Washington vs. Ohio State Sunday 4:30 PM ESPN2

[Bill Lucas]

You've got to wonder where else, besides DT, the scoring will come from this year. Thomas could be great this season, but OSU can't expect him to score 30 each night.

Craft will score. Smith and Ross have to become reliable scorers. I don't see anyone else who can consistently put up double figures.

 

[Mike80]

You've got to wonder where else, besides DT, the scoring will come from this year. Thomas could be great this season, but OSU can't expect him to score 30 each night.

True, but Smith and Thompson won't go 0 for the game every night either.

I don't like them being perimeter oriented either, history shows the best OSU teams recently have been stronger inside, but on the flip side this might be the most athletic Ohio State team since Matta has been here.

 

[DZ83CK]

True, but Smith and Thompson won't go 0 for the game every night either.

I don't like them being perimeter oriented either, history shows the best OSU teams recently have been stronger inside, but on the flip side this might be the most athletic Ohio State team since Matta has been here.

That's kind of close to the point I think should be made when it comes to scoring, Mike, that there are different guys who can score if they get an opportunity. It's not just the starting five that is playing significant minutes anymore, so while Smith and Thompson were held without a FG today, there will be other games when they combine for 15 to 20 points. Today Ravenel and Williams combined for 17 points, there will be other games where they don't do that obviously. The one thing this team has going for it that many other Matta teams didn't have in the past was the fact that 8 guys have earned their way into the rotation, and all 8 of them are capable of putting some points on the board from time to time. So even though DT and AC may by far lead the team in scoring, having 6 other guys that can chip in offensively gives them some balance.

 

[LitlBuck]

Who is this ESPiN play-by-play douche? He just said the Big Ten has struggled to get 3 teams into the NCAA tourney in past years.

Seth Greenberg:( There isn't anything about basketball that he doesn't know and he wants you to know that.

 

[LitlBuck]

Matta pleased with the effort

UNCASVILLE, Conn. _ When a few shots in a row don?t drop for Deshaun Thomas, he can still, even as a seasoned junior and preseason All-American, fall victim to a crisis in confidence.

?He just gets a little worked up,? Ohio State guard Aaron Craft said, ?and when he gets worked up, he doesn?t play how he?s capable of. I just try to relax him as much as possible.?

Such was the case Saturday, against Rhode Island?s switching defenses, which bothered Thomas and the Buckeyes for a while before they solved them.

And then there are days like yesterday, when even if Craft would have said something, Thomas might not have heard him, so deep into the zone was he.

?I felt good,? Thomas said. ?I knocked those first couple down and it was on from there.?

He knocked down his first seven shots, to be precise, and went on to tie his career high with 31 points to lead fourth-ranked Ohio State to a 77-66 victory over Washington in the championship game of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.

Aaron Craft added 18 points and four assists for the Buckeyes (3-0), who won for the second time in as many days at Mohegan Sun Arena. They beat Rhode Island on Saturday behind Thomas? 25 points and 10 rebounds.

?I?m very excited about the way we played in a lot of stretches,? coach Thad Matta said. ?I don?t think we played particularly well (against Rhode Island). We felt this was a game (where) you were going to have to man up, you were going to have to make big-time plays.?

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