tOSU +4.5 at Butler (ov/un 134.5) Noon ET, ESPN

[Buckeye86]

I hate watching basketball, it just fucking pisses me off

 

[bucknutz]

Very good game from the bucks after losing Turner. I thought it was going to be a lot uglier but they surprised me. Take the horrible refs out of this game and it would have been much better.

1. David Lighty stepped up big time and will lead this team
2. once again the bucks showed no quit
3. they can only get better from here on out
4. they will be that much better when turner returns.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

I'd like to see you try and do it.

Quit complaining about the refs. Not addressed to you, but to everybody. Every game people complain that every call is terrible. I guess every referee everywhere should quit his job, and these magical people who are better referees are somewhere else...probably doctors and lawyers.

Too little, too late, just like North Cackalacky. Need to quit waiting until late in games to play with passion.

And here comes Mr. Umpire to defends his blind brethren. :p

I think most of us would agree that they get 90+% of the calls right, but when a bad call is made, it's only natural to gripe when it goes against your team. Particularly late in the game when it's a potential 4 point swing in a 3 point game.

 

[bkochmc]

Good building block for life without Turner, lots of good and LOTS to work on. Two stretches where they did not play well did them in. I liked the way Buford, Lighty, and Lauderdale played offense today. The zone defense looked... slow. Man is definitely their better defense this year. 3 warmup games to get some things straightened out then it's time to bring on the Big10 heavies.

 

[SEREbuckeye]

And here comes Mr. Umpire to defends his blind brethren. :p

I think most of us would agree that they get 90+% of the calls right, but when a bad call is made, it's only natural to gripe when it goes against your team. Particularly late in the game when it's a potential 4 point swing in a 3 point game.

I agree, we (sports fans) have been complaining of bad officiating since the beginning of sport.

There was a reason that the head of the basketball officiating was at the game today, and it wasn't for leisure. It was to monitor bad calls that have been apparent all season.

I get just as annoyed with Lauderdale, Turner, and a few others who seemingly gripe about every call against them, but there was in fact plenty of bad calls today and we are okay to say something about it.

 

[generaladm]

Tough loss for the Buckeyes, but there were a lot of positives to build on. It wouldn't have been too surprising for OSU to get run off the court in their first game without their leading scorer and rebounder, especially against a good Butler team on the road. But the Bucks kept fighting, even when the game looked like it was out of hand. A couple free throws and questionable calls go the other way, and it's a very different game. The big questions of how OSU can win without Turner are much clearer now, and not nearly as daunting as I would have thought. A few adjustments, and this Buckeye team will be very solid. Then when ET returns, look out! Go Buckeyes!!!

 

[Liljake351]

wow what can i say? tough loss for the bucks.. i myself enjoyed the game either way. hinkle fieldhouse is electric and my seats were great. met jay bilas!! can't help but think if turner plays it would have gone much differently. i didn't see anyone out there trying to make plays for other guys. lighty obviously walked once and got called unfairly a couple more times. diebler was off for almost the whole game untill that last 5 minutes. like others said a couple adjustments and i think they will bounce back. they need to come out with more energy oubviously. the bucks looked slugish when they came out and stayed that way for most of the game. butler is a good team. gonna try and grab some tickets now for next weeks game vs xavier....

 

[LitlBuck]

I'm back I really don't have much to add that has not been said. I would like to see Lighty play this way all of the time. It seemed like he was much more aggressive today than he has been since he came to Ohio State. Don't quite understand that. Maybe when Turner is in the lineup he just doesn't get the ball enough.

I was going to complain about d the officiating but I am sure that the Butler fans did a little bit of whining also. I thought the only really bad call was the one on Diebler actually there was another one on Jon in the corner where I thought he got manhandled a little and led to a Butler freebie.

It was nice to see WB start to get his stroke back and Simmons played a very nice game. I don't understand what happens with Hill. Some games he looks very good but today I didn't even know he was on the court.
Lauderdale played some good defense and had some nice dunks but he really needs to stay away from that left-handed hook shot:)

I guess the thing that bothered me the most was the fact that we do not use our bench enough

 

[NateG]

good effort

but its going to be a long year without Turner

I don't fully agree with this. We all know that the refs bailed them out a ton. Plus this was the first game without him and they were trying to find out who they are without him. Tough opponent, on the road, with major home cooking, I still see the Bucks in the tourney. Then If Evan is even half the player come Feb that he was, you can add that in the mix. 2 ranked losses on the road. Both where the Bucks should have and easily could have folded the tents (17 down with about 4 minutes to go). I love this team. they play harder than alot of Buckeye teams I've seen for a while. Now they at least can go watch film of what they looked like without Evan and get it right. I feel that Buford wanted to be the man and he put tons of pressure on himself when he was missing shots thinking that ET would get even more touches. With that gone I think he feels that the rug won't get pulled out from under him and he can relax and just play. LET'S GO BUCKS!!!

 

[MaxBuck]

how can you be that bad of a free throw shooter?

god thats just lazy

I am not sure why Dallas cannot become a better free throw shooter, but one thing I'm quite sure of is that laziness has [censored]-all to do with it, asshole.

One other comment. During the brief time I lived in Indiana, one of the few things I enjoyed was the plethora of small-town restaurants where one could find good, simple home-style food. Watching the game today, it was reassuring to see that home cooking remains alive and well in the Circle City.

 

[RB07OSU]

Diebler having 2 points with 5 minutes left said a lot...no real threat driving inside (aka Turner) = no open looks outside for Dieb. Most fans are looking at Turners points, but many times focus inside on Turner got Dieb some nice looks. Every shot he tooks was contested...as opposed to their ace Hayward, who always kills us, let alone with open looks. Honestly, it just might be a long season without Turner. Unless Dieb, Lighty and Lauderdale all play at their full potential on both ends of the court, the mid to upper level teams (like Butler) are usually going to beat us. I'm just hoping to pull off enough wins without Turner to get into the tourney and finish somewhere in the middle of the Big 10.

 

[LitlBuck]

Diebler having 2 points with 5 minutes left said a lot...no real threat driving inside (aka Turner) = no open looks outside for Dieb. Most fans are looking at Turners points, but many times focus inside on Turner got Dieb some nice looks. Every shot he tooks was contested...as opposed to their ace Hayward, who always kills us, let alone with open looks. Honestly, it just might be a long season without Turner. Unless Dieb, Lighty and Lauderdale all play at their full potential on both ends of the court, the mid to upper level teams (like Butler) are usually going to beat us. I'm just hoping to pull off enough wins without Turner to get into the tourney and finish somewhere in the middle of the Big 10.

I understand what you are saying about Turner creating open looks for other guy's but the above statement sort of bothers me because I would not expect anything less from all 5 Ohio State players that will be on the court.

I am not sure why Dallas cannot become a better free throw shooter, but one thing I'm quite sure of is that laziness has [censored]-all to do with it, asshole.

+500

 

[Jaxbuck]

Diebler having 2 points with 5 minutes left said a lot...no real threat driving inside (aka Turner) = no open looks outside for Dieb. Most fans are looking at Turners points, but many times focus inside on Turner got Dieb some nice looks. Every shot he tooks was contested...as opposed to their ace Hayward, who always kills us, let alone with open looks. Honestly, it just might be a long season without Turner. Unless Dieb, Lighty and Lauderdale all play at their full potential on both ends of the court, the mid to upper level teams (like Butler) are usually going to beat us. I'm just hoping to pull off enough wins without Turner to get into the tourney and finish somewhere in the middle of the Big 10.

I agree 100%. This was the biggest thing I took away from watching that game. I also didn't see much on an inclination from Lighty or Buford to actually pass the ball when they drive so I don't know how soon things will open back up for Diebler.

The other thing is if Diebs isn't getting open looks at what point does his defense start to cost you more than his reduced offensive output gains you?

 

[LitlBuck]

I agree 100%. This was the biggest thing I took away from watching that game. I also didn't see much on an inclination from Lighty or Buford to actually pass the ball when they drive so I don't know how soon things will open back up for Diebler.

The other thing is if Diebs isn't getting open looks at what point does his defense start to cost you more than his reduced offensive output gains you?

I really don't understand your point regarding Diebler's defense. I assume from your comment that you think he is a liability on defense. Granted he has no David Lighty but I don't think his defense is a liability when he brings so many other things to the court. Also, the guy who was stuck to him yesterday was an extremely good defender and not all teams have that type of guy or have teams who can play that type of defense with a chaser.

 

[Jaxbuck]

I really don't understand your point regarding Diebler's defense. I assume from your comment that you think he is a liability on defense. Granted he has no David Lighty but I don't think his defense is a liability when he brings so many other things to the court. Also, the guy who was stuck to him yesterday was an extremely good defender and not all teams have that type of guy or have teams who can play that type of defense with a chaser.

I'll defer to those who are more into hoops X's and O's than I am but to the casual observer it seems Diebler is the one who is usually a step slow getting to his spot.

The second part of your statement is exactly what I'm asking. What is he bringing to the court if he's not getting open shots and his defense is a question mark? I'm honestly asking I don't know.

Not trying to say Diebler is a bad player or anything just commenting on what could become an issue for the team with Turner out. I don't see anyone else on the roster who's game lends itself to dribble penetration and a pass out of it right now.