Ohio State 75, Florida 84 (final - NC Game)

[tbbuc99]

Horford

Twigs was out with his groin injury too the last time, wasn't he? We were really overmatched with Oden injured, Twigs injured, and Hunter had very, very little experience.

This is a different team since Conley "took over" after the loss to Florida in December, and everyone is healthy.

If I remember correctly Horford had a severe ankle sprain and missed games prior to the OSU game and played in it even though the team Docs said it wasn't a good idea. Like I've said before, No Excuses.
Look either team is capable of winning this thing and it is the greatest scenario building this "Rematch" thing from the "Destruction in the Desert" that anyone could ask for.
Sit back and enjoy the ride because I'll tell you no matter the outcome it's been 44 years since the Buckeyes have even sniffed the title game. Soak it in because Oden and others may not come back next year, a reality Gators fans had to face last year and will probably face this year but with the added fact of maybe lossing it's coach as well.

Have a great time watching and Go Gators!

 

[Best Buckeye]

If I remember correctly Horford had a severe ankle sprain and missed games prior to the OSU game and played in it even though the team Docs said it wasn't a good idea. Like I've said before, No Excuses.
Look either team is capable of winning this thing and it is the greatest scenario building this "Rematch" thing from the "Destruction in the Desert" that anyone could ask for.
Sit back and enjoy the ride because I'll tell you no matter the outcome it's been 44 years since the Buckeyes have even sniffed the title game. Soak it in because Oden and others may not come back next year, a reality Gators fans had to face last year and will probably face this year but with the added fact of maybe lossing it's coach as well.

Have a great time watching and Go Gators!

Well said and that is exactly what I am going to do.

 

[skatesuf]

Twigs was out with his groin injury too the last time, wasn't he? We were really overmatched with Oden injured, Twigs injured, and Hunter had very, very little experience.

Brewer was just getting over Mono, Hortford wasn't supposed to play because of a hurt ankle. Both teams can make statements like that one. The game back in December is a non-factor to me. Both teams are healthier and have evolved. You guys are playing two freshmen, three more months of experience does amazing things for 18/19 yr olds. Our team had a break down at the end of the season and feel the need to make up for it. Both teams now have the edge over the teams they were on December 23rd.

 

[tbbuc99]

Freakin' Hilarious!!!!!!!!

You know... I could just see them at the end of the destruction, looking to each other and asking, "Where's all the candy?"

GO GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UH, Here come the GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ChrisWells28]

then how do you explain all those loses to unranked teams, not including Kansas. Also Tennessee which we beat TWICE. Florida State, Vanderbilt, LSU. We lost to North Carolina, You, and Wisconsin at the beginning of the year. Then we came back and Beat Wisconsin TWICE after losing at the beginning of the year.

 

[sandgk]

Few things I want to say, but I'm not going to bother quoting...

Noah is passionate, he celebrates pretty much everything. Here's a link you guys will love if you haven't seen it http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/6612068 I don't see him celebrating as being disrespectful.

First things first, welcome to the board skatesuf.

Second, thanks for the linked Fox Sports article. The most illustrative quote from which is this part ...

Leading the way in this histrionic march through the Madness is Gators center Joakim Noah. Please note that even casual bracket-busters can identify Noah as the guy with the ponytail.
I like to think of him as the motivation for a new CBS post-game tribute known as "One Screaming Moment."
.....
But on the court, Noah has become just slightly less annoying than the TV timeout. The 2006 enthusiasm that inspired praise from CBS experts has been elevated to the level of caricature.

Let me be plain, I don't consider Noah's antics to be explicitly taunting, nor disrespectful to anyone but himself. I do find them to be annoying and clown like.
I have seen and heard some Florida fans, whether newly found or long-time Gator adherents, defend the negative focus placed on Noah's on court histrionics as being a result of too much exposure by the media themselves. I disagree, I suspect it is a result of too much focus by Noah on himself. He cannot expect to garner plaudits from the media, nor from neutral or opposing fans by issuing a rebel yell for breaking wind without sharting your self - yet it seems that is exactly the direction in which Noah is headed.
Praising one's own action constantly is simply a self-centered act - he could play with passion without such over the top self-praise.
For some perspective, here on BP we remember seeing overly zealous and frequent celebration by some of our gridiron players during the Cooper years - a certain Wide Receiver comes to mind. Nowadays those antics would result in a 15-yard penalty. Imagine how quickly Noah would be out of the game today if a similar disciplinary regimen where imposed on Basketball players?

 

[cincibuck]

OK, things to like about Florida:

1) They decided to be a big player in basketball as well as football. They have the best facilities in the SEC for the sport, ahead of Kentucky's.

2) They've broken UK's dominance of SEC basketball, at least for the last few years. Now UK has to play somebody to be conference champ.

3) They've beaten UCLA twice in key games. Never a bad thing.

4) Unless the refs are going to call it, there's no reason not to bang people around. Florida gets after it with speed and muscle and not much finesse. Until the NCAA changes the rules that's how you play the game.

5) They're not DUKE. They're not U of Miami. They're not Florida State and I no longer have to put up with Steve "Piss and Moan" Spurrier on their sideline.

6) I like Albert the Alligator. He was one of the lead characters in Pogo, an easy goping, cigar chomping buddy. Walt Kelly was so respectecd for his comic strip that his work is now enshrined at Ohio State for academic research.

7) I have four nieces who gradumawated from Gainsville and gave me more sympathy than shit after January 8th. I am grateful.

8) GO BUCKS!

 

[Dryden]

Then we came back and Beat Wisconsin TWICE after losing at the beginning of the year.

That's attributable as much to them losing Butch as anything else. I wouldn't read too much into those games. Wisconsin struggled to crack 50 points and only won about half their games after Butch went down.

 

[skatesuf]

then how do you explain all those loses to unranked teams, not including Kansas. Also Tennessee which we beat TWICE. Florida State, Vanderbilt, LSU. We lost to North Carolina, You, and Wisconsin at the beginning of the year. Then we came back and Beat Wisconsin TWICE after losing at the beginning of the year.

The FSU loss (and the Kansas one for that matter) came while Brewer was sick, but thats not an excuse. For Free Shoes, its a rival, they came at us harder than they came at anyone else. We took them light because, well, they've sucked this year (they aren't even the best team in Tallahassee this year, FAMU, their neighbor, was the 65th team picked for the tourney). The three at the end of the season, our boys were worn out and broke down, its that simple. I'm not going to try to make excuses about those games. We had the SEC reg season locked, and just did not play. There were quotes in the Gainesville newspaper talking about how they had lost their motivation, blah blah blah. Flat out they didn't try. Had they tried, they would have beaten all three teams (just like they had earlier in the season).

At the begining of the year, tOSU was not a great team. That's not an insult. The team needed to play together in game situations and mold themselves into a TEAM. Thats why you had your early losses and came back to win. You're team has turned into a great team, but that's not how they started.

Florida was a great team in the begining. These guys beat the 2005 team when they were the practice squad. Almost day in and day out our practice squad came out on top, but they were too immature to handle the pressure of a live game situation. They became a unit back in 05, then champions in 06. Come the end of the 07 season with the SEC reg season locked up, they put on cruise control thinking they were so great. They were shown they aren't as good as they thought they were. Phoning in games was not going to do it. Come the SEC tourney, we were a great team again. There was no reason for my guys to lose those three last games. The Gators are a team of heart and determination, their hearts weren't in it, they gave in.

 

[soph17]

 

[Best Buckeye]

I'll guarentee anyone that that game in Dec and the way both teams were playing then have absolutely no bearing on the game Monday. Neither team is the same. What matters is the way they are playing now. Either one can win so all we can do is sit back, relax, and enjoy.
Just think! We are in the NC game. That alone gives me goosebumps.
I'm so lucky and glad to be a Buckeye

:osu2: :osu3: :osu2: :osu3:
:osu2: :osu3: :osu2: :osu3:

 

[skatesuf]

Let me be plain, I don't consider Noah's antics to be explicitly taunting, nor disrespectful to anyone but himself. I do find them to be annoying and clown like.
I have seen and heard some Florida fans, whether newly found or long-time Gator adherents, defend the negative focus placed on Noah's on court histrionics as being a result of too much exposure by the media themselves. I disagree, I suspect it is a result of too much focus by Noah on himself. He cannot expect to garner plaudits from the media, nor from neutral or opposing fans by issuing a rebel yell for breaking wind without sharting your self - yet it seems that is exactly the direction in which Noah is headed.
Praising one's own action constantly is simply a self-centered act - he could play with passion without such over the top self-praise.

You are absolutely correct, he could play with passion without the constant yells. I laughed last night when he yelled after being fouled, yeah, bc he did a lot to make that happen... But if he didn't that, he wouldn't be Noah. That's his personality. He is self-centered. I won't lie, if he was on any other team, I'd hate him too. But he's not, he's a Gator, I'm a Gator, so I either turn a blind eye to it, or I laugh. I was reading the thread with the pics from the Tenn board laughing my a$$ off. Noah gets our team pumped. His over the top celebrating (see his dance after the SEC tourney) is what gets the rest of our players excited and hot. If he didn't yell Scorean Threen and Lee Jumpthrees wouldn't get into rhythm and sink the long shot as early as they do.

For some perspective, here on BP we remember seeing overly zealous and frequent celebration by some of our gridiron players during the Cooper years - a certain Wide Receiver comes to mind. Nowadays those antics would result in a 15-yard penalty. Imagine how quickly Noah would be out of the game today if a similar disciplinary regimen where imposed on Basketball players?

Again, you are right. But they don't in basketball. Just like someone else posted "why not bump if the refs aren't calling it" why not over celebrate if there's no rule against it. (Please don't anyone try to come back at me with some rediculous thing like "if it wasn't illegal would you kill someone.") That's how sports are played. I used to pitch in softball. I had scholarship offers to play in college, but i declined (mainly bc my shoulder would have been shot after another year of pitching, but thats besides the point). If an ump was calling low balls strikes, that's where I put every single one of them. You take what the officials are and are not calling and use it to your advantage. You'd be stupid not to. For the Gators, Noah's yelling is almost strategy. I know I'm saying the same thing again, but he controls the emotions of the team, he gets up, they get up.

 

[sandgk]

If he didn't yell Scorean Threen and Lee Jumpthrees wouldn't get into rhythm and sink the long shot as early as they do.

Good response skatesuf, to paraphrase what Bengal fans say about Chad Johnson, "Noah's an assclown, but he is our goddamned assclown and we love him."
I'm much in agreement with a lot of what you wrote - but the quoted part above I seriously question.

 

[Pheasant]

Brewer was just getting over Mono, Hortford wasn't supposed to play because of a hurt ankle. Both teams can make statements like that one. The game back in December is a non-factor to me. Both teams are healthier and have evolved. You guys are playing two freshmen, three more months of experience does amazing things for 18/19 yr olds. Our team had a break down at the end of the season and feel the need to make up for it. Both teams now have the edge over the teams they were on December 23rd.

3 of the Bucks top 4 scorers for the year are freshman, and another one (Lighty) has been a huge difference maker in the tournament (much more so than Cook).
tOSU is a much different team than they were in December. While I don't disagree that Florida wasn't hitting on all cylinders then, with the injuries and what not, they have been playing together for a lot longer than the Bucks. How much better can they have gotten?
I would almost call the December game a non-factor, but I sincerely hope the Gators remember it very well and take the Bucks lightly. They probably won't but I can always hope.

Go Bucks.

 

[LitlBuck]

I probably will repeat some things that have already been said and if I do I am sorry.:)

The only way that I see my beloved Bucks winning the game is if Oden does not get in foul trouble and has a beginning offensively (scores at least 20 points). I know that he will hold his own defensively against any of the Florida big guys as long as he isn't in foul trouble.

I cannot see Hunter guarding Horford as one poster earlier indicated. Horford is just too strong for Othello. If anybody has to guard him other than Oden it will be Twig. I am also not sure if Hunter can guard Noah because of his perimeter skills.

I would also add that we will have to shoot the ball better from the outside better than we did against Hoyas. In fact, I think we will probably have to play our best game of the season to win. I do not think we match up very well with them so hopefully Matta can work some more of his genius.

With that, Lets Go Bucks!