Look Familiar?
Bassett’s 23 gives him 47 in last 2 games(AP / Darron Cummings)
In a game that followed an all too familiar blueprint, Ohio State started slow before fighting back only to shoot themselves in the foot with bad turnovers and poor shooting down the stretch in a 72-69 defeat at Indiana.
Fighting for their tournament lives, the Buckeyes have now lost three straight and five of the last seven.
Stage one of the blueprint, the slow start, came in the form of a 10-0 Indiana run capped by an Eric Gordon three right before the first TV timeout after a Kosta Koufos triple gave OSU a 3-0 lead.
Following 3 points from some kid named David Lighty, the Hoosiers went on an 8-1 run featuring two monster dunks from DJ White and another from Jordan Crawford as the Buckeyes hemorraghed offensive rebounds. Shortly thereafter, Armon Bassett scored 10 straight points pushing Indiana in front by 13 at 30-17 with 2:36 left setting up stage two.
Evan Turner parlayed a steal into a dunk and Jamar Butler hit a short jumper to cut the deficit to 30-21 at intermission in spite of the Buckeyes shooting just 8% from deep (1/12) while giving up 12 offensive boards.
Inspired by the late mini-surge, Kosta Koufos took over in the second half scoring 9 points in an 11-4 run that saw Indiana’s lead shrink to 34-32 with 15 minutes to go.
After a another dunk from DJ White gave IU a 41-35 lead Koufos responded with 6 straight Buckeye points sandwiched between a White free throw to draw Ohio State to within one (42-41) at the 10:59 mark moving us to the next stage in the blueprint.
Stage three started innocently enough as OSU raced down court on a 3-1 fastbreak but a Butler pass went off Turner’s hands and out of bounds blowing a sure layup with OSU trailing 49-46. On cue, Indiana got a lefty leaner from Jamarcus Ellis pushing the lead to 51-46 in what I believe was the most decisive sequence in the game. Turner did respond with a conventional three point play cutting the lead to 51-49 at 5:09 but the damage was done.
The Buckeyes were held scoreless the next two minutes behind a miss from Othello Hunter and crushing turnover from Koufos allowing IU to score 7 straight points to go up 58-49. After fighting back to 61-56 Koufos again doomed the cause throwing the ball out of bounds following a rebound of a Butler miss. As good teams do, Indiana promptly buried 9/10 free throws in the final minute to claim the W.
Props to the Buckeyes for showing a little passion on the road following the home loss to Wisconsin as I truly thought they’d mail it in. That said, the game will only be remembered as another missed opportunity in a mediocre season that does not yet have a quality win. Sure, they beat Syracuse and Florida but neither of those teams were any good at the time.
It’s a shame Kosta made a few mistakes late because he had a monster second half against the best player on arguably the best team in the conference. His 18 points on 7/12 shooting kept OSU in the game after a poor first half in which he shot a flimsy 1/6. Overall Koufos netted 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals to offset the 3 big turnovers.
Evan Turner’s game had the same flavor as he tallied 13 points, 7 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals but amassed a staggering 5 turnovers including 3 crucial second half miscues. I’m still super high on Turner but the turnovers give me heart palpitations.
Butler and Hunter each scored 12 points while Jon Diebler took a step back shooting just 1/6 with 3 turnovers. Hunter was effective inside adding 6 rebounds in addition to the 6/9 shooting.
OSU will look to end their slide this Saturday against the Gophers. Feel good about that one? Neither do I and it just might be the best chance to get a win before the conference tourney.
What a difference a year makes.
Ain’t it great to watch a game and know the outcome 3 minutes in. I’d like to thank them for the slow start. It allowed me to relax and watch the game without hanging on every possession. Even as they cut into the lead, when there was a chance to tie or take the lead the next time they got the ball there would be a phathom pass or a walk or a long, missed 3.
These kids may have been good in high school because they are good athletes, but their basketball I.Q. ain’t too good.
Does this reflect on Matta at all?
TLB – You would be ridiculed at BuckeyePlanet for comments like those!
I never expected a win from the first minute. What’s up with the lack of clutch anything? Shots? Passes? Anything? They just aren’t THAT good.
In other news, Northwestern broke its 20 game Big Ten losing streak and beat the Michigan Wolverines.
I think they are done tourney wise. The only way they make it into the tourney is if they beat Minnesota, not a given, win one of the final two against Purdue or MSU, not a given, and win 2 or more games in the Big Ten Tourney, not a given. If they don’t win one or both against Purdue or MSU then they did not beat a top 5 team in the big ten and the selection commitee will leave them out.
I’m content to give Matta a free pass on the team record considering what was lost to the NBA especially since the ‘master plan’ was for two of those guys to be on this year’s team.
That said, I do question the lack of development in players like Hunter and Lighty and the somewhat stunted development of Diebler. Of course, I do personally think both Koufos and Turner have gotten better. They both still have some issues but I tend to think they are issues more acceptable from freshmen – lack of strength and being careless with the rock.
I think Matta is doing all he can with this squad. It’s one thing to try to bring some youngsters along but Thad really has to rely freshmen to win. The vets usually help the coach out in this area (Butler, Hunter, and Wiggler…not so much). Those dudes play like freshmen sometimes. Butler continues to take terrible shots without involving his team and the Wiggler stepped in cold last night promptly launching a 22 foot brick. Hunter’s still a work in progress and needs to be coached up.
The 3 on 1 blown fast break was the season recap played out in 6 seconds.
How long until the Spring Game?
Does anyone else worry every time Turner has the rock? There seems to be no middle ground with him, it is always 1 of 2 outcomes, a solid move/shot or a turnover. Nothing in between. No nice pass, no nice hands, no nice save. Its a shot or a turnover (turner-over).
All in all, they are young, and bottom line is that the Bucks are just not a great team this year. They are middle of the pack, about right where they should be. Next year we will find out a bit more about these guys, having a year under their belt and with the incoming class we have. I would have to think the goals next year would be at least a Sweet 16 run….
Scott – No doubt Turner is all or nothing but I still think he’s gonna be all-league eventually. He’s got the physical skills, he just needs to keep developing mentally and I think he will.
Anon – totally agree on the 3-1 fastbreak comment. I thought the exact same thing as it happened. That 4 point swing was huge, especially on the road.
I agree with Chris, Thad deserves a free pass this year. However, I questioned why Diebler continued to play in the final minutes. He is just not that good on the road and at least Lighty had hit a three already and will look to drive.
While the 3-1 fast break debacle was classic, I think my favorite was the offensive rebound by Koufos late, where he promptly tried to throw a pass towards two teammates, who both moved away from the ball and it dropped out of bounds.
Just saw that D-Cook was sent to the D-Leage. Think he could’ve helped this year’s Buckeye’s offensive woes? I guess I can’t blame him for taking the fat paycheck, but I think he could have developed into a top-10 pick with at least a year, if not 2, in Columbus.
Cook would be perfect for this team. A huge dose of confidence. Granted with Cook it was overconfidence at times, but that would be refreshing to have on this team. Diebs just about squirted his oversized shorts when KK tried to throw him that offensive board late in the game. Cook would have caught the pass, winked at an IU cheerleader, signed an autograph for a young Buckeye fan, and shot a 30 foot fade away as time expired.
Nice, Travis – A spot on assessment of Daequan! He would definitely help this team but I think Conley is the true missing piece. Butler could score a lot more points if he didn’t have to run the point. Too bad Quan had his mind made up that he was one and done because he needed an Escalade sittin on dubs. At least he’s stylin’ while in the D-league.
I wonder if Matta’s personal health issues are wearing on him this year, too? He looks very uncomfortable on the sidelines. That’s not to excuse him from coaching – if he shows up, then he should be expected to coach – but it might be a factor.
Lighty is just awful, and I don’t know what to make of him. Diebler might be more solid next year, with a full off-season to develop his shot and his timing. Hunter, to my mind, is next to useless. It’s all or nothing with him, and if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s a guy who has the tools but refuses to use them (Eric Davis, anyone?). I think Turner will come along.
Cook *and* Conley would have saved this team from NIT ignominy, but I don’t see Cook doing it by himself. Imagine Conley at the point, with all the penetration and improvisation he brought, with Cook and Butler on the perimeter, raining shots. Stick Hunter at a low post, with Koufos at forward. Lighty is your defensive stopper, Turdwiggler spells some minutes and soaks up some fouls, and Diebler/Hunter can come in at Matta’s leisure, gaining junk time and learning the ropes. Wallace, Lauderdale and P.J. can sit, watch and develop in practice. That’s a team that probably finishes at least third in the Big T(elev)en, and gets a five or six seed in the tournament.
Last year’s class put Ohio State back on the basketball map, and did wonders for the program, but there’s also a fearful price to pay when you lose three of those men after just one year. You just can’t build consistency, or gain enough time to coach up your slower-developing players.
Viva La Zwick Experimentada!!!!
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/destroyers/stories/2008/02/27/destroyers27.ART_ART_02-27-08_C3_U39FM7Q.html?sid=101
Ease up on Matta, he won the Big Ten in his second season on the job (you remember Foster/Butler/Dials/Sullinger/Lewis). This team is getting nothing from the sophomore and junior classes (junior is the O’Brien-Matta transition and we all know where the sophomore class is). Below is offensive rating for this Buckeye team (from http://kenpom.com/sr.php?team=Ohio%20St. This is essentially how many points a player would score in 100 possessions.) Koufos and Butler are good weapons inside and at the point respectively and their efficiency backs that up, but Lighty/Turner/Diebler may as well be the three headed black hole of basketball productivity. The shooting guard/small forward spot has to be an offensive force for a basketball team to be successful and the Buckeyes don’t have it this year. What is scary to think about is that if Koufos leaves this team will return zero offensive weapons for next season.
Jamar Butler Sr 115.5
David Lighty So 92.4
Othello Hunter Sr 109.7
Kosta Koufos Fr 107.3
Evan Turner Fr 97.5
Jon Diebler Fr 92.9
Matt Terwilliger Sr 102.5
Andy, I hear you, but when a team doesn’t improve as the year goes on, it’s usually on the coach. This is Matta’s first team to actually get worse from where they were at the midpoint of the season.
Thad Matta’s coaching record so far:
School Season Wins Losses Postseason
Butler 2000-01 24 8 Second Round
Xavier 2001-02 26 6 Second Round
Xavier 2002-03 26 11 Second Round
Xavier 2003-04 26 11 Elite Eight
Ohio State 2004-05 20 12 Ineligible
Ohio State 2005-06 26 6 Second Round
Ohio State 2006-07 35 4 National Championship Game
The man knows how to coach. This one team doesn’t have the depth it needs. That is a result of three players leaving early for the NBA, and the completely absent junior class. Matta is an excellent coach, he is an outstanding recruiter, and he will win a lot of basketball games. Let’s hope he does it in Columbus and not Champaign or Bloomington.