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You’re Nuts: What is the biggest key to upsetting Illinois in the Big Ten quarterfinal?
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Ohio State is one win away from maybe-possibly-perhaps earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
At first it was a joke. Then it was a pipe dream. Now? Now the Ohio State men’s basketball team is one win away from having a strong argument for swiping one of the 32 at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament.
After knocking off Iowa on Thursday night in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, the Buckeyes improved to 20-12 overall and 7-11 against Quad 1 & Quad 2 opponents. They were listed among the “next four out” in some bracket predictions before the Iowa win, so the assumption is Ohio State remains in that group of six-to-eight teams hoping to sneak in on this final weekend.
Of course, winning the Big Ten Tournament would do the job, too.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated which Rutgers player should’ve been at the top of the scouting report as Ohio State traveled to New Jersey for the final game of the regular season. Connor went with senior center Cliff Omoruyi, while Justin picked sophomore guard Derek Simpson. 83% of the readers sided with Connor, and Omoruyi did in fact outscore Simpson in the game, 10-0.
Connor- 71
We now turn our attention to the Illinois Fighting Illini. The No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament beat Ohio State 87-75 on Jan. 30. Both Terrence Shannon and Marcus Domask had 23 points in Illinois 12-point win. One day after winning a track meet with Iowa, what will be the biggest key to beating Illinois and advancing to the Big Ten semifinal for the second straight season?
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25337194/usa_today_22555662.jpg "NCAA Basketball: Purdue at Ohio State")
Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Ohio State’s bench outscored Iowa’s bench 37-16 on Thursday night, including 11 points from Scotty Middleton (all in the first half!), eight from Devin Royal, and eight from Zed Key. Leaning on his team’s depth has been something interim head coach Jake Diebler has been talking about since he was elevated to head coach, saying that the bench, “should be a strength of this team.” Against Iowa, it was the difference in a 90-78 win.
Diebler would certainly love to see more of that against Illinois, and they might need it if they have any chance of advancing to the Big Ten semifinal on Saturday. Last time these teams played, Illinois was able to completely shut off the water to Bruce Thornton and Felix Okpara, holding the former to seven points on 3-of-11 shooting and the latter to zero points and only two shot attempts in 18 minutes.
The Buckeyes’ bench didn’t make up for the difference, scoring just 14 points as the Buckeyes lost by 12. Illinois has not been quite as studly on the defensive end since that game, but the goal will still be to cut off Thornton, who is the head of the snake and makes everything happen for Ohio State offensively. He flirted with a triple-double against Iowa, finishing with 14 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds. Illinois wants that line to be much closer to the seven points and five assists he had against them two months ago.
On top of the obvious “more points!” Ohio State also needs to lean on its bench because there are going to be some tired legs wearing scarlet and gray on Friday night. Diebler has this team fully bought-in on giving 100% hustle at all times — getting back in transition, fighting in crowds for rebounds, trying to save every ball that is going out of bounds. The players have to be winded and tired after the track meet with Iowa on Thursday, and now they’ll be lacing it up to face the team that is probably the second-fastest, up and down team in the Big Ten just 24 hours later.
Guys are going to have tired legs and sometimes get out-ran by Illinois, who has not played in five days. When that happens, Diebler is going to utilize his bench liberally — like he has been lately — to get guys breathers. But as we’ve seen, guys like Taison Chatman, Devin Royal, and Scotty Middleton aren’t just in the game to give starters a break. Diebler expects those players to take and make big shots, too. Each of those three did that on Thursday, and they will need to do it again Friday to win.
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Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images
Illinois is dangerous in many ways and can hurt you in a variety of areas, but almost no one in the country can hurt you in transition like Illinois and Terrance Shannon Jr.
Illinois is second in the conference at 83.9 points per game, and second in the conference in point differential at +11.0. The Fighting Illini are a team that loves to push the pace and beat you in transition. Think Iowa, but faster and more lethal.
Shannon Jr. is one of the best players in the country when he can get out and run and create in transition. Marcus Domask is also great in transition, and can hurt you from all three levels if you lose track of him.
Ohio State just ran up and down the court against Iowa, and Illinois was sitting and watching, so the Illini have an advantage there. They are going to want to push the pace and test Ohio State’s stamina. However, Illinois hasn’t played all week, so the Buckeyes come in with some momentum after a hot shooting night.
The Buckeyes will need the same bench production they got against Iowa to show up in this one. Devin Royal, Taison Chatman, Scotty Middleton, and Zed Key are all going to play meaningful minutes to give Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle, and Jamison Battle some rest on their legs, and if they can’t give them those minutes, Illinois will just continue to push the pace.
If they can force Illinois to play through the half-court and not let them get out into transition, they can slow the game down and force the Illini to execute.
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Ohio State is one win away from maybe-possibly-perhaps earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
At first it was a joke. Then it was a pipe dream. Now? Now the Ohio State men’s basketball team is one win away from having a strong argument for swiping one of the 32 at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament.
After knocking off Iowa on Thursday night in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, the Buckeyes improved to 20-12 overall and 7-11 against Quad 1 & Quad 2 opponents. They were listed among the “next four out” in some bracket predictions before the Iowa win, so the assumption is Ohio State remains in that group of six-to-eight teams hoping to sneak in on this final weekend.
Of course, winning the Big Ten Tournament would do the job, too.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated which Rutgers player should’ve been at the top of the scouting report as Ohio State traveled to New Jersey for the final game of the regular season. Connor went with senior center Cliff Omoruyi, while Justin picked sophomore guard Derek Simpson. 83% of the readers sided with Connor, and Omoruyi did in fact outscore Simpson in the game, 10-0.
After 143 weeks:
Connor- 71
Justin- 53
Other- 15
(There have been four ties)
We now turn our attention to the Illinois Fighting Illini. The No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament beat Ohio State 87-75 on Jan. 30. Both Terrence Shannon and Marcus Domask had 23 points in Illinois 12-point win. One day after winning a track meet with Iowa, what will be the biggest key to beating Illinois and advancing to the Big Ten semifinal for the second straight season?
Today’s Question: What is the biggest key to upsetting Illinois in the Big Ten quarterfinal?
Connor: Bench production
Ohio State’s bench outscored Iowa’s bench 37-16 on Thursday night, including 11 points from Scotty Middleton (all in the first half!), eight from Devin Royal, and eight from Zed Key. Leaning on his team’s depth has been something interim head coach Jake Diebler has been talking about since he was elevated to head coach, saying that the bench, “should be a strength of this team.” Against Iowa, it was the difference in a 90-78 win.
Diebler would certainly love to see more of that against Illinois, and they might need it if they have any chance of advancing to the Big Ten semifinal on Saturday. Last time these teams played, Illinois was able to completely shut off the water to Bruce Thornton and Felix Okpara, holding the former to seven points on 3-of-11 shooting and the latter to zero points and only two shot attempts in 18 minutes.
The Buckeyes’ bench didn’t make up for the difference, scoring just 14 points as the Buckeyes lost by 12. Illinois has not been quite as studly on the defensive end since that game, but the goal will still be to cut off Thornton, who is the head of the snake and makes everything happen for Ohio State offensively. He flirted with a triple-double against Iowa, finishing with 14 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds. Illinois wants that line to be much closer to the seven points and five assists he had against them two months ago.
On top of the obvious “more points!” Ohio State also needs to lean on its bench because there are going to be some tired legs wearing scarlet and gray on Friday night. Diebler has this team fully bought-in on giving 100% hustle at all times — getting back in transition, fighting in crowds for rebounds, trying to save every ball that is going out of bounds. The players have to be winded and tired after the track meet with Iowa on Thursday, and now they’ll be lacing it up to face the team that is probably the second-fastest, up and down team in the Big Ten just 24 hours later.
Guys are going to have tired legs and sometimes get out-ran by Illinois, who has not played in five days. When that happens, Diebler is going to utilize his bench liberally — like he has been lately — to get guys breathers. But as we’ve seen, guys like Taison Chatman, Devin Royal, and Scotty Middleton aren’t just in the game to give starters a break. Diebler expects those players to take and make big shots, too. Each of those three did that on Thursday, and they will need to do it again Friday to win.
Justin: Transition defense
Illinois is dangerous in many ways and can hurt you in a variety of areas, but almost no one in the country can hurt you in transition like Illinois and Terrance Shannon Jr.
Illinois is second in the conference at 83.9 points per game, and second in the conference in point differential at +11.0. The Fighting Illini are a team that loves to push the pace and beat you in transition. Think Iowa, but faster and more lethal.
Shannon Jr. is one of the best players in the country when he can get out and run and create in transition. Marcus Domask is also great in transition, and can hurt you from all three levels if you lose track of him.
Ohio State just ran up and down the court against Iowa, and Illinois was sitting and watching, so the Illini have an advantage there. They are going to want to push the pace and test Ohio State’s stamina. However, Illinois hasn’t played all week, so the Buckeyes come in with some momentum after a hot shooting night.
The Buckeyes will need the same bench production they got against Iowa to show up in this one. Devin Royal, Taison Chatman, Scotty Middleton, and Zed Key are all going to play meaningful minutes to give Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle, and Jamison Battle some rest on their legs, and if they can’t give them those minutes, Illinois will just continue to push the pace.
If they can force Illinois to play through the half-court and not let them get out into transition, they can slow the game down and force the Illini to execute.
Continue reading...