Ohio State is having one of those magical seasons. It's getting kind of late to think they could have four losses.
As I said earlier.....OSU looks like the odds on favorite to win the title a la UF in 2007 and UNC in 2008. http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2009/04/06/ncaa-finals-diary-north-carolina-vs-michigan-state/ "So in the end, the season ended exactly as practically everyone expected it to back in the beginning. North Carolina, lest we forget, was an overwhelming favorite to win it all heading into the season" I see Ohio State on that same course but they have earned that accolade as they have gone along into the season and there will be no surprise if they win it all in April.
Bill and Dave, Nice win for the Gators over Kentucky yesterday! That was a nip and tuck game all the way. Wish you well in the tournament.
Thanks Don..... UF plays every good team ( except one... :wink: ) tighter than a drum. That tells me that advancing past the Sweet 16 will be unlikely for my Gators......but the Sweet 16 is at least a decent destination if they can pull out the two overtime games to get there.....
BT, We grew up in the Belmont section of Dayton, Ohio. Hosket and May played for Belmont HS and they were unbeatable. May was a two time AA at Dayton, probably the better of the two. He went on to play several years in the NBA and eventually won a ring with the Knicks. Still lives in Dayton I've lost track of Hosket but he was a great player as well and played briefly in the NBA. Sid, Bobby Knight went through OSU well before Hosket.
George, Bill Hosket lives in Upper Arlington here in the Columbus area. He did color and announcing for Ohio State for a number of years. Very personalble and a favorite of the fans.
Big, big difference in experience between these teams.....NC was a team dominated by a senior led Hansborough, a 3rd year starter at point guard in Lawson and 3 other upperclassmen that were all destined to be first round picks in the upcoming NBA draft. Those kids had seen everything, were seasoned vets and had been playing in that system for years. In our case, our best player is a freshman, our point guard is a freshman and our key bench player is a freshman. The offense has been completed re-tooled since losing the NPOY last year....these kids are babies in comparison and have yet to face the the rigors of any conference or NCAA tourney. They are good and have been fun to watch, but tourney time is a different animal and that experience is invaluable.....I not quite ready crown them....
I know that. Must have been a senior moment. As BT says above, I know that he was on the Lucas-Havlicek teams. I saw the name "Coach Taylor" and did not look beyond to see the other names. I immediately recalled the teams of the early 60s and responded accordingly.
If I'm not mistaken, his last team at Cincy made the Final Four the year we won the title, but they lost to Cal, our eventual opponent in the finals so we didn't play..... Each of the next two years, we played Cincy in the Finals - losing both - but the Big O was already in the NBA.....imagine that, losing the Big O and still winning back to back NCAA titles! There has been bad blood between the two schools ever since and have had some high profile dust ups as a result.....my Dad hated them with every fiber of his being, a passion he reserved for a select few.....the team up north and the Yankees to name two....of course he grew up in New England, a die hard Red Sox fan, so he came by it honestly.
BT...that why I said they have "earned" those accolades as the season has progressed. I do think though that OSU almost "desperately" needs a loss before the NCAA tourney because an almost unheard of unbeaten season would be too much to ask of such youngsters.
Buckeyes wrap up # 24 on the road at Williams Arena. Lighty, Buford and Sully come on strong. Ohio State continues to win on the road. Buckeye Terry, Lighty must have read your post! Badgers smother MSU. MSU will have to win the converence tournament to get a bid to the Big Dance. Michigan wins at Penn State. Wow!
Much better stroke today.....with the lone exception of the the wide open look he had in the corner....nobdody within the same zip code and he drilled it squarely into the corner of the backboard! :shock: This is an awfully good offensive basketball team that can score from every spot on the court making them incredibly difficult to defend.....if they play very well on the defensive end of the floor and maintain their focus and intensity for 40 minutes, they will be tough to beat. The Wisky game will be a defensive brawl and our kids will have to play their best game of the year on both ends with patience and great poise. Matta's group is something crazy like 26-1 in their last 27 conference games and the lone loss is -v- Wisky at Kohl where we've never beaten him and Bo Ryan simply doesn't lose.....something has to give - they are next up!
Dave, Wisconsin is not in the habit of losing at home and is the leading free throw shooting team in the conference. We will have our hands full. We will get them here in Columbus in the last conference game, prior to the Big Ten Tournament. Makes things interesting to say the least!
Cute story on Sully; http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/A-sign-mocking-Jared-Sullinger-will-soon-hang-at?urn=ncaab-319144