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Ohio State 55, North Carolina 66 (Final)

buckeyemania11;1010438; said:
took a dump in the second half again
I wouldn't say took a dump... just inconsistency, especially by the freshman. The effort was definitely there tonight for most of the game. This game also showed the freshmen (especially Kofous) how physical the college game is and what to expect in the Big Ten.
 
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-You can see all the pieces are there offensively, its just not clicking yet.

-Defense seems far ahead of where they were last year at this time.

-The deep cold spells this team can go into are a bit disconcerting but overall I think by tourney time no one is going to want to play us.
 
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two things:

1) The shooting is painful to watch.

2) Koufos is definitely not a lottery pick.. at least at this point.

A couple poistives were the emergence of Diebler finally finding his shot and the overall team defense was very good.

Does KK have a 5 inch vertical?
 
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Well, when they go cold they keep trying to throw up a miracle instead of just slowing down. It has that same "live and die by the three" feel they had for a good portion of last year. Overall, we are what I expected us to be, a young team with a lot of energy that needs some work. Matta will get them under control, we're good but I don't think we are going to good deep into the tourny, but we'll see what experience does for us over the season.
 
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we have a lot of potential, but im not getting on the high diebler horse just yet...he needs more of these games to impress me, koufos....my God. he can be the most dominant center in the league. that will hopefully come with time....we looked good, but had no answer for ellington. he hit everything, and it didnt help that EVERY bounce or roll went carolinas way. its good we have a tough stretch still to go and the big ten looks competitive this year with michigan state and indiana....we'll get it together!!!
 
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I'll say it again - excellent skill energy but not enough control. No rebounding position. No shot selection. No spacing on offense.

Matta gets them under control, and this will be a damn good team.
agreed on those observations.

It'd be nice if the Bucks could hit some of these 4-5 footers. Butler's floaters, Lighty's drives, Koufos' shots...these shots have to be finished around the basket.
 
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I would attribute most of it to playing the #1 team ---- jitters, nerves, whatever you wanna call it. Not Diebler so much, obviously, but KK and some of the others.

This is a great learning game, and it's a good time of year to lose.

Playing Syracuse, Texas A&M and now NC, this will pay off later in the year.

We are still definitely a tournament team, and then who knows what can happen???

Go Buckeyes!!!!
 
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Obviously you want the win, but there was encouraging things here, I think.

1. Diebler. Welcome to major college basketball. Glad you could make it. Once he hit that 3, he was outstanding.
2. Hunter. As you'd expect from an experienced player off a Final 2 team, he was not "in awe" and was big blocking shots, and getting after it.
3. Butler. Some big shots didn't fall, but he was within his game, I think. Pulling up for three on the break.... he hits that shot often. He missed it tonight. Eh.. Not worried about it. He stayed intense throughout, as you'd expect from your Sr.
4. Lighty. Played his role, though he does need to expand his role. Hit some good shots and was generally OK, I think. Obviously last year's experience helps him, and I am not worried about David Lighty.
5. Kufos didn't have have his game tonight, and the Buckeyes went some 10:00 without a bucket, yet stayed in the game. This game was NOT an embarrassment by any stretch. Carolina is a good team, they're #2 for a reason. But, even with OSU being silent from the field for half the second half, UNC couldn't put OSU away. Defensive intensity being a big factor.

If buts.... If OSU hits their open looks, how does this game look at the 1:00 mark? If OSU was better on the glass (and they do need to get better, for sure) how does this game look at the 1:00 mark? I know I'm sorta overlooking UNC's unforced errors, and maybe giving the Buckeyes too much credit, but this team did just fine. Again, not that they needn't improve, but this club shows all the signs of being a solid march contender.

This group isn't 3 1st round NBA picks like last year, but this group is quite talented and I am encouraged about their prospects. They're not 35-3 good right now.... But, they're tourney good, and I can see that already.
 
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