Ohio State 74, Illinois 58 (final)

[LitlBuck]

Third consecutive game where OSU has fouled within the last 5 seconds of the first half.

I am getting tired of officials making calls in the last seconds of a half or a game that are borderline and that call should have never been made.

Most of you have expressed my thoughts on the game but I just want to reiterate that someone other than Butler has got to step up.

I thought the zone did better last night and I think one of the reasons why was because it looked like the guys were communicating with each other a lot more than they have in previous games. Rebounding out of the zone still concerns me.

I don't like our big men going out on the floor so much and shooting 3s. That can come to be a bad habit. Let the wing players shoot from outside and the big guys can go do some rebounding. The big guys are playing too far from the basket and maybe that is one of the reasons we are not getting many offensive rebounds.

I thought KK played more physical at the beginning of the game but that did not last very long.

All in all a very good win at a tough place to play. We should be 3-0 with Northwestern and Iowa coming to town.

 

[graveyard.roses]

First off, like to send a big congrats out to Jamar Butler on a career high game. He played out of his mind last night and showed that he is one of, if not the best, the best point guard in the nation.
Props to Matt Terwilliger for stepping up these last few games and playing inspired ball and playing like he is a senior. He looked like a star last night. Props to Evan Turner for providing versatility to this team. Even though he got called for some charges and travels, I loved and love to see him driving and shooting the pull up. The team needs guys that are willing to make the offense dynamic. Kosta was a bit, ehhhh. Nothing too bad, but he could have shown some more power. I wish he would add power to his game. He's like the total opposite on Greg Oden. Diebler, keep shooting and I liked to see you/him take a shot other than a 3 pointer. The officiating was pretty bad. It seemed to be favoring Ohio State.



The offensive rebound needs to get improved and I believe that there needs to be some more offensive plays for Othello Hunter on the block, but I think this was a pretty good effort. This team looks like it can contend for a big ten title.

Although I agree with all of the positve comments, I just want to add that Twigs took the second most 3's on the team - AND JUST 1 FEWER than Butler! That shouldn't be. I don't have a problem with 1 or 2 a game, but 6?!?!? Matta needs to get him in the 12 feet range. Let Butler, Diebs, and maybe Lighty shoot from out there.

I don't think Twig's 3 pointers were bad, because a lot of them came from pick and roll. If he can drain the 3, like he did, it creates matchup problems and adds pressure on the defense. I'd have a problem with it if he was just launching them off of no sets.