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Ohio State 74, Illinois 58 (final)

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Four points to ponder

1. While the offense from Jamar Butler was clearly the difference, some guys who should be producing had a very off night (Koufos and Diebler). Seeing as this was their first road Big Ten game (and since they have their next 2 at home), hopefully this will be temporary.

2. Twiggy hit a couple big shots, but I wonder if Matta might reign him in here soon on the 3s. Sure he hit 2 of them, but he started 0 for 4 or 5 and killed a few possessions with early shots from the perimeter.

3. The Rebounding was very good at times and extremely poor at others. There doesn't seem to be a happy medium at this point which is likely due to their youth.

4. They needed Butler on the floor tonight for long minutes as well as Othello Hunter. I'd like to see Butler get a break every now and again to keep his legs fresher as well as I think Dallas Lauderdale could be a force on the inside once his game comes to him. Certainly his physical presence will be needed before it's all said and done.

EXTRA POINT:

this is Jamar Butler's team, but David Lighty could be the leader of this team if he wants it. He didn't have it tonight for whatever reason at least on the offensive end. But you didn't see him stop or let up at all, he kept going at it. Sometimes the young guys on this team tend to get tentative even now if shots aren't dropping or if the opponents get a couple scores in a row. Lighty could really help the team (and Butler) pull them through it until they can do it on their own.
 
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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.
 
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BuckeyeMike80;1049173; said:
Four points to ponder

1. While the offense from Jamar Butler was clearly the difference, some guys who should be producing had a very off night (Koufos and Diebler). Seeing as this was their first road Big Ten game (and since they have their next 2 at home), hopefully this will be temporary.

2. Twiggy hit a couple big shots, but I wonder if Matta might reign him in here soon on the 3s. Sure he hit 2 of them, but he started 0 for 4 or 5 and killed a few possessions with early shots from the perimeter.

3. The Rebounding was very good at times and extremely poor at others. There doesn't seem to be a happy medium at this point which is likely due to their youth.

4. They needed Butler on the floor tonight for long minutes as well as Othello Hunter. I'd like to see Butler get a break every now and again to keep his legs fresher as well as I think Dallas Lauderdale could be a force on the inside once his game comes to him. Certainly his physical presence will be needed before it's all said and done.

EXTRA POINT:

this is Jamar Butler's team, but David Lighty could be the leader of this team if he wants it. He didn't have it tonight for whatever reason at least on the offensive end. But you didn't see him stop or let up at all, he kept going at it. Sometimes the young guys on this team tend to get tentative even now if shots aren't dropping or if the opponents get a couple scores in a row. Lighty could really help the team (and Butler) pull them through it until they can do it on their own.
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Great point on David Lighty. David is a 4 year kid and he knew it when he signed on here. He's still young and will have "on-and-off" nights but no matter what he's a bitch on defense, like he showed in the Finals run last year. I'd love to see David grab the torch and run with it, but for now, it's Jamar's torch and he's handling it pretty well. Peace.
 
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DDN

Butler scores 32 in 74-58 win over Illinois

​

Associated Press

Friday, January 04, 2008

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ? Jamar Butler scored 32 points to lead the Ohio State basketball team to a 74-58 victory over Illinois on Thursday in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
Butler accounted for almost half of his team's offense in the first half, then scored 15 straight points early in the second, when the Buckeyes (10-3, 1-0 Big Ten) pulled away from the Illini. The senior guard, who averaged 14.2 points per game coming into the contest, was 4-for-7 from 3-point range.



Cont...
 
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ABJ

Buckeyes win Big Ten opener Butler scores 32 points, Ohio State takes control in second half to top Illini
By Neil Milbert
Chicago Tribune

Published on Friday, Jan 04, 2008
CHAMPAIGN, Ill.: There was a Michael Jordan impersonator in Assembly Hall on Thursday night. Unfortunately for all those Illinois fans bedecked in orange and blue, he was wearing the scarlet and gray of Ohio State.
The impersonator was senior point guard Jamar Butler and he looked like the real deal when he led the 2007 conference champions and NCAA Tournament runner-up to a 74-58 victory in the Big Ten opener for both teams.


Cont...
 
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Canton

OSU rolls in Big Ten opener
[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: OHIO STATE 74, ILLINOIS 58[/FONT]
Friday, January 4, 2008
By DAVID MERCER
Associated Press Writer

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. For 4 1/2 minutes Thursday night, Ohio State guard Jamar Butler could do little wrong.

The senior scored 15 straight Buckeye points, turning a 1-point deficit into a 12-point lead and sparking Ohio State to a 74-58 win over Illinois in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

Butler, a senior and one of the few key pieces left from last season?s NCAA-final team, scored 32 points for the game. Afterward, Butler said he hadn?t had a similar night in a long time.

?Not since my senior year in high school,? he said with a smile.

?We didn?t have enough weapons to match Butler,? Illinois Coach Bruce Weber said. ?Just seemed to get one dagger after another.?

Butler, who averaged 14.2 points coming into the game, was 4-of-7 from 3-point range and 10-of-17 from the field. He accounted for almost half of Ohio State?s (10-3, 1-0) offense in the first half.


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Dispatch

OSU men's basketball: Butler too much for Illini

Friday, January 4, 2008 3:12 AM
By Bob Baptist


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
0104_osu_b_01-04-08_C2_DN8VA27.jpg
Robert K. O'Daniell Associated Press
Ohio State's David Lighty fouls Illinois' Brian Randle during the first half.


CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Jamar Butler told his younger, inexperienced teammates this week how basketball is played in the Big Ten. Then he went out and showed them.
With baskets hard to come by against Illinois' physical man-to-man defense, Butler scored 15 straight points midway through the second half last night to break open a back-and-forth game and lead the Ohio State men's basketball team to a 74-58 victory in Assembly Hall in the Big Ten opener for each team.
"Butler just put on a show," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said of Ohio State's senior point guard, who finished with a career-high 32 points and six assists.

Cont...
 
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buckeyemania11;1048881; said:
great win, Jamar was really on tonight...
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Puts ten of those together and he will be thinking All-American. That was some display of shooting and, defensively, Buckeyes were lights out. That was just not the team I saw playing earlier this season.

They played the boards a bit better but still need to get more penetration and use Koufos more effectively.

Did I say lights out on defense? :oh:
 
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BuckeyeMike80;1049173; said:
Four points to ponder

1. While the offense from Jamar Butler was clearly the difference, some guys who should be producing had a very off night (Koufos and Diebler). Seeing as this was their first road Big Ten game (and since they have their next 2 at home), hopefully this will be temporary.

2. Twiggy hit a couple big shots, but I wonder if Matta might reign him in here soon on the 3s. Sure he hit 2 of them, but he started 0 for 4 or 5 and killed a few possessions with early shots from the perimeter.

3. The Rebounding was very good at times and extremely poor at others. There doesn't seem to be a happy medium at this point which is likely due to their youth.

4. They needed Butler on the floor tonight for long minutes as well as Othello Hunter. I'd like to see Butler get a break every now and again to keep his legs fresher as well as I think Dallas Lauderdale could be a force on the inside once his game comes to him. Certainly his physical presence will be needed before it's all said and done.

EXTRA POINT:

this is Jamar Butler's team, but David Lighty could be the leader of this team if he wants it. He didn't have it tonight for whatever reason at least on the offensive end. But you didn't see him stop or let up at all, he kept going at it. Sometimes the young guys on this team tend to get tentative even now if shots aren't dropping or if the opponents get a couple scores in a row. Lighty could really help the team (and Butler) pull them through it until they can do it on their own.
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Great points! I'm concerned with the long minutes Butler plays as well. I remember a few years back when our 3 point shooters ran out of gusto by the end of the season especially Foster. Butler plays practically the whole game and plays hard at both ends of the floor. Some of the other guys have got to step it up on offense if the young Bucks are to make some noise come tournament time.

I too love Lighty's game and leadership. No matter what he does on offense, he's always playing balls out on defense. You're going to have off nights shooting, but there's never an excuse to not play your guts out on defense. David gets that!

I'd love to see Kosta get more nasty inside. He really needs to learn to be more physical. I noticed a few times during rebounds that he just kinda swatted at it. He doesn't look like he wants it as much as some other guys do.

That said. Great win on the road. Nice start to the Big 10 season for the young Bucks!
 
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Bucky Katt;1048910; said:
Nice win, fellas! A couple thoughts, though.....

1. ...Turner in particular. 5 more turnovers tonight. He is still playing waaaay too fast at this point. Traveling, trying to beat 3 men off the dribble, charges....still waiting for the game to really slow down for him. He's got the skills, just needs to mature a bit. ...

3. Why in the hell did Illinois ignore Pruitt in the 2nd half? Dude was killing OSU early. Adjustment to the zone to cut off the short corner? Big dude's conditioning? Dunno, but he became a non-factor. Doesn't strike me as a particularly bright fellow, but a pretty good big man. ...

5. Rebounding ... The ESPN box has it at Illinois 33, OSU 32. I'll take that.

All in all, a pretty good start to B10 play. :oh:
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I don't think Illinois ignored Pruitt so much as our D made it infeasible for the Illini to pound the ball into him. We really sewed up the seams in the zone in the 2nd half.

Good points about Turner. Right now the kid seems to be trying to do too much. Has to be difficult for Matta to know how to deal with this high-energy guy; you have to love the effort, but he needs to learn when to let the game happen. Still, I'm very excited for the future with Evan Turner.

WRT rebounding, we really seemed to control the glass in the 2nd half. Much better game overall in the 2nd half for the Bucks.

Bucky Katt;1048956; said:
I know the zone is a part of it, but I'd still like to see the guys at least looking for someone to box-out every now and again. :p

Another thought. 5-6 minutes left in the game and 10+ point lead. Watching the possessions, you would have thought it was Illinois up by 10. OSU is jacking 3's with 30 on the shot clock and is Illinois running it down to single digits if they can even manage to get the shot off. Go figure.
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I think it was more a matter of the Illini failing to find a shot for 34 seconds in every possession. :wink2:

Overall, though Illinois is not a very good basketball team, this was a good win for the Bucks. They may even make the tourney this season; I see 11-7 as the minimum required conference record to accomplish that. I also see the B11 as getting only 4 Dance tickets; other conferences such as the Atlantic 10 are having better seasons. MSU, IU, Wisky and us at the moment. (Minnesota needs to prove they are for real.)
 
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