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Iowa +x.5 at tOSU (ov/un xxx.5) Tues 6:30 BTN

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I think I'm going to go gather up the garbage - see if I can find something in the litter box that will take the bad taste out of my mouth.
 
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This Buckeye team needs to hang on to the basketball...good thing Urban isn't looking to steal a wide receiver from Matta. Unbelievable how bad their hands are. And this team really needs to learn how to play from ahead...when they are up and they try to use the shot clock on offense, nothing good seems to happen.
 
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Bolded = not good
-- Shannon Scott had two of the five turnovers Ohio State had in a span of five possessions in the second half, during which Iowa scored nine straight points to cut a 24-point deficit to 15. After the second turnover, a way-too-high alley-oop pass to Sam Thompson that sailed out of bounds, Matta replaced Scott in the lineup.

Though Iowa continued to press and trap the Buckeyes the length of the court, Scott never got back on the floor until 2:30 remained, after the Hawkeyes had drawn within five points, 63-58. Matta stuck with only one point guard, Aaron Craft.

Matta said he had two reasons.

First, "I was trying to get free throw shooters in there," Matta said. Scott is making fewer than 60 percent of his free throws for the season. Craft made eight of 10 free throws in the last nine minutes.

Second, Matta said, "I was thinking more along the defensive end and rebounding down that stretch there."

At that stage of the game, Iowa was pressing with a lineup that included one point guard, three forwards and a center. Matta countered with big wings Lenzelle Smith Jr., Sam Thompson and LaQuinton Ross, forward Deshaun Thomas and centers Amir Williams and Evan Ravenel.

Ohio State outrebounded Iowa 19-17 in the second half but still gave up 11 offensive rebounds and 14 second-chance points. The Hawkeyes had 22 offensive rebounds and 24 second-chance points for the game.
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http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/content/blogs/hoops-and-scoops/2013/01/01-23-13-postgame-iowa.html
 
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Iowa beat tOSU everywhere but on the scoreboard. Waaay too many turnovers, even the usually stingy Craft had several (5?), plus Scott and Ross in crunch time. Cannot happen against an upper echelon team (like most of the B10) and expect to win.

Amir with ZERO rebounds! Wow. But what really makes that statistic stink is that while he didn't corral any caroms, he wasn't boxing out. Actually, not to point the finger, but no one was blocking/boxing out on the boards. Iowa out hustled the tOSU players whoever was on the court. Hats off to the Hawkeyes. They just gave everyone a recipe for beating us. NOthing subtle about it, either. If our threes aren't dropping, then the Buckeyes are toast. Apart from several drives from Craft and Scott, and some great put-backs by Thomas, there wasn't awhole lot of production in the paint. For all Sam-I-am's thunderous dunks, he's merely 6'7", and cannot rebound with the big boys, but can get the rebounds in the 6-7 foot range (away from teh basket). Ravenal has the basketball smarts, but not the ability, and Amir has the ability but not the basketball smarts to position themselves where the boards will be.

When Matta goes 'small', OSU better be hitting, or we're one-and-done on our end of the court. Finally, it seemed to me that Quentin Ross was 'playing scared'. It seemed like he'd fidget or twitch when he made a mistake, missed a shot, turn-over, as if he almost expected to get yanked for messing up. Reading the recap of the game pretty much confirmed that Matta was going to give him his minutes, come heck or high water. Wish he would have communicated that to Ross, might have been easier on the young man. I don't really think that Matta can 'go big'. When he plays Scott and Craft together, he's usually got a 'small' 3 and a 'small' 4 to go with his 'big' 5, and that doesn't spell board control.

Chris Jent is definitely earning his money as the shooting coach. If the Buckeyes don't hit outside, tOSU doesn't win. Here's hoping this week is 'learn to box out' your man and then go toward the ball week. tOSU cannot go against 4 bigs and one small like Iowa every night and expect to win many more, especially when tOSU is away.

:gobucks3::gobucks4::banger:
 
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MaxBuck;2296081; said:
Boxing out is overrated. What isn't overrated is passion to get the rebound. It's why Lenzelle Smith gets as many boards as he does. He doesn't block out; he just muscles his way to where the ball is going.
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This is why it's hard to pick between Slam and Q. Slam defends very well on the perimeter, but Q is a step behind. Both have difficulties rebounding/being physical. Q adds an offensive punch but is slow on the other end. Slam provides some O but is better at the defensive end. If Matta could morph these two together, All American NPOTY. Oh to make 3 million a year and decide...
 
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TDunk;2296092; said:
This is why it's hard to pick between Slam and Q. ... Both have difficulties rebounding...
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I think you'll find Q has over two more rebounds per 40-minute equivalent played (7.8 vs. 5.6) than does Sam. He seems better able to insinuate himself between opponents to grab the ball.

Given Q's far superior offensive production and improving D, I'd like to see him getting a lot more of Thompson's minutes.
 
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