The Ohio State University at ttun, Sunday, 1 PM, CBS

[nomatta]

Young would have been really good if he could have just finished around the rim. Some of his misses were really costly. If he can become better around the rim and develop a 3 point shot he could be a really good player.

I am definitely not going to write a true freshman off. And he had a 3-pt shot in HS, so I keep waiting to see some of that materialize in his PT here.

I am just wondering. Given of what I had seen of him in HS and the fact he was a T75 player, I really thought he was going to be a positive factor off the bench for us this season, and I had mentally penciled him in as a starter next season. Now I don't feel confident about that at all and wonder if Young will also get passed in the depth chart by Ledee, who if nothing else seems to be a high-level rebounder.

I agree, if Young can finish at the rim more and can show some of that 3-pt shooting he had in HS and AAU, he will be a valuable contributor in the future.

 

[Arch2H]

Did Potter play at all today?

 

[OhioState001]

Did Potter play at all today?

Nope. Holtmann said he wasn't injured either.

 

[DZ83CK]

Well nomatta you just saw Young's future, playing ahead of Potter. How can you not like his energy and effort? With a little more confidence offensively next year, I do not see why Potter should play ahead of him, especially with Chris valuing defense the way he does. Potter is slow on defense and struggles to help the team against quicker opponents - at some point that has to cost him his spot if there is another viable option.

 

[Jake]

I'm not going to freak out over a couple of poor performances by a team that's clearly gassed and needs a few days off. They're still in line for a double bye and still capable of making tournament runs. Feel free to be pessimistic bitches if they lose to Rutgers.

I also don't see how pre-season expectations are at all relevant in mid-February. Games have been played and the last time a poll came out, this team was #8 and on their way to a conference championship. Expecting them to not take two double-digit losses to two okay teams in four days is perfectly rational.

Referring to scUM as an "okay" team is just (justified) hatred shining through. They have a 22-7 record, just like Ohio State. They've lost one home game all season, by 1 point to Purdue, and they won by double-digits at Sparty. If they're just "okay" then our #8 ranking was a complete joke (not that polls matter).

 

[NFBuck]

I'm relaxed. My po

I'm relaxed.

My point is that losing five games in a row to end the season, including two teams outside the top 2 quartiles would certainly drop the Buckeyes outside the top 25 and maybe, given other teams getting hot and climbing, out of the NCAA. I dont think it's probable, but what I've seen the last two games tells me to temper my expectations.

If this team went to the NIT and won it, I'd still be over the moon.

If they lose out they're still an ncaa team. 22 wins, 13-5 in conference and wins over top programs like msu and sparty, plus a win against scUM in December. That's a solid resume. I cannot see them losing to Rutgers. Indiana may be a toss up. This was a very good team until a compressed schedule and a lack of depth started catching up to them. Some time off before the conference tournament should be a big help. The guys are tired, and understandably so. They didn't just become a lousy team in a week's time.

 

[Buckeye513]

Referring to scUM as an "okay" team is just (justified) hatred shining through. They have a 22-7 record, just like Ohio State. They've lost one home game all season, by 1 point to Purdue, and they won by double-digits at Sparty. If they're just "okay" then our #8 ranking was a complete joke (not that polls matter).

Ohio State getting to #8 was based entirely on their 17-2 run. Whether you feel that's a joke or not, the team that went on that run is different than the ones that started 5-3 and dropped the last two. The optimism and hype going into Slappy Valley was totally justified. Then a burnt out team laid two eggs. It happens.

In this shitty, inconsistent 2018 field, Michigan is an okay team. Ohio State is also, currently, an okay team. If they can rest and regain the form they were on, they can enter the tournament as the good-but-nowhere-near-great team they'd been playing like.