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Ohio State vs. Merrimack, Nov 15, 2023, 7PM EST, BTN

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Merrimack clearly is a team whose strength is their defense & effort. They don't have much offensive skill, but they play hard every possession & have some length and athleticism. I'm not sure how much you can compare their games vs other teams because clearly they will bring their best effort vs OSU and I doubt they play this hard every game.
 
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DZ83CK said:
Merrimack clearly is a team whose strength is their defense & effort. They don't have much offensive skill, but they play hard every possession & have some length and athleticism. I'm not sure how much you can compare their games vs other teams because clearly they will bring their best effort vs OSU and I doubt they play this hard every game.
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I'm not big on the "we're getting their best" excuse unless you've seen them play in other games.

OSU should not be in a battle at home against Merrimack as a 23 point favorite, yet here we are.
 
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What I can buy is A&M got OSU's best effort. This is only game three but that's the best the Bucks have looked, despite the loss.

They said pregame that OSU is the youngest team in the B1G. That plays a part - hard to get up for Merrimack after Texas A&M.
 
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Jake said:
I'm not big on the "we're getting their best" excuse unless you've seen them play in other games.

OSU should not be in a battle at home against Merrimack as a 23 point favorite, yet here we are.
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The point spread shouldn't be a main focus of how you evaluate a team's play. They're either playing well or they aren't.

Clearly OSU has not shown much of an ability to execute half court offense thus far, but I'm sure they will face lesser defensive efforts than this one. Going against zone early in the year is tough, especially so when you don't have much in the way of experience & perimeter shooting on the team.

I'm not saying this performance by OSU is encouraging, but I'm not really discouraged by it. Merrimack beat FDU in the conference tourney last year, and they play decent D. We already knew OSU's shooting wasn't a strength & they don't have much in the way of talented scorers. I'm still waiting on Chatman suiting up to get a better feel for this team.
 
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Bestbuck36 said:
Perimeter shooting has definitely ramped up this half. Gotta love that but I am concerned that Zed has lost a lot of touch in his offensive game.

Mahaffey has looked a lot better but what happened to Okpara?
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Key seems bothered by the length of Merrimack. He's got to play his game, seems off today.

Mahaffey is a glue guy - he's one of those players that won't light up the scoreboard, but he'll contribute in other ways.
 
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