tOSU -0.5 vs Sparty (ov/un 130.5) Sun 3:30 ET, CBS

[HorseshoeFetish]

I thought we played tough today..really proud of our guys and the heart they showed. If anything I think Sully tried to do too much by himself. MSU seems to have an endless rotation of experienced big men and Sully tried to out play Green, Nix, and Payne all by himself.

 

[desert_buckeye]

I don't understand why Coach Matta refuses to call a timeout to slow down momentum when another team starts to go on a run. Get the TO, calm the guys and the crowd down a bit and run a set play. Too many times this year, he waited until all momentum had shifted and the Buckeyes struggled to gain it back. They go up 7 and had all the momentum and the Buckeye crowd into it, then get lazy on transition defense, poor shot selection and before you know it, the lead and all momentum was gone. Frustrating ....

 

[utgrad73]

not really. the team needed to make 5 more to win. therefore, the team needed to shoot 100% to win.

Making more free throws would have made it close. However, making a few more threes and we are cutting down the nets.

 

[Onebuckfan]

Get Back on D..we win

 

[Archg2h]

Get Back on D..we win

Yea, and also very poor passing, 1 assist in the entire 1st half, 6 for the game. MSU had 16.
And if you pass better you get better shots!

FGM-A......3PM-A
25-63........4-17
39.7%.......23.5%

 

[Bill Lucas]

Yea, and also very poor passing, 1 assist in the entire 1st half, 6 for the game. MSU had 16.
And if you pass better you get better shots!

FGM-A......3PM-A
25-63........4-17
39.7%.......23.5%

Let's give a little credit to Michigan State here. They aren't slouches defensively. In fact, they are probably the best defensive team in the Big Ten and one of the best in the nation. A very, very well coached team with all the right pieces for success.

 

[matcar]

Let's give a little credit to Michigan State here. They aren't slouches defensively. In fact, they are probably the best defensive team in the Big Ten and one of the best in the nation. A very, very well coached team with all the right pieces for success.

Agreed. MSU is a tough team, mentally, physically. Well coached. I thought it was a really well played game on both sides, and somehow MSU shot a bit better (perhaps defended better than we did which caused us to shoot worse and conversely they shoot better).

In the end though, I was really proud of the Bucks. I've had to re-evaluate my expectations after coming to realize just how much Diebler and Lighty are missed for their respective offensive and defensive skills. In light of that, I came away really impressed with our team's heart when playing against another team with incredible heart. Hats off to MSU for taking this one, and hats off to Matta and the Bucks for playing so hard.

Now it will be interesting to watch both MSU and tOSU match up against other opponents. There likely won't be teams more physical than us, but obviously that might not be the style of play that wins out in the tournament.

FSU and 'Cuse are good teams...this is beyond obvious, but this won't be easy, but if we play the way we did against MSU, I'll be proud no matter the outcome.

 

[Steve19]

Here is an objective analysis, courtesy of Pomeroy's modelling.


Ohio State ended the regular season ranked #2, just .0006 behind Kentucky. They ranked #1 on defense and #7 on offense. Their opponents were tough, with a strength of schedule ranking #7, meaning that they faced the #4 toughest offenses overall and the #25 defenses.

Michigan State ended up #3 overall and on defense and ranked 11th on offense. They played the #2 SOS.

Yesterday was about as tough a challenge as Ohio State could have.

They will learn from this and they still can go all the way.