My biggest concern is the emotional letdown after the big game with the Boilers....the kids were sky high for Purdue and rose to the challenge. This might be one of Matta's toughest tasks to date to get these kids ready to play on the road after an emotional win over one of their toughest conference challengers..... NW is absolutely perfectly capable of beating these kids if they are not focused and bring their "A" game....I hate these games.
Stu, I'd be quite happy to have a consistent standard for calls in the paint in every game we play....the more physical defenders are in playing him, the more physical he needs to be to be effective. If the officials are going to let defenders play him physically they cannot then use a different standard when he plays offense in a similar manner, can they? That's just tough physical Big 10 hoops and it's been that way for as long as I can remember....we've however not always had the luxury of having a big physical presence like Sully in the middle.... If they call everything straight up, with a consistent standard, he will either dominate the paint, spend all day at the line or both. I have no problem with any of those.....
I'm not all worked up about it...I'm a huge Sullinger fan and sh*t happens. But we'll hafta just disagree on this one...a deliberately thrown elbow after the play is what it is.
When they are that close the intentions are clear.....one that lands is a cheap shot....one that doesn't has a different intent. It's virtually impossible to miss by accident...... The kid has never been dirty nor has he ever played for a coach that would tolerate it....I'll let that influence my conclusion as to his intent and his intentions were pretty clear....just my opinion.
I don't think he's a dirty player...I just hope when Matta sees the tape he talks to him. Hate to get a flagrant foul at the wrong time. I'm not the only one who saw lots of elbows.
This is going to be one of those years in which NCAA pools are decided in the first two rounds because who in their right mind won't have the Buckeyes winning it all. As I said before it's 2007 and 2009 all over again.....UF and NC respectively were mortal locks and a large majority of pool players were correct in picking them. When 60-70% of the pool has the champ correctly picked then the first 2 rounds become critical. Sorry to get off the elbow issue but everything NCAA BB related this season from here on out involves the Buckeyes.
A bit off topic this morning, but still about future Big Ten coming opponents. Two major upsets last night in Big Ten play with Michigan beating the Spartans in the Bressling Center and Indiana nipping Illinois. The second round in Big Ten play may prove to be very interesting for all concerned! Buckeyes are not exempted!
No doubt abut that....the conference schedule is a meat grinder with great players and great coaches. There are several teams quite capable of knocking off these kids on any given day. Matta and staff need to keep up the good work getting these kids ready to play at a high level every night. Working in our favor is a great blend of talent and experience....the power game in the post complemented by the shooters and slashers on the wing and from the perimeter. The youthful exuberance of Sully, Craft and Thomas along side the savvy senior leadership of Lighty, Diebler and Lauderdale.....these guys have seen it all and know what it takes to make the stretch run in the conference and in the dance. Lighty - the quiet but unquestioned leader of this team - flys under the national radar but is the winningest player ever at Ohio State and one of - if not #1 - the winningest players in NCAA history....he's one of my all time favorites.
Don't be surprised at 3 or 4 losses before the Buckeyes are done. Doesn't mean a thing......OSU is still the class of the NCAA tourney this year.
While you never know of course, but I'd be suprised if the Buckeyes lost 3 or 4 games down the stretch. 1 or 2 sure, but not as many as 4. If they lose as many as 4 that is not a good sign, might mean they peaked too soon.
C'mon...it's a single elimination tournament. We are in as good of a position as anybody but... We know what you're up to. <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4BtdlCP_Dzc" frameborder="0"></iframe>
I don't think 4 losses means they are not what I think they are Terry but you could be right....it's getting a might late for a team like OSU to lose 4 games so maybe they won't. I do think a loss or two would be good for the Buckeyes heading in to the NCAA tourney though. Stu...I'm a believer bro!!!
Dave, I do not think a couple of losses for my Buckeyes would be out of reason. Whether is would aid us in the tournament is open to speculation. I have argured both ways in the past, but I really do not think it is a plus one way or the other. Shurma, Northwesters leading scorer, may not play today. He sufferd a concussion Wednesday against Minnesota. Game time decision
The meat of the schedule is still ahead of them....the 4 game stretch that begins next week at Minny, at Mad-town, at West Lafayette with Sparty sandwiched in at home will be brutal....mentally and physically. I'd be shocked if those kids got through that gauntlet unbeaten.....personally, I don't care how many they lose as long as they win the last one....however, I do believe the best case scenario would be for them to lose at least one to remind themselves that sh!t happens if you don't bring your "A" game but not enough to drop below a #1 seed in the tourney.
No easy road games in the Big Ten. Buckeyes nip Wildcats 58-57 in Evanston. We had the edge on fgp and turnovers, but lost the battle on the boards and Northwestern made the difference up in treys. We were very fortunate to win this one. Shurma did not play which makes this more unbelievable!
Just another example of what happens to any highly-ranked team who doesn't bring their "A" game on the road. The crowd was energetic, NW had a great plan, executed it well and our kids just didn't have the same intensity they had -v the Boilers....we were fortunate to escape. Happens all the time....we were fortunate to escape with the win...as I said previously, I hate these games, but I'm hopeful that this one was educational....
I do think it best for OSU to lose one or two regular season games but not in the conference tourney. It's too iffy heading to the NCAAs unbeaten.