to close.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

two cents

1 theosu went away from what was being succesfull and settled for one or two pass jump shots

2 what is mattas record at home now 46 3? not bad

3 rebounding rebounding rebounding...

 

[Jeffcat]

i agree they lack the killer instinct. ive also noticed that once there is a big lead or they start getting down psychologically they USUALLY just kinda take it(besides wiscy). they held off tennessee and michigan state but in the second half against msu they really did have the quickness in their step and they kinda looked like they were dogging it and msu far and away fought way harder for the ball. nobody could be quick enough to get on neitzel and yes i know he is a great player and whatnot but their were multiple times where he was open and the defense was slow to get a guy on him. once florida got their lead when oden went out the time fell flat as well and kinda let them take it to them. realistically osu should of really lost this game but they lucked out by msu missing a game winning wide open three. i dunno if its youth or what it is but it definitely needs fixed. not all is bad because a W is a W and in the first half they looked outstanding with all of the talent but they need to keep motivated and get rid of the complacency because thats not going to cut it come tourney time.

 

[buckeyes_rock]

IMO this team just keeps waiting for the opponent to quit once it builds a good lead. They absolutely lack the proverbial "killer instinct", they just don't know how to close. The disturbing part to me I don't think its due to youth, I think its just the psychological makeup of this team. Hope I'm wrong.

This is what I've been thinking as well. I alluded to that in my post a few pages earlier when I asked who on this team is going to be "That" guy. When you look at a guy like Neitzel or a Noah down at FL, they're just firery leaders. Granted they're both a little out there, but they get everybody around them pumped up. I don't see anybody on our team like that this year. I want to see these guys chest bumping and pumping fists in the air, but they just seem so reserved. Just personality, I suppose, but without a leader, as so many of us have stated, it's going to be hard to pull out those close ones and fight off the surges. I still think it needs to Butler or Lewis. Those are the vets. I was excited to see Butler hit that one 3 and then blow on his fingers like he was hot. I thought finally some emotion and confidence...then the second half hit...Needs to start with Matta. He needs to light a fire under someones butt!

 

[OSU_Buckguy]

well, if yesterday's game didn't accomplish anything else, it surely accomplished producing a great environment for saturday's game. the breslin center is always raucous. it should be pure pandemonium this weekend. until tournament time, there is rarely a must-win game. this saturday's game should get as close as it comes. the bucks can prove a lot to themselves with their performance against the spartans.

but... there is purdue first. the boilermakers are a good team.

 

[NFBuck]

Another thing to take away from this game in retrospect is that we can play an absolutely horrendous half of basketball and still walk away with a win against a solid Big-10 team. I definately went in to a knee-jerk panic after the game yesterday, but it was a win...even if an ugly one. Now a few thoughts...
- It's been beaten to death, but somebody, anybody needs to take a leadership role. If the vets are unwilling or unable to do it, I hope Conley can. It almost seems like the vets want to defer to the youngsters instead of the other way around...like it should be.
- WTF has happened to Lewis?
- I understand it's a huge part of Matta's game planning, but I wish we would stop jacking up threes so damn much when we are ice cold. We are a good FT shooting team, and that's what seemed to keep this from slipping away. I think a few trips to the line could have quelled that rally a few times yesterday, but we just kept tossing them up.
- Oden is an exceptional player, but Dookie V hit the nail on the head that he needs to improve his footwork. He's a frosh, there are gonna be weaknesses in his game and this is the one that stands out to me.
- We have about six weeks to iron out these kinks before the dance. I trust that Matta will get it done. I think last year we were a big man away (no offense to TDials, but he just couldn't defend guys like Hibbert from GTown) from a nice run last spring, and we have that now.

 

[RhodeIslandBuck]

If anything, complacency will be our downfall.

 

[Mike80]

Another thing to take away from this game in retrospect is that we can play an absolutely horrendous half of basketball and still walk away with a win against a solid Big-10 team. I definately went in to a knee-jerk panic after the game yesterday, but it was a win...even if an ugly one. Now a few thoughts...

I got to read all of it after the fact, but at the time you and I were thinking the same thing so don't feel so badly...

- It's been beaten to death, but somebody, anybody needs to take a leadership role. If the vets are unwilling or unable to do it, I hope Conley can. It almost seems like the vets want to defer to the youngsters instead of the other way around...like it should be.

I think Conley has the personality to do it. Now whether or not he actually takes control is another matter.

WTF has happened to Lewis?

I don't know. Maybe he's fallen into a funk but honestly I think the only reason we see him on the floor for extended stretches is because Daequan Cook hasn't taken the position from him...I think he will come out of it at some point (I hope)

- I understand it's a huge part of Matta's game planning, but I wish we would stop jacking up threes so damn much when we are ice cold. We are a good FT shooting team, and that's what seemed to keep this from slipping away. I think a few trips to the line could have quelled that rally a few times yesterday, but we just kept tossing them up.

I agree 100%. It's annoying at times and they'll go on 3 for 16 stretches. You lose leads that way.

- Oden is an exceptional player, but Dookie V hit the nail on the head that he needs to improve his footwork. He's a frosh, there are gonna be weaknesses in his game and this is the one that stands out to me.

Sometimes I think he tries to force things that aren't there, and then others I don't think he's aggressive enough. I'd love to see what he would become with a full year under his belt...

- We have about six weeks to iron out these kinks before the dance. I trust that Matta will get it done. I think last year we were a big man away (no offense to TDials, but he just couldn't defend guys like Hibbert from GTown) from a nice run last spring, and we have that now.

Dials had no one backing him up really with any size, no offense to Twiggy, but that's the case. As a side note, could you imagine Dials at the PF and Oden as a Center? Damn!

 

[OregonBuckeye]

Neitzel was creeping me out. He looks like a skinhead psycho.

Hahah, me too. Anyone got a screenshot of close-up's on him?

 

[jimotis4heisman]

i mentioned the thing with oden is not so much his footwork, i see postioning as his issue. see my post in the mullens thread...

what happened was msu came out at the half and made the game physical. weve struggled all year with it. go back and watch the fl game. were gonna see a lot of that this year if you ask me...

 

[RCollett]

How about Lil' Jimmy joining the white out! They kept talking about him during the game but I don't remember seeing him.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Man just from looking thru the thread one might think we lost this game...

11 TO's, anywhere under 12 is a job well done, so check in that aspect...

44% from the field is another check...

37% from behind the arc is another check...

79% from the line is another check...

16 asst on 27 of our fgs is another check...

Balanced scoring with Oden(19), Butler(12), Cook(11), Harris(8), Lewis(6), Conley(4), Hunter(4), Twig(2) is another check...

That is 8 guys and 3 in double digits which is another check...

The thing is that the law of percentages came into effect in the second half after we were making all of our shots in the first and then couldnt hit them in the second. That was total opposite for MSU couldnt hit in the first and couldnt miss in the second. The thing it evened out and both teams ended shooting 44%. So it looks like the couple extra 3 pointers we made over them and the couple more foul shots we made besides them turned out to be the difference.

I see that we played very well in the first half and basically played the same game in the second half. The thing is that our shots didnt fall in the second half. Oden missed a couple of the jump hooks in the second half that he made in the first half.

If you look at individual performances...

Oden - He was a game changer in the paint on D. He kept about 10 pts or so off the board that they probably would of scored if he wouldnt of been in there. Was pretty successful on the offense end in the first half and did real well at the line. He missed some jump hooks in the second half and could of made a different moved a time or two and got a dunk, but missed the chance. The thing is he is still learning and MSU was playing physical, and he held his own in there...

Cook - He made some big shots in the first half. Played real well on Morgan on D. Overall a pretty solid game. Games like this are only going to increase his minutes.

Butler - lately he has been looking to shoot more which is a good thing, and he looked to penetrate late in the game and stepped to the line for 3-4 in the last 2 minutes. With a lead he needs the ball in his hands to go to the line down the stretch.

Lewis - He still isnt back to his self, but look at what he does if he gets a couple of his missed 3 to go down in the second half. We arent even discussing his struggling play. Yes we need him to step up at times, and he has had his moments UNC and UT but we need it on a more consistent basis, but with the players he has around him, sometimes when he isnt hitting there are other guys that need to take the role.

Harris - Another solid night. He has really stepped up his game this year and is the most improved on the team.

Conley - He really struggled with Walton's physical D and only attacked the rim twice or so with effectiveness in the whole game. Games like this are good for frosh when they struggle b/c they learn from them. I am guessing no one is more hard on Conley than himself after this game and he will bounce back. I think we struggled in teh second when Conley got his head down.

Hunter - Had another solid game and he is only improving and really hope that he continues to get more and more minutes down the stretch.

Lighty - While he didnt score any he played solid D on Neitzel.

- Overall it sucked the way the game played out as we kicked their teeth in in the first half and then we let them back in the game. Honestly tho it was a great teaching tool for the staff and for a great learning experience for a young team. We really havent put a full game together and when we do we can beat any team in the country. You can't always play great and when you struggle and can still get by with a win it is a great situation...

Also the Schott is quickly becoming a great atmosphere, the wine and cheese crowd were actually on their feet getting loud for quite a bit of the game and it will only get better as the team continues to win more games...Matta 46-3 at home is pretty damn impressive...

Now we go back on the road against a pretty tough team, and another learning experience for the team, and a chance for the leaders to take control of the team. You also have to love the enthusiasm that the players were showing together and the chemistry they seem to be building as a team.