Ohio State 48, Iowa 53 (Final)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

This has nothing to due with trust, it is about some nights your main group does not have it and adjustments need to be made, including going to your bench and trying different looks on defense and offense......lack of execution out of a timeout with the game on the line is not a good sign for that group of players.......if you can not see this, I am shocked. It is a lack of execution which leads to a lack of production. We have one of the best man to man defenders in the league in Lighty and we take away half of his impact on the game by not playing man to man......

Lauderdale made plays in his 3-4 minutes last night....he was a man inside and brought some intensity......Wallace when he has had opportunities has been productive.....it is time for some changes in the line-up. There is absolutely no excuses for not being ready to play.......pathetic performance.

 

[Best Buckeye]

Johnson Powers Hawkeyes Past Buckeyes

Lickliter's squad celebrates Carver's 25th with big-time victory

Todd Lickliter won the second round of this year's home-and-home with friend Thad Matta, the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Sans Serif]Men's Basketball Home[/FONT]

IOWA CITY -- On a night in which the University of Iowa celebrated its 25th year in Carver Hawkeye Arena, the men's basketball team defeated Ohio State 53-48 to improve to 11-12 and 4-6 in Big Ten play. With the loss, the Buckeyes fall to 15-7 overall and 6-3 in the conference.


"There's a lot of lessons to be learned in athletics," Iowa coach Todd Lickliter said. "When we went over there, we really weren't in the game. We could have been deflated but I think we responded well. For the most part we were poised and patient." Both coaching staffs wore sneakers with their suits to help support the American Cancer Society and the Coaches versus Cancer program and both coaching staffs watched Iowa's Justin Johnson give a monumental performance with 24 points, three assists and seven rebounds. All of Johnson's points came from behind the three-point line. His eight three-point shots were one off the school record and he has hit that mark twice this season.

 

[LitlBuck]

is KK that bad of a defensive player?

I think that could be the answer below we probably will never know.

 

[BUCKYLE]

I think some people were spoiled by last years freshman.

 

[LitlBuck]

There is absolutely no excuses for not being ready to play.......pathetic performance.

I agree! I can't talk about this game anymore or I will have to go back to sleep.

 

[Best Buckeye]

I think some people were spoiled by last years freshman.

Absolutely right BUCKYLE and we were/had big expectations for this class considering the recruiting hoopla. read my post 198.

edit for BUCKYLE: And make sure you do read it.

 

[BUCKYLE]

... read my post 198.

Don't tell me what to do.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I am disappointed with some of you guys...

Jamar was so wrong in his comments...Does he remember his freshmen season and what he was doing...Maybe he should take a look in the mirror...You don't handle this shit in the media, you handle it behind closed door in the locker room...

The loss was on his shoulders as much as anyone elses...He was out there missing shots, just like everyone else, he wasn't closing out on shoulders just like everyone else...It is like he is the team and everyone around him is not doing anything right...

I understand the frustration, losing sucks, especially to a team you are better than and already beat by 30...But you gotta give credit to Iowa they had a good game plan, they were mehtodical in what they did, they took care of the ball unlike they have all year, they made their shots at a much better clip than they had all year...

Some are giving up on guys that are only playing their 22nd game in their career...What would of happened last year if we would of gave up on Lighty...We might not of won the games we did int he tourney...

What would of happened if we gave up on Jamar because of his poor freshmen season...Do you get my point, the potential is there we can all see it, it is just a matter of ups and downs...

Some here think they could coach this team better than Thad, he has a history that shows that his teams are best at the end of the season, that his teams always win 20 games...He understand why is doing what he is doing...It is easy to criticize from a distance...

They have been in the zone all season, there was no reason to go man to man like some of you are clamoring at...We were rebounding last night effectively...We are a zone team, and will be all season, it has nothing to do with us not having the athletes to play man, it just has to do with us being more effective in the zone because of our length...I have also seen people say you can't be a good team playing zone all the time...You guys do remember 'Cuse winning the NC a couple years ago playing zone defense...

But Butler needs to let other guys get involved, he is the PG of the team he needs to get the guys the ball that need it...He needs to realize that when we are in a drought and not hitting our shots that maybe we should look inside...

KK and Hunter were effective on the inside, but we didn't go to them enough because Butler was forcing up 3's when that was not the best shot, but I guess that is what happen when you are the team and no one else is any good...

There are a reason young kids turn to their senior, and for criticism in the media and calling them out is not one...


The season is not over, we still have teams coming to the Schott that give us the ability to add quality wins, our RPI is no joke we are much higher than teams that are ranked in the AP...We knock off teams like IU, MSU, etc. we will be in the big dance...We have the talent to make noise, we just need to put it together and if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen, but I still have faith that we will, just need guys to play together and not seperate from one another...

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CB40....with all due respect I could debate your points and get into a long discussion......I will say this.....I have no problem losing to a team when we put forth 100% effort and are prepared to play......I do have an issue when a team we beat by 31 is suddenly 36 points better in less than a month due to the simple, undisputed fact that most of our "young" players did not make the trip mentally.

Purdue is playing mostly puppies but are somehow at the top of the Big Ten......Ohio State is not young at this point, they have played enough D-1 games to realize how to be prepared.......honestly......be realistic.......would changing to man for a few trips really kill us? Quite possibly it would force them to go around us and not just shoot uncontested shots from the perimeter......give them a different look......it is not a new concept to make adjustments when one kid makes 8 threes by himself.....hey maybe they should focus on him....just a thought.
Effort and intensity has been lacking in most of the games this year.......
I really like your comment about critizing from a distance......I personally give them credit when they play well and state my opinion when I think they put forth a poor performance.........Coach Matta chewed their behinds in three seperate time outs and still they showed little to no emotion......

 

[crazybuckfan40]

CB40....with all due respect I could debate your points and get into a long discussion......I will say this.....I have no problem losing to a team when we put forth 100% effort and are prepared to play......I do have an issue when a team we beat by 31 is suddenly 36 points better in less than a month due to the simple, undisputed fact that most of our "young" players did not make the trip mentally.

We knew it was coming tho...We all saw it...Iowa was no where near as bad as they were when they played here, we didnt hit our shots they hit theirs...Shit happens, I don't think it had to do with us not making the trip mentally...If Butler and Matta can go back and say these guys were mentally prepared after the game, well then why they hell were they in the game...Why not go down the bench a little farther???

Purdue is playing mostly puppies but are somehow at the top of the Big Ten......Ohio State is not young at this point, they have played enough D-1 games to realize how to be prepared

I understand what you are saying here, but Purdue has vets that are bringing the young guys along and have a kid in Moore that has not shown the freshmen game...He is ready for the college game, much like our guys were last year...Even our best frosh Turner has had his ups and downs and didn't play well at Iowa...

.......honestly......be realistic.......would changing to man for a few trips really kill us? Quite possibly it would force them to go around us and not just shoot uncontested shots from the perimeter......give them a different look......it is not a new concept to make adjustments when one kid makes 8 threes by himself.....hey maybe they should focus on him....just a thought.

Understandable, but how would we of played in man...Iowa gameplanned to get Johnson shots, which he was able to get...At the same time we were holding them to not shooting the ball well, and shot clock violations...We have no idea how it would of went if we went man, they could of started getting easy baskets inside...It isn't like they were blowing us out of the water...

Effort and intensity has been lacking in most of the games this year.......
I really like your comment about critizing from a distance......I personally give them credit when they play well and state my opinion when I think they put forth a poor performance.........Coach Matta chewed their behinds in three seperate time outs and still they showed little to no emotion......

I understand, but we have seen that this team has fed off the home crowd, they struggle on the road, it is not that they aren't trying...Iowa had a great game plan with their methodical game plan that slowed the game down and made it seem like what we were doing was not as bad as what it was...

 

[Jaxbuck]

Its not like Butler flew off the handle at the first sign of adversity. He's been patient as has Matta but at this point in the season the hand holding needs to stop, they must be held accountable if their is a lack of effort. If it was a case of Butler being a prima donna why was Thad screaming at them for the same stuff?

Jamar is getting his first taste of parenthood, its not easy to keep your cool when kids don't listen. You can only say the same thing so many times nicely before you just have to go off on them. Funny thing is how often an ass ripping gets the desired behavior. Lets hope it goes that way with these kids.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Its not like Butler flew off the handle at the first sign of adversity. He's been patient as has Matta but at this point in the season the hand holding needs to stop, they must be held accountable if their is a lack of effort. If it was a case of Butler being a prima donna why was Thad screaming at them for the same stuff?

I understand what you are saying, but you don't do it in public...You embarrass your teenage son/daughter in public and they will stray even farther from what you told them to do...

It is no about hand holding...I am all for a good ass chewing, and all for the senior stepping up and leading the way in the ass chewing...Getting in players faces at practice, locker room, etc...

With all that said I have the problem with how he did it, and the fact that it seems he holds himself above his team...It should be we didn't have the mind set, we need to step up and hit our open shots, we need to step up and not make mistakes, etc...This lose was on his shoulders just as much as everyones else...

Jamar is getting his first taste of parenthood, its not easy to keep your cool when kids don't listen. You can only say the same thing so many times nicely before you just have to go off on them. Funny thing is how often an ass ripping gets the desired behavior. Lets hope it goes that way with these kids.

I am not saying that it won't work, and honestly my thoughts after the game and have been is we still have games that are going to propel us into the tourney left on the schedule and at home where we play much better...

I think we will start to play better, but I don't think it will have to do with Butler's public comments...

You guys do remember his freshmen season on the road at Illinois, when I think he shit down his leg and Matta couldn't get him off the court fast enough...

 

[BengalsAndBucks]

They have been in the zone all season, there was no reason to go man to man like some of you are clamoring at...We were rebounding last night effectively...We are a zone team, and will be all season, it has nothing to do with us not having the athletes to play man, it just has to do with us being more effective in the zone because of our length...I have also seen people say you can't be a good team playing zone all the time...You guys do remember 'Cuse winning the NC a couple years ago playing zone defense...

And the criticism with the zone has always been that teams can shoot you out of it.

I saw nothing in either the first game against Iowa or the first half yesterday to lead me to believe that if we had reduced their open shots on the perimeter that they could have scored on a consistent basis. The only two effective scorers on their team were Gorney when he was making open perimeter shots and Johnson. Sure they were doing a pretty good job getting Johnson open shots, but on about half of his uncontested threes he just drifted to a lax spot in the zone and we didn't get out on him, where if we were in man we would have been there. Its not like he is the next Drew Neitzel drilling shots as he comes around screens, all of his makes were set shots and so maybe you make him force some shots coming off screens and see what happens.

I am not advocating that the zone is bad, I love our zone, but you have to make adjustments. If they start beating us worse in man than they were in zone you go right back to the zone, but I don't see why you wouldn't at least try it to open the second half. Maybe we shut down Johnson we take away some momentum and we win that game, maybe not, but there is not really any reason why they shouldn't have done something. Its like if your leg is bleeding and their is one thing you could try, the two possible outcomes are you stop the bleeding or you worsen the bleeding and bleed to death, but if you don't try anything you bleed to death anyways, why wouldn't you try to stop the bleeding?

I agree with you on Butler's comments, you say that stuff to your teammates in the locker room or the meeting room but you don't go and publically embarass them in the media. Jamar should remember his freshman struggles.

I don't think I can do a better job than Thad, but I do think that he should have made some adjustments in that game. Its one game and I wouldn't trade Thad for anyone, but that doesn't mean he is always perfect and never wrong and that we can't criticize him when he is wrong.

 

[BUCKYLE]

I don't think I can do a better job than Thad, but I do think that he should have made some adjustments in that game. Its one game and I wouldn't trade Thad for anyone, but that doesn't mean he is always perfect and never wrong and that we can't criticize him when he is wrong.

The question is, is there a coach out there better that would ever come to tOSU and play second fiddle to football. I think we all know the answer to that. I'm just thankfull we have him. That doesn't make him perfect, but, imo, it makes him off limits from the likes of me questioning him.

 

[LitlBuck]

]

I understand what you are saying here, but Purdue has vets that are bringing the young guys along and have a kid in Moore that has not shown the freshmen game...He is ready for the college game, much like our guys were last year...Even our best frosh Turner has had his ups and downs and didn't play well at Iowa...

Look at our starting lineup of Hunter (Senior), Lighty (sophomore who played in some big games last year), KK (significant international experience), Butler (senior), and Turner (freshman). We only have two freshmen in our starting lineup and one of those guys has significant international experience and has played with older guys. Lighty is not a typical sophomore. He did play with the Big 10 traveling team over the summer. I will grant you that Hunter is not a typical senior but he has played on a team with older guys for 4 years. My point is that we are not that young but that keeps on being brought out.