Preview: Ohio State vs. Indiana
Don’t be surprised to see 20 points soon.(D.Harker: The O-Zone)
 Ohio State 11-3, 1-2 Big Ten Roster | Schedule |
January 13, 2009 7:00 PM ET – ESPN —— The Schott Columbus, OH |
 Indiana 5-10, 0-3 Big Ten Roster | Schedule |
What a difference a year makes. Just a season ago, Indiana was on top of the Big Ten cruising towards a title and I took some heat for calling out Kelvin Sampson in the first preview.
Two weeks later Sampson was fired and Dan Dakich came in to oversee the season-ending-drug-induced-FAIL that lead to Tom Crean being hired to turn things around. Crean was a great choice and there is little doubt he will have the Hoosiers back in the next couple of years.
Indiana took both games from Ohio State last year and lead the all-time series 99-68, but OSU holds a 47-34 in Columbus. This will be the first time both teams come in unranked since the 2004-2005 season.
| # | Name | PTS | REB | ASST | POS | # | Name | PTS | REB | ASST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Jeremie Simmons | 7.0 | 2.0 | 2.6 | G | 2 | Matt Roth | 5.5 | 1.4 | 0.5 |
| 33 | Jon Diebler | 10.9 | 3.5 | 2.6 | G | 20 | Nick Williams | 9.0 | 4.9 | 0.8 |
| 21 | Evan Turner | 15.9 | 7.3 | 2.6 | F | 12 | Verdel Jones III | 8.3 | 2.5 | 2.6 |
| 44 | William Buford | 9.7 | 3.3 | 0.6 | F | 44 | Kyle Taber | 4.0 | 5.1 | 0.7 |
| 52 | Dallas Lauderdale | 6.6 | 4.6 | 0.4 | C | 25 | Tom Pritchard | 12.2 | 7.3 | 1.2 |
Opponent
Indiana comes in scoring 60.9 points a game on 42.8% shooting, both good for last in the B10. With all the defections from last year the Hoosiers start 4 freshmen and a senior and making matters worse, their leading scorer Devan Dumes may be out with an ankle injury. If you’ll recall, Dumes was offered a scholarship by Thad, but decided to stay close to home, opening up the spot for Jeremie Simmons. I was looking forward to comparing the two tonight.
If Dumes doesn’t play, the Hoosiers may go only 7 deep, 6 of which are freshmen. Malik Story, a 6′5″ freshmen will lead Indiana off the bench, scoring 5.9 points and grabbing almost 3 boards a game.
They have lost 8 of their last 9, including 6 straight, but had Michigan on the ropes last week before blowing a 20 point lead. Other recent losses include Kentucky, Northeastern and Lipscomb.
Buckeye Breakdown:
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the Houston Baptist game due to a combo of traveling and being a dumb-ass with the DVR, but it sound like the Huskies were so bad, it would be hard to determine anything good or bad from the tape.
A couple recent trends have been encouraging though. I think the Bucks have started to make a better effort of getting the ball toBJ Mullens, as he hit 13 of 21 shots in the last two games. Also, Will Buford has scored 36 in his last two, creeping his per game average to almost 10.
The negative trends continue to be the lack of three point defense and Diebler’s streaky shooting. The Bucks have fallen to 9th in the conference in 3-point FG defense, allowing 43 over the last 4 games. Diebler’s scoring the last eight games is: 14, 16, 3, 5, 27, 15, 7 and 5. He would be guaranteed double figures every game, if he would give a shot fake and drive on a threeball every now and then. It was good to see him lead the team with 8 assists against Houston Baptist.
Etc
- Evan Turner is fourth in scoring and fifth in boards amongst B10 players.
- OSU doesn’t have a player ranked in the top 15 for assists in the conference.
‘and Lipscomb’ !?!?!?!
WTF, Indy, you wear striped pants for God’s sake and you lose to Lipscomb? I think you should have your candy-cane pants taken away after that loss.
(I actually like the candy-cane pants, by the way)
http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/osu/2009/01/12/ddn011309spbigconweb.html
An article about Mo Wells, if anyone cares.
Very classy of Mo Wells. As much as we harp on him he’s got a good head on his shoulders and is very mature. I remember when there was talk of him transferring. He probably could’ve made a bigger impact at a school that could utilize him better. Not saying he should’ve gone, but he might have been more successful elsewhere.
I personally don’t think he can be successful at the pro level.
i feel like if he did some tryout work or start out on practice teams i feel like his type of running could fit into a good deal of nfl teams. i wish him the best and thanks for your years here mo
If we Mo Wells Jamaal Berry by refusing to run him anywhere but up the gut, I’m going to weep tears of blood.
then i shall give you a red handkerchief for xmas/hanukkah/whatever next year in preparation. its coming. its jimmy t.
If there is one thing Ive learned about the NFL, its that you never can tell. Take Derrick Ward of the NY Giants, played 20 games at Fresno St., quit the team, a year later enrolled at a JUCO, got drafted, then cut, then resigned, and now a big part of a super bowl team. Go figure.
Or Terrell Davis, didnt have a long career, but most say he was still fresh coming in from not getting any carries at Georgia. Mo Wells didnt put the numbers up in high school that he did for nothing. I sincerely hope he finds the right system and proves the doubters wrong, like me.
The Steelers’ James Harrison was an undrafted free agent, was then cut four times, and is now defensive player of the year.
They’ve had their busts (who hasn’t), but, all in all, who picks linebackers better than the Steelers?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbDotbP-qwg
I guess you’ve all seen this. This is our quarterback for cryin out loud!!!
Ladies and gentlemen, the Posterization of Justice.
jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesus…the nuts of justice to the face…
That works too.
No foul called either way on that? Ridiculous.
I just heard that Nikola Kecman blew out his knee and is done for the season.
Can anyone verify this…….it is yet another blow to our depth if it is true.
I heard the same thing. From what I understand, he did it in practice.
Thin just got a lot thinner, sad to say.
They’re having a long run of bad luck, aren’t they?
Dammit, I found this looking for news on Buckeyes possibly leaving early:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FBC_USC_MAYS?SITE=WBNS&SECTION=SPORTS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
But then again, why would he want to leave USC early, he probably gets paid more there.
There was some talk on the radio today about letting BJ start, and having Dallas come off the bench. Dallas is really dropping off, and BJ isn’t showing me much, so I’m not sure they know what to do.
Kecman’s injury is a kick in the teeth. Still, if they run the Big T(elev)en at .500, they should get into the tournament – those wins over Notre Dame, Miami and Butler may well carry them in.
Yea, 2-3 since 9-0, they need to get it done tonight.
Also, anyone attending tonights game please refrain from the use of open flames, Steve Lavin’s hair is in the building.
Is this a basketball game or a 3pt contest at the moment?
Jesus, Indiana is terrible