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tOSU +5.5 at Duke (ov/un 142.5) Wed 9:30 ESPN

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Craft probably had his worst game in two years, Scott took some terrible shots, and we couldn't make an open shot most of the game. Point guard play lost the game - plain and simple. Obviously this team has a long long way to go, but Ross showed me something tonight. Also, Duke isn't going to lose at home in a non-conference game for a while because they get so many calls at home. Duke + the zebras are hard hard to beat.

OSU led for 30 minutes and lost by 5 when no one really played well outside of Ravenel who was saddled by dubious calls - color me impressed.
 
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Overall I was really impressed with our guys. Duke has tons of experience and we played them in an extremely hostile atmosphere...and we are young and inexperienced overall. It showed. However, this team is only going to get better and we are already very, very good. While I would have loved to hang on to win, there is a lot to build off of with this game. Thankfully this isn't football where 1 loss at the beginning can define your season even after a season of improvement. Good job out there Buckeyes, I was very proud your effort on the road.
 
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No problem at all with Jay Bilas, but it almost seemed like Brent Musberger had more "pep" in his voice whenever something good happened for Duke.

But I'm too close/bias being an OSU grad.

One thing though, when Musberger had his little comment about Gene Smith, I almost burst out laughing.

*Oh well, Ohio State lost and I didn't win Powerball :wink:
 
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OhioState001;2268481; said:
All this and we only lost to Duke by 5 at Cameron Indoor.

Seriously you guys saying Ohio State isn't a top 10 are out of your minds. Name 10 teams better.
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Pretty much this exactly. Led by 10 twice, ended up losing of course, but still. You'd think the Buckeyes were a bottom-feeder based on the amount of chicken little in here. Christ.

This was a very winnable game based on a handful of things. It's early. This team is going nowhere but up.
 
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I expected a loss here. But proud of the effort (for the most part). Production out of the 5 position cannot be repeated enough. Guards won't sag off to defend the post without a legit threat. So Amir or Evan need to contribute in order to run proper sets.

Oh yeah Duck Fuke!
 
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3074326;2268502; said:
Pretty much this exactly. Led by 10 twice, ended up losing of course, but still. You'd think the Buckeyes were a bottom-feeder based on the amount of chicken little in here. Christ.

This was a very winnable game based on a handful of things. It's early. This team is going nowhere but up.
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The only thing I'd say, is the blueprint was laid pretty clearly by Coach K.

He absolutely sold out on Thomas in the second half and asked OSU's wings to beat us, and they just do not have that skill offensively. Thompson looks fantastic when he's close enough to dunk, Shannon Scott is exceptional at getting his man to the rack, Craft makes the right decision 98% of the time, but none of these guys are natural scorers or have that ability to really take the load off Thomas. I think Lenzelle Smith is probably the closest thing we have to a guy who can go out and consisently get 14-18 points a night, but even he lacks that natural scorer gene.

If you asked me to name 10 teams better than the Buckeyes I'd struggle to do it....but in the same breath, you can't look at this team and say they will go on the road and easily beat any mid-level Big 10 team. It just isn't going to happen.
 
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billmac91;2268508; said:
The only thing I'd say, is the blueprint was laid pretty clearly by Coach K.

He absolutely sold out on Thomas in the second half and asked OSU's wings to beat us, and they just do not have that skill offensively. Thompson looks fantastic when he's close enough to dunk, Shannon Scott is exceptional at getting his man to the rack, Craft makes the right decision 98% of the time, but none of these guys are natural scorers or have that ability to really take the load off Thomas. I think Lenzelle Smith is probably the closest thing we have to a guy who can go out and consisently get 14-18 points a night, but even he lacks that natural scorer gene.

If you asked me to name 10 teams better than the Buckeyes I'd struggle to do it....but in the same breath, you can't look at this team and say they will go on the road and easily beat any mid-level Big 10 team. It just isn't going to happen.
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I don't disagree, but I also don't think many teams can score 50 in a half against us. Add that with Craft's poor/uncharacteristic play and there's the game.
 
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TDunk;2268507; said:
I expected a loss here. But proud of the effort (for the most part). Production out of the 5 position cannot be repeated enough. Guards won't sag off to defend the post without a legit threat. So Amir or Evan need to contribute in order to run proper sets.

Oh yeah Duck Fuke!
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That's a misconception to me. Tons of teams don't have a 5 that can score. In fact, 95% of teams in the NCAA don't have good centers, that is why any halfway decent center in college makes millions and leaves after their sophomore year (think Illinois last year).

The real issue is wing scoring. I keep harping on it, but I'm super impressed with our guards ability to handle pressure and get into the paint. It's the consistently finishing once you get that close look that is our problem.

I'm serious when I ask this....unless it is a wide open dunk for Thompson or lay-up for Craft/Scott/Smith, how confident are you that the ball will make it through the rim within 10 feet?

Those are shots that need to be converted in the 75% range and we're probably converting at a 30-40% range over the last 2 years out of those guys. It's a real problem.
 
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3074326;2268512; said:
I don't disagree, but I also don't think many teams can score 50 in a half against us. Add that with Craft's poor/uncharacteristic play and there's the game.
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I'm not trying to pick on Aaron because he's a very good player and an awesome defender, but offensively, was this really out of the norm for him against a good defense?

I didn't see much that was uncharacteristic of his offensive game tonight. Good penetration, poor finishing ability. Right decisions on when to pull up for the 15-18 foot jump-shot, poor shooting percentage.

Again, you look at the second half tape, and all Coach K did was force Craft and company to keep the ball on pick and roll. In the first half, Thomas was living off pick and pop because the defense was rotating to cut off the lane and the pop was wide-open. In the second half they gave Craft the wide open jump-shot and driving lane and Aaron was incapable of putting the ball in the rim. He got bailed out on a few fouls but it is what it is.

Aaron reminds me of Eric Snow and I don't say that disrespectfully at all. Eric had a lengthy NBA career and was great defensively. But he was forced to learn how to hit a 15 jump-shot in the NBA and was never great at the rim. Outside of Ross, we just don't have another guy who will ever be able to take pressure off Thomas. I'm just not sure how you get Ross and Thomas on the court together.

Inside of Big 10 play, I think it's imperative this squad just pushes the ever-loving shit out of the basketball. It'd probably have been awful strategy tonight so I understand why they attempted to make it a half-court game, but these guys need easy looks at the rim, and they're certainly athletic enough to play solid defense in a transition game. I hope Thad lets these guys push the ball to avoid the obvious struggles they're going to face in half-court contests.
 
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billmac91;2268514; said:
That's a misconception to me. Tons of teams don't have a 5 that can score. In fact, 95% of teams in the NCAA don't have good centers, that is why any halfway decent center in college makes millions and leaves after their sophomore year (think Illinois last year).

The real issue is wing scoring. I keep harping on it, but I'm super impressed with our guards ability to handle pressure and get into the paint. It's the consistently finishing once you get that close look that is our problem.

I'm serious when I ask this....unless it is a wide open dunk for Thompson or lay-up for Craft/Scott/Smith, how confident are you that the ball will make it through the rim within 10 feet?

Those are shots that need to be converted in the 75% range and we're probably converting at a 30-40% range over the last 2 years out of those guys. It's a real problem.
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Very true and can't disagree with you about the college game. But having a 5 with any skill set propels you into the top 10 nationally. Talented guards are everywhere and can score to be in a game. It's the Bigs that raise the bar so that those same guards have to worry about falling off their man to stop inside scoring. And that in turn opens up the outside shooting.
 
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My thoughts:

1. This was a good benchmark for this team. Even though they played like crap on offense it should give them confidence that they can play with anyone, anywhere.

2. The bench minutes in this game will pay dividends down the road, though I'm still concerned where scoring is going to come when Thomas goes to the bench.

3. It is imperative that Williams grows a pair and get physical inside, especially on the offensive side of the ball. He seems to have a knack for getting the ball but he doesn't have the aggression to keep it or get it back on the rim. He had 6 offensive rebounds last night and how many of them did he get a shot off? Once, maybe twice. He can be around a 10ppg guy if he is stronger with the ball.

4. Even though he is still a little slow on the defensive end (though he is better this year than last), Ross needs to see the floor more. The Bucks need another consistent scoring threat besides Thomas and he can provide that, especially as he continues to get more comfortable with the college game. I think his offensive ability outweighs his defensive liabilities.

5. 6 assists on 23 field goals, along with about 1/3 of their shots beyond the arc reinforces that this team thinks it is a jump-shooting team. That's OK when they are hitting their shots but when a team shoots 33% from the field and 28% beyond the arc against a quality opponent, they will lose almost every time. They NEED to be more multi-dimensional and need to get there in a hurry with Kansas looming in 3 weeks and Big Ten play starting in a month.
 
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Top five top ten meh who gives a hoot. wanta be rated high ? Just win Baby the rest will come. We can guestimate all we want to but in the end the team will finish where it does.
This team has a way to go be mesh together so just chill out and enjoy the games. These Buckeyes will decide their own destiny and I dont care where they are ranked or will be at the end of the season right now it's just win!
 
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