Penn St +18.5 at tOSU (ov/un 125.5) Sat 5:30 ET, BTN

[Steve19]

Read this crap and tell me that there isn't a conscious ESPiN effort against Ohio State? You would swear that Ohio State hadn't beaten anyone by more than a few points when they won by more than ten in every game until the last few.

Another ESPiN disgusting misrepresentation of fact

 

[FrancisSoyer]

Well, this was my first ever Buckeye hoops experience. I was pleasantly surprised by the crowd and overall atmosphere since I hear that the Schott kind of sucks as far as that goes. The halftime show was cool and there was a well endowed, bouncing/dancing Buckeye female they put on the big screen a few times. Oh, and the game was intense as expected. I love that this team is being tested every week rather than enjoying big leads and coasting to the end of the game. Two freshmen, Sullinger and Craft, were the two best players on the court in my eyes. Hope they stick around for another year.

 

[MaxBuck]

Read this crap and tell me that there isn't a conscious ESPiN effort against Ohio State? You would swear that Ohio State hadn't beaten anyone by more than a few points when they won by more than ten in every game until the last few.

Another ESPiN disgusting misrepresentation of fact

There isn't a conscious ESPN effort against Ohio State. :tongue2:

Seriously, Steve, I assume your problem must be with the following blurb:

Ohio State entered the game having struggled to bury away inferior teams; the Buckeyes' last three games were wins over Michigan, Minnesota and Iowa by a combined margin of 12 points. So maybe it wasn't a surprise that this Penn State team hung with Ohio State for all 40 minutes Saturday afternoon.

Eamonn Brennan, the blogger, has been very complimentary of Ohio State this season, and what he said there is absolutely true. If the Buckeyes don't want to be spoken of in these terms, they have to start playing better. Right now they're not as good as they were earlier in the season. I wonder how much of that is a result of fatigue, given Matta's insistence on using such a short bench.

 

[brutus2002]

Read this crap and tell me that there isn't a conscious ESPiN effort against Ohio State? You would swear that Ohio State hadn't beaten anyone by more than a few points when they won by more than ten in every game until the last few.

Another ESPiN disgusting misrepresentation of fact

I'd rather beat PSU by 3 than lose to FSU!!! I LIKE HOW THEY TRY TO ACT LIKE THAT WASN'T A BAD LOSS TO FSU...GMAFB. Its not like PSU is playing great basketball now or anything...

 

[jwinslow]

There isn't a conscious ESPN effort against Ohio State.

Agreed, in roundball. ESPN largely adores the buckeye hoopsters.

 

[Steve19]

There isn't a conscious ESPN effort against Ohio State. :tongue2:

Seriously, Steve, I assume your problem must be with the following blurb:

Eamonn Brennan, the blogger, has been very complimentary of Ohio State this season, and what he said there is absolutely true. If the Buckeyes don't want to be spoken of in these terms, they have to start playing better. Right now they're not as good as they were earlier in the season. I wonder how much of that is a result of fatigue, given Matta's insistence on using such a short bench.

Agreed, in roundball. ESPN largely adores the buckeye hoopsters.

I see this differently but object to the words that set the context prior to the passage that you cite...

Ohio State entered the game having struggled to bury away inferior teams; the Buckeyes' last three games were wins over Michigan, Minnesota and Iowa by a combined margin of 12 points. ... And Ohio State? Much like the team one bullet-point below, the Buckeyes just keep skating away with near-miss victories. At some point -- at home vs. a team that lost by 10 to Maine, for starters -- you'd like to see your likely new No. 1 be a little more dominant, no?

Ohio State has not struggled to bury away inferior teams. At some point? For starters? A little more dominant?

No offense, but I think it is a punk shot. Ohio State did not struggle to beat poor teams. The point is that the Big Ten is strong from top to nearly the bottom. OK. TSUN. You got me there, but I did say the Big TEN.

 

[MaxBuck]

Ohio State has not struggled to bury away inferior teams.

Well, I say potayto, you say potahto ...

Honestly, I'd describe the Buckeyes' games against Michigan, Iowa and Penn State, and even against Minnesota, as "struggling." Now granted, we have a huge target on our backs; a win against Ohio State will make a team's season, and the officials seem willing to allow anything that doesn't result in massive head wounds to Sullinger to proceed without a foul call. But with all that being said, the talent on this team is such that we ought to be winning more easily. I don't have a real problem, as I said, with Brennan's commentary.

It doesn't matter in any event; we're number 1! (For the time being.)

 

[utgrad73]

Pick your Poison

http://toledoblade.com/article/20110116/SPORTS16/110119648

COLUMBUS ? With the game on the line, Ohio State played like a No. 1 team.

That's exactly what they might be soon.

Freshman Jared Sullinger scored 19 points and hit a three-point play with 13.2 seconds left to lift the second-ranked Buckeyes to a 69-66 victory over Penn State on Saturday.

"You have to pick your poison and who are you going to leave open? I don't want to leave those other guys," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said, referring to Ohio State's other perimeter threats. "So we tried to leave [Craft] and he made some shots tonight. If he misses some shots, then maybe it's a different story. Give the kid credit."

The Big Ten has figured out how to defend against Sullinger - double team him. Problem is the should have tried to cover Aaron Craft too. Maybe next week the double up on Craft. I like the way this team adjusts, who will be the Buckeye beneficiary next game in scoring? I thought Lighty would have had a bigger game against the Nits based on past performances. This is a very good problem to have.

 

[BB73]

Read this crap and tell me that there isn't a conscious ESPiN effort against Ohio State? You would swear that Ohio State hadn't beaten anyone by more than a few points when they won by more than ten in every game until the last few.

Another ESPiN disgusting misrepresentation of fact

The article highlighted the major story of the day - huge comebacks by home teams. Early in the day, both Bilas and Vitale picked the Buckeyes as having the best team at this point in the season.

I'm leery of their bball coverage downgrading tOSU and other Big Ten teams because of the existence of the BTN, but I haven't seen real evidence of it yet. But pointing out that the presumed new #1 had won a game at Florida State earlier in the year, where the former #1 just fell, could have provided a more balanced perspective.

It does bear watching, however.

 

[Bestbuck36]

Greatest thing about this team is that you cannot double team anyone on the floor...... and get away with it. Every guy can take over the game and beat you at this point. Thats fan-freaking-tastic!


I didnt see one thing wrong with that Espn article. They said nothing but true statements, imo. We should have whacked Iowa by more but the other two wins were hard fought. This game we just sucked at the foul line and they were lights out. Big10 IS super tough. That stretch of 5 games at the end of the month are going to be absolutely brutal.

 

[Dryden]

Read this crap and tell me that there isn't a conscious ESPiN effort against Ohio State? You would swear that Ohio State hadn't beaten anyone by more than a few points when they won by more than ten in every game until the last few.

Another ESPiN disgusting misrepresentation of fact

Huh?!? Eamonn Brennan has been VERY complimentary of the Bucks for the two years he's been writing for ESPN. I don't see anything wrong with what he wrote.

 

[GoodLifeSean]

The thing that I've noticed is they get up a ten point lead. The opponent starts pressing and bam. The Buckeye offense scores 5 points in the next seven minutes. They need to work on breaking the half court press and four guys bouncing around the perimeter doesn't do it.

 

[Merih]

The thing that I've noticed is they get up a ten point lead. The opponent starts pressing and bam. The Buckeye offense scores 5 points in the next seven minutes. They need to work on breaking the half court press and four guys bouncing around the perimeter doesn't do it.

The weird thing was that in the Florida State game, against a way more athletic team, they had no problems breaking the press. As a matter of fact, they punished both Florida and Florida State for pressing by going on huge runs forcing timeouts or defensive philosophy changes.

It's nice to know that a team can play their best and we can play one of our worst games and still come out victorious.

 

[LitlBuck]

Always a tough decision to make for their coach. Looks like Matta made the right call yesterday:)

-- The coaching conundrum is, with a three-point lead in the closing seconds, whether to foul before the opponent can attempt a tying three-point shot and instead put it on the line for two free throws.
Matta chose to play the percentages, he said, and defend the three rather than foul early.
"I just figured at some point we had to get a stop," he said.
"We had talked about fouling (before the shot) in the timeout (with 13.2 seconds left). I had actually drawn up where we wanted to foul. And then I just said, 'Screw it, we?re going to guard ?em.'"

http://blog.dispatch.com/hoopsscoops/2011/01/postgame_penn_state_1.shtml#more

 

[PtownBuckeye]

Thoughts on the game/ my trip down to Columbus

-The atmosphere was awesome, if it's like that every game I don't understand why I hear complaints about the intensity in the Schott.

-The dogs at the halftime show were more skilled at catching frisbees than I am at any singular thing in my life.

-Craft is good.
-Sullinger is good.

-People in Columbus are awesome.

-People in Lyndhurst, near Cleveland, are not.

-Lighty and Buford missed Diebs open on the wing a few times.

-Why was the section above the student section covered up?

I will definitely be heading back down to the Schott sometime soon. Great atmosphere, great people, and a great overall experience.