#5 Ohio State 93, #10 Florida 75 (Final)

[MaxBuck]

I have something I need to get off my chest.

The reports of the game are pretty consistent in claiming there was "no defense" played on either side of the court. And while it's undeniable that 61% opponent FG% won't cut the mustard, I think forcing 18 turnovers is evidence that the Buckeyes' defense wasn't entirely absent.

Florida had a big edge in length (David Lighty aside), which made interior defense challenging for us. And Boynton's quickness against our relatively slow-of-foot guards gave him some open looks, both inside and outside. But I don't think we'll see a lot of opponents over 50% from the field the remainder of the season.

As for the Gators playing no D, that I agree with.

 

[bkochmc]

I have something I need to get off my chest.

The reports of the game are pretty consistent in claiming there was "no defense" played on either side of the court. And while it's undeniable that 61% opponent FG% won't cut the mustard, I think forcing 18 turnovers is evidence that the Buckeyes' defense wasn't entirely absent.

Florida had a big edge in length (David Lighty aside), which made interior defense challenging for us. And Boynton's quickness against our relatively slow-of-foot guards gave him some open looks, both inside and outside. But I don't think we'll see a lot of opponents over 50% from the field the remainder of the season.

As for the Gators playing no D, that I agree with.

I think a lot of the Buckeyes defensive complaints stemmed from the inability to stop dribble penetration, especially in the first half. In a way that didn't surprise me much since the only guard known for truly good defense (at least last year) is Lighty. We did hear about Craft's on-ball defensive pressure but as last night showed this isn't AAU anymore. I think he can be good defensively but it will take some time. I don't think Sullinger asserted himself enough inside either but much of that credit goes to Florida's bigs and the way they played offensively, again especially in the first half.

This team looks ready for March on the offensive side of the ball but still has some work on defense.

 

[Steve19]

Personally, what I see of this game is

 

[Dryden]

As the saying goes, 'They've got scholarship players too.' On the positive side OSU won't play anybody of that caliber again until mid/late January, so there's plenty of time to iron out the kinks on the defensive end and integrate the freshmen.

The only thing that continues to frustrate me about the Bucks D is the ungodly clip at which opponents drain threes. It doesn't matter who they play, where, or how well they defend them, but since Matta has been here it seems there is somebody that goes 7 for 10 behind the arc every single flipping game. It has honestly become comical now.

 

[BuckeyeNation27]

As the saying goes, 'They've got scholarship players too.' On the positive side OSU won't play anybody of that caliber again until mid/late January, so there's plenty of time to iron out the kinks on the defensive end and integrate the freshmen.

The only thing that continues to frustrate me about the Bucks D is the ungodly clip at which opponents drain threes. It doesn't matter who they play, where, or how well they defend them, but since Matta has been here it seems there is somebody that goes 7 for 10 behind the arc every single flipping game. It has honestly become comical now.

I've noticed that during both OSU and Syracuse games. For Syracuse it's understandable....what other shots are you going to take against a 2-3 zone. It certainly is annoying as hell, though.

 

[LitlBuck]

I guess we will all never be satisfied until we beat someone 100-0. Florida has some pretty talented players and in a fast-paced game both teams are going to get some wide-open looks. We just got more on the inside than Florida. They also outrebounded us pretty severely in the first half which led to some wide-open outside shots. Personally, I am not that concerned about our defense. Last night, we played a good team who had a couple good outside shooters. I did not see any penetrating and dishing which probably would have concerned me more. Craft will be fine and I thought he did a pretty good job last night. I, for one, am not that concerned about our defense.

 

[jwinslow]

As the saying goes, 'They've got scholarship players too.' On the positive side OSU won't play anybody of that caliber again until mid/late January, so there's plenty of time to iron out the kinks on the defensive end and integrate the freshmen.

The only thing that continues to frustrate me about the Bucks D is the ungodly clip at which opponents drain threes. It doesn't matter who they play, where, or how well they defend them, but since Matta has been here it seems there is somebody that goes 7 for 10 behind the arc every single flipping game. It has honestly become comical now.

boynton was shooting out of his mind, covered or not. This weakness is a consistent one, but I don't think it was the cause last night.

 

[Dryden]

boynton was shooting out of his mind, covered or not.

Right, which is my point. 5 for 8 from a career .300 shooter. I bet he didn't hit that many threes in the pregame shoot-around.

At some point you have to throw defense, scheme, and personel out the window and wonder when is somebody going to shoot their career average from behind the arc against OSU, whether they're guarded or not?

Stevie Wonder would score 24 points on the Buckeyes from behind the line.

It seriously defies explanation!

 

[MaxBuck]

Relative to 3-pt FG% defense, I decided to visit kenpom.com for last year's stats.

Scouting Report
Stats include games against D-I teams only

Category Offense Defense D-I Avg

3P%: 39.0 17 33.7 145 34.2
2P%: 54.8 3 45.1 64 47.7
FT%: 69.7 148 71.0 277 68.9
Block%: 5.8 5 12.2 39 9.2
Steal%: 8.2 33 10.9 82 9.8

To make it easier, our 3-pt FG% against in 2009 was 33.7%, as against a D-1 average of 34.2%. So even with a predominantly zone defense, we were better than average against the 3.

At the same time, our 3-pt offense FG% was 17th best in the nation, and our 2-pt FG% was 3rd best. Last year's Buckeyes were outstanding shooters. It would make more sense to hear these complaints from Buckeye opponent fans than from our own.

To follow the Buckeyes statistically, follow this link: http://kenpom.com/team.php?team=Ohio%20St.

 

[SloopyHangOn]

Too much comparison to Duke in this thread for my taste.

Two different teams, two different coaches, two different styles. At this point any of the top 10 could beat each other on any given court, that's why we play the tournament. The Buckeyes first test was passed with flying colors and with the strength of the BigTen schedule could land us as a #1 seed if this keeps up. Besides, everybody is replacing players and the #2 recruiting class in the country behind tSDS (Kentucky) is a pretty great foundation to reload with. I really think this Craft kid is going to be pretty damn good. We know Sully will pick it up with time and be a candidate for FoY. This team looks hella good, it will be very interesting to see how the BigTen plays out this year.

 

[Jake]

I thought they got their ass beat at the O-Dome, and not Florida Field.

We consider the entire state of Florida "The Swamp".

 

[Jaxbuck]

We consider the entire state of Florida "The Swamp".

Fuckin A

 

[brutus2002]

I have something I need to get off my chest.

The reports of the game are pretty consistent in claiming there was "no defense" played on either side of the court. And while it's undeniable that 61% opponent FG% won't cut the mustard, I think forcing 18 turnovers is evidence that the Buckeyes' defense wasn't entirely absent.

Florida had a big edge in length (David Lighty aside), which made interior defense challenging for us. And Boynton's quickness against our relatively slow-of-foot guards gave him some open looks, both inside and outside. But I don't think we'll see a lot of opponents over 50% from the field the remainder of the season.

As for the Gators playing no D, that I agree with.

I agree bud Florida made several double-pump, around the back, finger tip, hook,reverse shots in the first half...they made more than a few incredible shots.

It was their home floor...scoring 90+ on the road against anybody is impressive. Against great defensive teams we will score mid 70's+ IMO. I don't see offensive lulls either.

We may be a team that outscores their opponents. The only teams I see that can score with us in the B10 are Illinois and MSU...Purdue without Hummel isn't gonna do it.

I see a B10 championship team that will get better defensively and offensively...just think what will happen when Thomas starts getting into the act offensively...freakin scary

 

[DZ83CK]

Right, which is my point. 5 for 8 from a career .300 shooter. I bet he didn't hit that many threes in the pregame shoot-around.

At some point you have to throw defense, scheme, and personel out the window and wonder when is somebody going to shoot their career average from behind the arc against OSU, whether they're guarded or not?

Stevie Wonder would score 24 points on the Buckeyes from behind the line.

It seriously defies explanation!

I think in a lot of ways Florida treated this game as their big nonconference test, and no doubt they were bringing their "A" game as best they could at this point. One thing I'd point to is a game last year. The Gators played Syracuse on a 'neutral' floor in Tampa and also were shooting 3s pretty well from what I remember, but the result was similar - a game that was tight for the first 3/4 (Gators led by 2 with 10 minutes left) somehow resulted in a fairly easy win for the opponent ('Cuse won by 12).

 

[bkochmc]

We know Sully will pick it up with time and be a candidate for FoY.

I'm probably taking this a little to serious but it's more for perspective than anything. If Sully isn't already playing good what's he going to average when he is playing good? Through his first two collegiate 2 games he's averaging 22.5 points and 12 rebounds, that's higher that Turner's clip through last year's first two games (19 pts, 12 reb vs. Alcorn St and JMU). Heck, not even Jim Jackson put up those kinds of numbers in his two All-American years. Yes it is only two games but as long as these two games aren't a fluke he is ready to put up numbers that rival many of Ohio State basketball greats. If he can average 20 points and 10 rebounds throughout the entire season he'll surpass my expectations by a huge margin.