Illinois 70, Ohio State 68 (Final)

[BuckTwenty]

The Big Ten teams have learned how to attack OSU's zone over the past couple of years. We did switch to a man-to-man D really late in the game, but they promptly put hit a 3 on it. We've been playing zone so long and so often that we're not all that great at man-to-man.

I stay stick with the zone. It's our bread and butter on D and it will only get better with familiarity and instincts (and Lighty and conditioning for next year). That said though, it would be bonus if we can switch into a solid man-to-man defense from time to time.

 

[Jaxbuck]

I think Thad is ok for a few more years...a championship appearance and the recuits he continues to bring in are amazing.

My only beef is his stubburness to get out of the zone. Ever since we lost Lighty, the 3 point field goal percentages teams are hitting us with are free-throwesque.

An occasioanl man look, different zone looks, anything would be better than teams being able to prepare for one defense and know exactly what needs to be done to attack it.

As a sinlge example, Northwestern took over after being down 11 with one simple adjustment....they went from a 2-3 match-up zone and occasional man, to a 1-3-1 trapping zone that extended to halfcourt, and never got out of it until the end of the game. That adjustment won them the game, and we never make any adjustments defensively. At what point does a team hitting 50% of their shots behind the arc, force you to try something else??

I don't think his job is in danger or anything but people are going to start bitching about it when they see the SOS over and over. Let next year look like the past two (last one and current which is soon to be over) and he's going to start taking some flak.

As far as the stuborness goes I don't know enough about hoops X's and O's to comment specifically but any coach who is so rigid in a system as to ignore any other style is simply wrong. You have to be able to change on the fly and tailor the system to your talent to be a truely successful coach in any sport.

I blast the two scUM coaches all the time for being scheme coaches. Thad is starting to make me think he isn't any better.

 

[buckeyes_rock]

PJ played his best all around game tonight. Nice to see some confidence build for him with his shot. Simmons looked completely out of sync today. As PJs confidence builds, it seems like Simmons' has plunged.

I really watched Mullens in the zone today...he seems lost at times...guys were flashing right in front of him and he's busy looking around and pointing...he's young and probably didn't play this type of zone in HS, but today he didn't look good in the zone. He had ONE rebound. And speaking of the zone...props to the Illini...they picked us apart at times. They passed the ball very unselfishly and got some looks that were just way too easy. They play great team ball.

The Bucks stuck around today...I was impressed that they hung tough especially when they'd get down 8. Tough game, but I think it came down to too many easy looks and put backs for the Illini.

Gotta stop the bleeding with a win against PSU! Go Bucks!

 

[Jake]

Just so frustrating, because the team is right there...talent is there, but just not getting it done...

We have 2 juco point guards, one of whom wasn't expected to play much at all until Crater quit. Our most experienced player, and best defender, broke his foot in December. We play a 7 man rotation, with the occasional 8th man being a very limited transfer from Vanderbilt. We rely heavily on two freshmen and 2 sophomores for production.

I don't think this team is as talented overall, especially considering depth and experience, as we want to believe, and we get almost nothing from the PG position. If we win 20 games this year, which is still very possible, I think that's about as much as could reasonably be expected given everthing else. And that's not even looking at the guys who left early the last 2 years.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

We have 2 juco point guards, one of whom wasn't expected to play much at all until Crater quit. Our most experienced player, and best defender, broke his foot in December. We play a 7 man rotation, with the occasional 8th man being a very limited transfer from Vanderbilt. We rely heavily on two freshmen and 2 sophomores for production.

I don't think this team is as talented overall, especially considering depth and experience, as we want to believe, and we get almost nothing from the PG position. If we win 20 games this year, which is still very possible, I think that's about as much as could reasonably be expected given everthing else. And that's not even looking at the guys who left early the last 2 years.

i will disagree here...

Well lets first start with Turner...Probably Big Ten player of the year...

We have 3 guys that are consistently scoring the ball, and we have big guys inside that just can't get over the hump, and Simmons who hasn't been able to find his shot for almost all year, and then some role players in Madsen and Hill...

The places where we lack are areas that obviously come with more experience, and with the whole year almost done, you would think these things, like lack of positioning, turnovers, confidence issues, understanding the defense we are playing, understanding the offense, understanding each other, would be getting better...They seem to be getting worse...

And for heavensake we all know we are not getting out of the zone...We are already playing 3 guys 40 minutes/game we can't have them running all over the floor chasing guys, and what is so hard to see that we suck at man to man principles...Matta knows basketball, he is not a scheme coach, he plays to his strengths and the hand that he is dealt with the guys he has...He tried to play man in preseason camp, but it was not happening...

the one thing I disagree with is him not playing Offut more, but he is seeing him practice day in and day out, but just like last year, I thought Hill, Lauderdale, Wallace should of saw more time...

 

[Jake]

i will disagree here...

Well lets first start with Turner...Probably Big Ten player of the year...

We have 3 guys that are consistently scoring the ball, and we have big guys inside that just can't get over the hump, and Simmons who hasn't been able to find his shot for almost all year, and then some role players in Madsen and Hill...

The places where we lack are areas that obviously come with more experience, and with the whole year almost done, you would think these things, like lack of positioning, turnovers, confidence issues, understanding the defense we are playing, understanding the offense, understanding each other, would be getting better...They seem to be getting worse...

And for heavensake we all know we are not getting out of the zone...We are already playing 3 guys 40 minutes/game we can't have them running all over the floor chasing guys, and what is so hard to see that we suck at man to man principles...Matta knows basketball, he is not a scheme coach, he plays to his strengths and the hand that he is dealt with the guys he has...He tried to play man in preseason camp, but it was not happening...

the one thing I disagree with is him not playing Offut more, but he is seeing him practice day in and day out, but just like last year, I thought Hill, Lauderdale, Wallace should of saw more time...

You said you were disagreeing with me, but you agreed with a lot of what I said. You say they're getting worse but I would point to what you said about guys playing 40 minutes/game. Fatigue leads to sloppy play. The lack of depth and the void at PG contribute to those things.

I dont know much about Offut so I can't comment there.

When we were 17-5,7-4 I thought we were getting a lot out of what we have this season, having lost 2 guys in late December. The last 8 days have put a damper on things with 3 close losses but it's not over, yet. Our boys need a win to get their confidence back and it sure would be nice to get it versus Penn State.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Every time we get close, illini get a basket

Story of the game. I thought the guys played very well yesterday, just ran into a team that knocked down the shots when they had the opportunity. The 3 putback lay-ins plus Frazier's bombs were kicks to the gut. The 2nd half defense, IMO, was much better with limiting that soft spot in the zone where Mike Davis was settling, but UI knocked down the shots they got.

At one point, Illinois was up by 8 and shooting 9-17 from 3 while OSU was 6-17 from 3. Switch the shooting lines and OSU is up 10. Just one of those games where things just fell wrong. I was exasperated, frustrated, and pissed-off Wednesday night. Not yesterday.

Really need to finish strong by beating the teams they need to beat. Win against PSU, NW, and @Iowa and they'll finish 20-10 (10-8). Thet just can't afford to give away any of those 3 games, though. A win at Purdue would be a hugh bonus.

 

[xcrunner]

IMO some people are being too hard on Thad. There are some problems with this team.. But let's face it the guy has a tough job. He has continually had to replace key members of his team.. It sucks to coach a team of freshman with growing pains, see the future is bright, then they all leave before they're even really that good, and do it all again.. And again. It takes time to really build a program, you need some players like Oden who are definitely going to leave early, and then some others like Diebler who are going to play great ball for 4 years. Matta is working on getting both. Unfortunately some people are leaving who left before really contributing, like Koufos.. Maybe BJ will leave early as well which would just be the exact same thing over again.

So yeah I would love if we would be able to throw in some man, but there's just no way we can afford it with no depth, and they'd have to learn the fundamentals of zone AND man and our best players are young...

That being said this team can do some huge damage in the tourney if we make it. Just gotta beat PSU at home.

 

[BB73]

tOSU only had 9 turnovers and they outrebounded Illinois. The team shot 11-14 from the FT line (very good), 6 of 17 from the 3-point line (OK), and over 50% on 2-point shots. Given all those numbers, it's hard to believe they got beat. But Illinois really worked the ball well against the zone, and they also shot very well.

Matta's comments yesterday about how much better the zone looked in practice recently, with Lighty yelling at guys and shoving them around, were quite telling. The team misses their defensive floor general.

He also said that Lighty was nowhere near being ready to play.

 

[BuckTwenty]

ESPN - Bracketology

Don't take it as gospel, but Ohio State is still ranked as a #9 seed in the latest Bracketology that came out today. Rickerdadi (sp?) on The Fan thinks we're out. I say stay positive y'all. Lots of basketball still to be played.

 

[Tlangs]

i will disagree here...

Well lets first start with Turner...Probably Big Ten player of the year...

No way turner should be POY. He has played poorly in too many big games. He seems to always get 4-8 points late in games that are already decided. His statline looks impressive on paper but doesn't translate when you watch him on the court. He is just too inconsistent.

 

[brutus2002]

I know I am gonna be bashed for saying this but I hope we go to the NIT. I think we would have a great chance of winning it. We might make it to the round of 16 in the NCAA's. I think the NIT would be a great chance for us to get some good teazm experience.

I think Thad is a victim of his own recruiting. We need to start recruiting guys that stay for 4 years...this one and done is biting us in the ass...the depth of our team shows this. Ohio and Michigan are loaded with talent. I think Thad needs to stay away from guys he knows are gone in 1 year. Thats hard too do when you can recruit like he does.

IMO Crater transferring and Lighty getting hurt cost us 4 games. We would be a 3-5 loss team if both these guys were playing right now.

Don't believe the ESPN bullshit. The B10 is awesome this year. Michigan gave UConn everything it had at their place. I think the B10 is gonna make some serious noise in the NCAA's and the NIT. Who in the country would want to play NW, OSU, Michigan, or Minnesota? I bet there would be very few hands waving for that. Realize the talent this conference has and realize .500 in our conference would be a 1-3 loss team in the SEC or PAC-10...heck I don't think the B12 is that great either.

This crazy talk of getting rid of Matta is simply idiotic. All I know is we are a 2 seasons removed from playing for a NC...If our guys stay for next season we could have aserious chance next year. We need a NC calibre PG. Thats wht we lack on this team. If all you did was add Jamar Butler to this team they would be amazing.

 

[tsteele316]

ESPN - Bracketology

Don't take it as gospel, but Ohio State is still ranked as a #9 seed in the latest Bracketology that came out today. Rickerdadi (sp?) on The Fan thinks we're out. I say stay positive y'all. Lots of basketball still to be played.

while this has no bearing on osu's fate overall, riccordati is a raging doltbag, and that is being kind.

 

[billmac91]

Joe Lunardi is pretty money, and he says in almost every case, if you're in a power conference and finish .500 or better in conference play, you are in.

Bucks still have some work to do, but I think .500 in Big 10 play sneaks them in.

Part of that formula also means teams like Gonzaga or St. Mary's, Memphis, etc. win their conference tourney and teams like Indiana/Georgia make miraculous runs for the conference tournament championship.

 

[brutus2002]

The sad part is I see Iowa and Indiana getting much better. Our conference is 9 deep with the 2 weakest teams getting better every day.