Preview: Ohio State at Wisconsin
Ryan is 116-11 in front of the Grateful Red.
 Ohio State 17-5, 7-4 Big Ten Roster | Schedule |
February 14, 2009 9:00 PM ET – ESPN —— Kohl Center Madison, WI |
 Wisconsin 15-9, 6-6 Big Ten Roster | Schedule |
Ohio State travels to Madison on Saturday to face a streaking Badger team for the only time this season.
The Buckeyes are 0-5 at the Kohl Center since Bo Ryan took over in 2001 and with this game being the ESPN primetime feature, the Grateful Red will make it tough on Thad’s young squad.
Wisconsin has won 3 straight after suffering through an uncustomary 6 game skid in January. Of course, the Buckeyes have won 4 straight themselves and had a week to prepare for the Badgers, so it should be another classic B10 battle.
| # | Name | PTS | REB | ASST | POS | # | Name | PTS | REB | ASST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Jeremie Simmons | 7.8 | 1.7 | 3.0 | G | 12 | Jason Bohannon | 10.9 | 3.1 | 1.8 |
| 33 | Jon Diebler | 11.0 | 3.4 | 2.7 | G | 3 | Trevon Hughes | 11.5 | 3.2 | 2.9 |
| 21 | Evan Turner | 17.0 | 7.5 | 3.3 | F | 1 | Marcus Landry | 12.9 | 4.3 | 1.5 |
| 44 | William Buford | 11.8 | 3.5 | 1.1 | F | 45 | Joe Krabbenhoft | 8.2 | 6.7 | 2.6 |
| 52 | Dallas Lauderdale | 5.1 | 4.1 | 0.3 | C | 30 | Jon Leuer | 9.5 | 4.1 | 0.8 |
Opponent
Wisconsin sits 2nd, right behind the Bucks in conference shooting at 45 percent, including 36 percent from downtown. Bo’s team ranks fourth in scoring at almost 65 points and gives up only 60 points a contest, thanks to a 49 point average over the last 3.
Jon Leuer, a 6″10″ sophomore, entered the starting lineup three games ago and has responded with essentially 11 points and 7 boards, thus sending 20 game starter Keaton Nankivil to the bench. Bo Ryan will primarily play 4 of his starters over 30 minutes and will look to bring Tim Jarmusz, Nankivil, and Jordan Taylor off the pine.
Two weeks ago, the Badgers were on the verge of being written off in B10 play, but they have locked down the defense, allowing more than 25 points in a half only once during their current streak. They have climbed to a +4.4 scoring margin in league play and a victory over the AP ranked Buckeyes would bump them above .500 in B10 play and keep their slim tourney hopes alive.
Buckeye Breakdown:
Ohio State comes into the game leading the conference in shooting at 50.1 percent per game, including 42 percent from deep. The Bucks are holding steady behind MSU for scoring average, dropping in 68.4 per contest.
Evan Turner leads the conference in scoring at 18 points, while Buford sits 7th with 14.8 and Diebler is 13th at 12.5 points a game. Throw in Mullens at 10.8 a game and you have the only B10 team with four players averaging double digits in league play. Matta has molded this team into an offensive force and it is more enjoyable to watch without all the 3-balls being chucked up with 25 seconds left on the shot clock.
We will soon find out whether the week off was a good thing or not. I personally think it was a well-timed break by the scheduling gods, allowing the Bucks to rest their legs, shoot a ton of jumpers and draw up new plays for the stretch run, in which they play 4 of their last 7 on the road.
I think it is going to take until the 12 minute mark of the first half for OSU to shake a bit of the rust off. If they can avoid an early deficit and not be intimidated by a home crowd that actually makes noise, then they can come home from Madison with a win. Wisconsin is tough on defense, but the Bucks have so many scoring options that have emerged, it is difficult to stop them all for forty minutes. That is why I think the Bucks will pull out the 61-57 victory.
Etc
- Whisky has already lost 2 conference home games, after losing just 3 in Ryan’s first 7 seasons.
- Only UCONN (8) has more wins than Ohio State (5) over top 25 teams.
FYI, might make for an interesting write up… but Henton just quit on GSU..
http://www.anygivensaturday.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56362
Remember him saying he would be the Buck’s next
Hiesman winner? What a douche!!!
It just struck me that Bo Ryan looks like Vince McMahon before the steroids. I can see him saying “You’re FIRED!”
We are going to lose because the “stinkin’ Badgers” get all the calls at home, especially against us. Its there only paybacks for ripping their hearts out year after year in the only sport that matters.( Face it, it is.)
Funniest clip ever, if you dont get the “stinkin’ badgers” remark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKIAn2UlAX4
Good write-up. I’m glad it popped up on Google News. I will bookmark.
95 years ago today, a baby boy was born in Clifton, Ohio.
And Ohio State football was never the same.
Fuck Valentine’s Day.
Happy Birthday, Woody.
Check that–96 years ago. How the time does fly.
Happy b-day to the Greatest!!!
does anyone think BJ will crack the starting lineup with the increasingly poor play by Dallas?
I hope so. dallas hasn’t been aggressive enough lately. Its nice to have instant offense with the 6 man. Matta used cook like that too. I always think he’s trying to keep these good players under wraps so they will hang around for two years.
PJ Hill goes off tonight for 7 points 3 dimes. Buckeyes by 7
hahaha! 7 pts and 3 dimes — that’s going off? for him, i guess you’re right.
Diebler gets worse by the minute.
I think he’s gotten better and things like rebounding and his steals are definitely up but he cannot get his own shot against any defense better than mediocre. Too slow.
7 minutes without a FG and only down 1.
God, I hate playing Wisconsin.
It’s very exciting. Those people do the jump around just to stay awake.
Bo Ryan is good for a few laughs though.
Daequan won the 3-point competition
Wow, good for him.
I’d rather listen to Pam Ward than Vitale.
At least he wants BJ to stick around for another.
BJ isn’t looking very “NBA material” tonight.
His transition game from offense to defense is NBA material.
Yeah, but there’s more to the game than that.
I cringe everytime PJ Hill touches the basketball.
I cringe when BJ touches, I mean fumbles, it… Damn Dickie V toasted him.
Lauderdale gets fouls on reputation. He had position on the baseline.
Refs seem to be a bit “homerish” tonight.
Why isn’t Simmons playing?
Diebler should not be on the floor.
fyi for tampabuckeye, hill has 5pts, 2 reb, 2 asst.
Yeah, he is association ready.
The travel right under the hoop was my favorite play of his tonight.
Notice Mullens is not on the floor.
Not smart basketball.
Not a good time for Evan Turnover to show up. Oh well, they played ‘em tough.
Tough is not good enough. They had plenty of chances to win this game and lost it on the boards……..15 offensive rebounds for Wisc
Oh, I agree. That and their lack of a deep bench, solid point guard and their inexperience makes me think they’re not going to do well in the NCAA tourney, if they make it. One and done, IMHO.
I still like their effort, and they’ve improved a lot since Lighty got injured and Crater transferred. They’re a young team, so I give them a lot of slack.
Yeah but when we font hit the free throws early that’s what kills us. We can’t hit the shots that really matter at the line.
7 minute drought in the first half. They avoided those during the win streak.
Damn. Wanted this one, but didn’t need it. Still a chance to gain some respect heading into March.
Rebounds please!!! Lauderdale is getting increasingly worthless…
Fuck Fuck Fuck what a shitty loss. BJ and Diebler are officially on my Travis Hafner list…(Overhyped and overrated)…IMHO they are garbage. BJ can’t hold onto the ball and Diebler can’t shoot unless he’s wide open and can’t get his own shot. Lauderdale is of no help either, 2 blocks, 5 points and 4(!) rebs a game are very mediocre.
What a shitty loss. Wisconsin took 17 more shots. Why can’t they address the offensive rebounding problem?!?!?!!!?
And I know Turner is a very valuable player, but what is the success ratio of his spinning-through-the-legs-behind-the-back-between-three-defenders attempts? My guess is not very good. Definitely wasn’t looking for that down 2 with 90 seconds left.
Turnovers, rebounding and a lack of offensive continuity cost us this one. Diebler is just holding space because he gives us a big fat zero unless he happens to have a slow person guarding him and he is hitting his shots (very rare). Lauderdale looks lost since the beggining of conference play. Thad plays a zone defense where BJ Mullens is expected to guard the corner while Turner is supposed to play the big man in the center. On what planet does that make sense? Nobody knows how to box out or set a legal screen. Thank God for Buford’s natural shooting ability and Turner’s raw instinct to take it strong to the hole when he isn’t dribbling through his legs or spinning in to the other team. SO FRUSTRATING!