Michael Smith
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Ohio State suffers huge upset loss to UT-Arlington 73-68
Michael Smith via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
This game was supposed to happen for this Ohio State basketball team, but it wasn’t supposed to happen on Friday night. A game where the execution is lacking, young mistakes, and things just don’t go the Buckeyes way was coming. It was inevitable. Maybe next week against Memphis, the week after against Virginia or later against UConn or Kentucky, sure. Not against Texas-Arlington. But it happened.
The Buckeyes lost a rare non-conference game under Thad Matta, 73-68, on Friday night at Value City Arena. Ohio State (2-1) isn’t ranked, but don’t get it twisted, this is a pretty big upset. Ohio State was an 18 point favorite.
The Mavericks (2-1) dominated Ohio State in the paint with 18 offensive rebounds and a 36-20 edge on points in the paint.
What started as a poor shooting night carried over the the second half. The Buckeyes shot 50 percent from 3-point range in the first half, but only 37.5 percent on two-point field goals. They finished the game 23 for 55 (42 percent) from the field.
Matta probably burped up some disgust over his team going 13 of 27 from the foul line. Shooting below 50% from the free-throw line is brutal altogether, but to do it at home is all the more stunning. UT-Arlington’s Keven Hervey led all scorers with 18.
Ohio State was completely outplayed by UT-Arlington in basically every way you can be.
So, yep, it’s not good and that’s the reality at the moment for Ohio State. It will no doubt hurt in a big way for Thad Matta’s team when the NCAA Tournament selection committee sifts through the résumés in mid-March. Nothing drops a team a seed line or two down like a home ‘L’ to a program that fails to crack the RPI’s top 150. (And it’s possible UT-Arlington will wind up doing just that.)
The main issue: Ohio State is no doubt a team that misses D’Angelo Russell, arguably the most valuable freshman in the nation last season, a guy who was drafted No. 2 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers over the summer. The Buckeyes are trying to figure out how to replace all that Russell brought to the table, and with 13 turnovers and just one steal against UT-Arlington, it’s clear there are grooves still to cut.
UT-Arlington’s Keven Hervey led all scorers with 18. Ohio State was led by Keita Bates-Diop who had 16 points for the game.
OSU will try to get right Tuesday night with a home game against Louisiana Tech. Tip-off is 8:00 PM. Television coverage will be through BTN. A win there is important, because games against Memphis and Virginia come thereafter for the Buckeyes.
The post Ohio State suffers huge upset loss to UT-Arlington 73-68 appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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Michael Smith via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
This game was supposed to happen for this Ohio State basketball team, but it wasn’t supposed to happen on Friday night. A game where the execution is lacking, young mistakes, and things just don’t go the Buckeyes way was coming. It was inevitable. Maybe next week against Memphis, the week after against Virginia or later against UConn or Kentucky, sure. Not against Texas-Arlington. But it happened.
The Buckeyes lost a rare non-conference game under Thad Matta, 73-68, on Friday night at Value City Arena. Ohio State (2-1) isn’t ranked, but don’t get it twisted, this is a pretty big upset. Ohio State was an 18 point favorite.
The Mavericks (2-1) dominated Ohio State in the paint with 18 offensive rebounds and a 36-20 edge on points in the paint.
What started as a poor shooting night carried over the the second half. The Buckeyes shot 50 percent from 3-point range in the first half, but only 37.5 percent on two-point field goals. They finished the game 23 for 55 (42 percent) from the field.
Matta probably burped up some disgust over his team going 13 of 27 from the foul line. Shooting below 50% from the free-throw line is brutal altogether, but to do it at home is all the more stunning. UT-Arlington’s Keven Hervey led all scorers with 18.
Ohio State was completely outplayed by UT-Arlington in basically every way you can be.
So, yep, it’s not good and that’s the reality at the moment for Ohio State. It will no doubt hurt in a big way for Thad Matta’s team when the NCAA Tournament selection committee sifts through the résumés in mid-March. Nothing drops a team a seed line or two down like a home ‘L’ to a program that fails to crack the RPI’s top 150. (And it’s possible UT-Arlington will wind up doing just that.)
The main issue: Ohio State is no doubt a team that misses D’Angelo Russell, arguably the most valuable freshman in the nation last season, a guy who was drafted No. 2 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers over the summer. The Buckeyes are trying to figure out how to replace all that Russell brought to the table, and with 13 turnovers and just one steal against UT-Arlington, it’s clear there are grooves still to cut.
UT-Arlington’s Keven Hervey led all scorers with 18. Ohio State was led by Keita Bates-Diop who had 16 points for the game.
OSU will try to get right Tuesday night with a home game against Louisiana Tech. Tip-off is 8:00 PM. Television coverage will be through BTN. A win there is important, because games against Memphis and Virginia come thereafter for the Buckeyes.
The post Ohio State suffers huge upset loss to UT-Arlington 73-68 appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...