Connor Lemons
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How the turns have tabled: Bonner’s big shot finally put Ohio State on the other side of heartbreak
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Dale Young-USA TODAY Sports
For once, it was Ohio State that got the big shot from an unexpected hero, instead of it being the other way around.
Five minutes after Dale Bonner’s three-pointer with 0.2 seconds left on the clock silenced the Breslin Center and its crowd of nearly 15,000 green and white-clad fans, the majority Michigan State media contingent sat in the post-game media room, stunned at what they just witnessed. Not because Michigan State had lost — they watched the Spartans fall at home to Iowa not even a week earlier, too — but because of who did it.
“4.4?” one person asked, hoping someone would confirm Bonner’s points per game before officially adding it to their game story or presumably tweeting it out.
“Yup. And 31% shooting overall. Unbelievable.”
“He started for them too, right?”
“No.”
“27.7% from three before that, and that’s on volume — he’s taking 2.5 of ‘em per game.”
As they updated their gamers with Bonner’s season stats to paint the picture of just how unlikely the ending was to Ohio State’s 60-57 win, the few media members who made the drive from Columbus to East Lansing had to have been holding in a chuckle. If Ohio State fans could’ve heard, they would’ve laughed, too. Because this Ohio State team has been getting killed all season long by the Dale Bonners of the Big Ten.
On Sunday, rent came due.
Does the name Leo O’Boyle ring a bell? When Penn State roared back on Dec. 8 and beat Ohio State 83-80 despite trailing by 18 in the second half, O’Boyle was the unexpected hero. The graduate transfer from Lafayette came into that game having scored 21 points over the first 9 games — an average of 2.3 points per game. But on that night, he went 4-of-5 from three and scored 15 points to give Penn State the win. In the 18 games since, O’Boyle has scored exactly 15 points — 0.8 points per game.
How about CJ Gunn? Indiana’s sophomore guard was averaging 3.1 points per game when the Hoosiers and Buckeyes met in Assembly Hall on Jan. 6. Against Ohio State, he played a season-high 24 minutes, scored a then season-high 10 points, and even knocked down his fifth three-pointer of the year in the 15th game of the season. Since then, Gunn has turned it up a bit, and has averaged 4.1 points per game in the 11 games since beating the Buckeyes.
Sticking with the Hoosiers, how can we forget Anthony Leal? Not even three weeks ago, Indiana walked into the Schottenstein Center having lost four of its last five games and with its season in a spiral. Mike Woodson’s team fell behind by 18 in Columbus but stormed back and won the game on a three-pointer from Leal with 22 seconds remaining in the game. Coming into that game, Leal had taken 14 shots in the 10 games he’d played in. He’d knocked down five of his nine three-point tries on the season, but was averaging 2.7 points per game. But on that day, he hit the biggest shot of the season for Indiana — it was the only shot he took that game.
Leal has appeared in four games for the Hoosiers since then and has scored four points. He has missed all five of his three-point attempts.
Ohio State was able to fend off Maryland in double overtime on February 10, but it wasn’t without a battle from sophomore big man Mady Traore. Maryland’s 6-foot-11 French center made his first start of the season against Ohio State after appearing in seven of Maryland’s first 23 games and scoring four points. He quadrupled his season high against the Buckeyes with eight points and doubled his season rebound total. His eight points weren’t a game-changer, but it certainly helped and came from a source nobody expected. Since then, Traore has appeared in two of Maryland’s four games and has scored two points.
So when Ohio State found itself in a position to win the game Sunday afternoon in a venue that they have not emerged victorious from in 12 years, having Dale Bonner be the one to hit the shot wasn’t just cathartic, it was correct. It was a balancing of the scales that had, to this point in the season, been disproportionately hurting Ohio State. It was water finding its level after watching so many players play above and beyond their normal lines and hit shots against the Buckeyes that they otherwise have not been hitting this season.
This time, it was Ohio State’s turn to get a big shot from someone who had no business hitting that shot, in an arena where that shot hasn’t fallen in over a decade.
Unless you ask Devin Royal, of course.
“He does this in practice,” Royal said of Bonner after the game. “He hits these all the time.”
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Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Dale Young-USA TODAY Sports
For once, it was Ohio State that got the big shot from an unexpected hero, instead of it being the other way around.
Five minutes after Dale Bonner’s three-pointer with 0.2 seconds left on the clock silenced the Breslin Center and its crowd of nearly 15,000 green and white-clad fans, the majority Michigan State media contingent sat in the post-game media room, stunned at what they just witnessed. Not because Michigan State had lost — they watched the Spartans fall at home to Iowa not even a week earlier, too — but because of who did it.
“4.4?” one person asked, hoping someone would confirm Bonner’s points per game before officially adding it to their game story or presumably tweeting it out.
“Yup. And 31% shooting overall. Unbelievable.”
“He started for them too, right?”
“No.”
“27.7% from three before that, and that’s on volume — he’s taking 2.5 of ‘em per game.”
As they updated their gamers with Bonner’s season stats to paint the picture of just how unlikely the ending was to Ohio State’s 60-57 win, the few media members who made the drive from Columbus to East Lansing had to have been holding in a chuckle. If Ohio State fans could’ve heard, they would’ve laughed, too. Because this Ohio State team has been getting killed all season long by the Dale Bonners of the Big Ten.
On Sunday, rent came due.
Does the name Leo O’Boyle ring a bell? When Penn State roared back on Dec. 8 and beat Ohio State 83-80 despite trailing by 18 in the second half, O’Boyle was the unexpected hero. The graduate transfer from Lafayette came into that game having scored 21 points over the first 9 games — an average of 2.3 points per game. But on that night, he went 4-of-5 from three and scored 15 points to give Penn State the win. In the 18 games since, O’Boyle has scored exactly 15 points — 0.8 points per game.
How about CJ Gunn? Indiana’s sophomore guard was averaging 3.1 points per game when the Hoosiers and Buckeyes met in Assembly Hall on Jan. 6. Against Ohio State, he played a season-high 24 minutes, scored a then season-high 10 points, and even knocked down his fifth three-pointer of the year in the 15th game of the season. Since then, Gunn has turned it up a bit, and has averaged 4.1 points per game in the 11 games since beating the Buckeyes.
Sticking with the Hoosiers, how can we forget Anthony Leal? Not even three weeks ago, Indiana walked into the Schottenstein Center having lost four of its last five games and with its season in a spiral. Mike Woodson’s team fell behind by 18 in Columbus but stormed back and won the game on a three-pointer from Leal with 22 seconds remaining in the game. Coming into that game, Leal had taken 14 shots in the 10 games he’d played in. He’d knocked down five of his nine three-point tries on the season, but was averaging 2.7 points per game. But on that day, he hit the biggest shot of the season for Indiana — it was the only shot he took that game.
Leal has appeared in four games for the Hoosiers since then and has scored four points. He has missed all five of his three-point attempts.
Ohio State was able to fend off Maryland in double overtime on February 10, but it wasn’t without a battle from sophomore big man Mady Traore. Maryland’s 6-foot-11 French center made his first start of the season against Ohio State after appearing in seven of Maryland’s first 23 games and scoring four points. He quadrupled his season high against the Buckeyes with eight points and doubled his season rebound total. His eight points weren’t a game-changer, but it certainly helped and came from a source nobody expected. Since then, Traore has appeared in two of Maryland’s four games and has scored two points.
So when Ohio State found itself in a position to win the game Sunday afternoon in a venue that they have not emerged victorious from in 12 years, having Dale Bonner be the one to hit the shot wasn’t just cathartic, it was correct. It was a balancing of the scales that had, to this point in the season, been disproportionately hurting Ohio State. It was water finding its level after watching so many players play above and beyond their normal lines and hit shots against the Buckeyes that they otherwise have not been hitting this season.
This time, it was Ohio State’s turn to get a big shot from someone who had no business hitting that shot, in an arena where that shot hasn’t fallen in over a decade.
Unless you ask Devin Royal, of course.
“He does this in practice,” Royal said of Bonner after the game. “He hits these all the time.”
Continue reading...