A good memory for tough times.
Ohio State
17-8, 7-7 Big Ten
Roster | Schedule
|
February 24, 2009 7:00 PM ET - ESPN —— The Schott Columbus, OH |
Penn State
19-8, 8-6 Big Ten
Roster | Schedule
|
It seems like the sky is falling for most Buckeye hoops fans, but a win over Penn State tonight would bring them into a fourth place tie and a chance to control their own tournament destiny.
The Nittany Lions are seeking their 20th win tonight, looking to reach that plateau for the first time since the Crispin brothers lead them to a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2000-2001 and a 21-12 record.
Ohio State obviously has to end the 3 game skid and keep their season from slipping away into NIT land. I think they can still pull it together to capture 3 wins in the last 4 games, but this game tonight is the most pivotal in the final stretch.
| # | Name | PTS | REB | ASST | POS | # | Name | PTS | REB | ASST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Jeremie Simmons | 7.3 | 1.6 | 2.9 | G | 12 | Talor Battle | 17.3 | 5.2 | 5.0 |
| 33 | Jon Diebler | 11.3 | 3.3 | 2.6 | G | 11 | Stanley Pringle | 12.7 | 3.2 | 2.8 |
| 21 | Evan Turner | 17.2 | 7.3 | 3.5 | F | 15 | David Jackson | 3.9 | 3.2 | 0.7 |
| 44 | William Buford | 11.4 | 3.3 | 1.2 | F | 2 | Jamelle Cornley | 14.6 | 6.6 | 1.2 |
| 52 | Dallas Lauderdale | 4.9 | 4.0 | 0.3 | C | 22 | Andrew Jones III | 5.4 | 5.5 | 0.3 |
Opponent
PSU comes in scoring 60.1 points a game in conference play, ranking them ahead of only Indiana and Iowa, but they have 3 of the top 17 scorers in the league. During B10 play, they are shooting 40.9 percent from the floor, including 35 percent from deep and a conference low 65 percent from the line.
Penn State is in the upper half in most defensive categories, giving up just 62 points a game during conference play, including 33 against Illinois in their last outing 6 days ago. It is surprising to see them 2 games above .500, considering their -1.6 scoring margin, but they have senior leadership in Cornley and Pringle, which can only help them in a potential close game with the Bucks.
Ed DeChellis will use a 7 man rotation, bringing in Danny Morrissey and Jeff Brooks off the bench. He'll play Cornely, Pringle and Battle over 30 minutes, with Jones III getting close to 25.
Buckeye Breakdown:
Don't quit on this team just yet. It has been a struggle the last 3 games, but as of right now, they are still slated to be in the dance as a 9 seed. If they win 3 of their last 4, it would give them a 20-9 record heading into the B10 tourney. Get a win there and no doubt the Bucks will be dancing.
Due to vacation, I did not get to see the Wisconsin and Northwestern games, but after reading the comments and watching the Illinois game, the season long weaknesses are still glaring. It's hard to believe the Bucks are still shooting over 50 percent in league play, considering no PG has emerged and the inside play of late makes you want to puke.
What's happened to Simmons? Since February came, he is 6 for 21 from the floor, with just 9 assists in 5 games and has allowed Hill to outplay him. He has had 3 games where he didn't have any assists and 3 where he didn't make a 3-pointer. I still believe this team can make some noise, but if Simmons doesn't return to his form of three weeks ago, Ohio State will play exactly 6 more game this year.
We saw glimpses of man to man late in the game against Illinois and I know most of us wonder why we don't see it more often. It gets tiring watching the opposition make 3 pointers at ease and when they don't make them, an offensive rebound is sure to follow. Remember though, the Buckeyes are simply too thin to play man. There is absolutely no depth inside and teams would just force Mullens and Invisidale to hedge beyond the three point line, guaranteeing foul trouble in most games.
I'm curious to hear your opinion though. Do you think Mullens doesn't get the ball enough because the guards don't look or because he can't consistently hold his position. For me, he has serious trouble gaining and holding his position on the block.
Etc
- Turner is 1 of 9 players who leads his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals, but the only 1 whose team has a chance for a tournament bid.
- Ohio State has beaten Penn State 10 straight times.
- It is our last chance to see 11W favorites Steve Lavin and Erin Andrews
Comments
"Remember though, the Buckeyes are simply too thin to play man. There is absolutely no depth inside and teams would just force Mullens and Invisidale to hedge beyond the three point line, guaranteeing foul trouble in most games."
oh no - we wouldnt want our bigs who do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING all game long to be in foul trouble. am i the only one who isnt buying this argument? like every other team in the nation has an endless amount of talented big men on the bench that they can throw in there whenever they want? its bullshit, people. complete bullshit. zero from zero equals zero - if mullens / lauderdale / madsen are in foul trouble and they dont do anything anyway, WHO CARES?
"Do you think Mullens doesn’t get the ball enough because the guards don’t look or because he can’t consistently hold his position?"
YES.
Box and 1, triangle and 2, 2-3, 1-2-2, please switch up the defense tonight Thad, you're becoming more predictable than the OSU football defense, and that is never a good thing. Gotta have this game tonight.
The Bucks have been too painful to watch these last few games, but thank you sweet little Christmas baby Jesus (the with tuxedo shirt) for giving us another glimpse of Ms. Erin Andrews. Do you think we could get her into the locker room to give the boys a 'pep' talk? Maybe then we can play like our pants are on fire!
i wish i didn't have night class that is making me miss watching the game, that way i could make at least 4-5 stanley pringle jerking-off-in-the-library jokes...during free throws.
Cornley's name is spelled "Conley" in the starting line-up graphic.
I think Mullens has been a big disappointment. He certainly doesn't hold his position well and for a guy his size he's almost a non-factor on the offensive boards. Cornbread Maxwell would eat his lunch and he's 4 inches shorter than B.J.
Mullens is flat out not using his body to gain position, he is 270 pounds if Im not mistaken. This further supports my argument that he is tanking this season just to go pro without injury. I realize this sounds a tad far fetched given that BJ's self stated dream was to play for the Bucks, but the kid woulda went first round straight outta high school. You start talkin millions and people change their thinking real quick.
After watching PSU a couple times, Ive noticed they play with a ton of heart, something these Buckeyes seriously lack. Also holding the team that just whooped our ass at home, to under 40 points just gives me the willies.
Got a bad feeling on this one.
As one that's been just as frustrated as the rest of you with the lack of man-to-man defense, I thought it was interesting that the Buckeyes were actually also in that set for the final three at Northwestern.
So says the Daily Hunter: http://blog.dispatch.com/blog-...
Thanks for the error update, it has been fixed. I knew I was dreaming of point guards last night during writing this.
A little something to chew on for all you Matta haters.
http://www.daytondailynews.com...
Can we find a clip of that shot to verify?
Donald Washington is putting on a pretty nice display at the combine.
word is that vontae is probably going to jump Jenkins
Corey, everytime you put ...........a pic of Erin Andrews up it takes ...........me an hour to read the ..........article because I can't help but ..........stopping to stare at the pic every 5 ...........seconds or so.
I hear you Wil, it took me a long time to decide which one was best.
If I'm not mistaken, the pictures from last year's Penn State game made Jim Davidson an overnight internet sensation. I have been disappointed in his EA snap shots thus far this season, so he has one shot at redemption tonight.
Hmm.. hope not. I did see Vontae put up the best bench numbers.
Vontae is having a great combine as his brother did a few years ago....once again both Davis and MJ are great players, but anyone who watches gives MJ the slight on field advantage....that being said Malcolm's 40-time was a tad disappointing as I would have like to see him break under 4.5, but we've all seen him on the field run with the best in the nation....if I'm a mid-round team I'm praying some idiots take Davis and leave Jenkins to drop
its funny, I went to a Miami Heat game this weekend and a heat front office guy and I were were saying exactly the same thing. Matta is a victim of his own success at recruiting and OSU would be #1 in the country if those guys had stayed around.... Daequan Cook had 0 points Saturday vs Philly..
it seems that Erin Andrews has been demoted (or something) this year... she gets less air time and seems to do way lower profile games. What's up?? anyone know?? My boss and I look for her on the ESPN games and call each other when we see her..... maybe she didnt quite (perform) up to her potential this year, gulp???
[...] Eleven Warriors [...]
"and call each other when we see her"
Something not right about that.
This is a ridiculous theory, being dominant would do nothing more than solidify his position and garner him more money as a lock as a lottery pick..
Something not right about that.
I'll tell you: it's creepy.
It's opposite day, looking like shit IMPROVES your draft stock. Just ask Alex Boone, he knows it's true both on and off the field.
I simply "Googled" the 2009 mock Nba draft, and he was anywhere from 8th to 14th in the first couple sites I pulled up.
I dont know about your parallel universe, but in my world NBA teams draft on "potential" as much as performance.
Out of the last 11 drafts, 5 players were drafted NUMBER 1 based on as much display of potential OR LESS than Mullens has shown.
Past number ones:
1. 1998 Michael 0lawakandi
2. 2001 Kwame Brown
3. 2002 Yao Ming
4. 2003 LeBron James
5. 2004 Dwight Howard
6. 2006 Andres Bargnani
Again, these are just number 1 picks, if i get into lottery picks, the list gets a WHOLE lot longer. You can even argue our buddy G.O. didnt exactly wow everybody the whole season.
Now, if youve got any hard cold evidence that BJ will NOT be a lottery pick, then please, indulge me. But as for everything i just listed, it doesnt seem so "ridiculous" that he still could be a lottery pick this year, even with his spotty play. Hell, all he really has to do is turn it on for 3 or 4 games and he could go top 5!!!!!
Again, say it with me "potential". Playa.
Baptist had a link to an SI.com feature story today on his blog. Unfortunately, it looks like NBA scouts are drooling over Mullens and questioning why Matta isn't "starting him and playing him 34 minutes a game" I guess the scouts haven't seen BJ get winded after 5 minutes.
http://blog.dispatch.com/hoops...
There was also a small story in the Dispatch today about a PG prospect out of Chicago who is one of the best yet unsigned guys in the country. Apparently he is really interested in OSU, but Thad hasn't offered because that shit stain Kosta Koufos dropping out of school before the quarter is almost certainly going to cost us a scholarship. But its cool because it isn't like we need a PG...
I am curious. I guess I haven't seen Malcolm play much press man coverage...
Davis has a 'tude, which probably won't help him
NEED this one.
RE: Baptist article on Buckeye NBA talent evaluation
I dont think Thad should ever "apologize" for recruiting top talent. Or never "dumb down" his recruiting efforts to please crybabies whining about all the guys who left early. Some people are actually bitching and whining that this is costing us wins. What a complete load of Ann Arbor!!! This recruiting effort just gets us a couple three pointers away from a title 2 years ago, and now people are upset because he's still recruiting studs??
Simple fact of life: The best players win.
Biggest game of the year, so far. This could be a "play out" game.
The guards don't know how to play with a 7 footer. They need to pass it high and stop throwing low bounce passes.
I agree the entry passes are often ill timed or in the wrong spot but I think Mullens is equally to blame for being unable to hold position. Forget Dallas - he is just board-handed and hopeless offensively.
Uh-oh! Tampa's boy gets the start tonight...
And the buckeyes come out in man to man defense?!?
Three airballs by the nits so far. Jebus. They're stealing our ice-cold thunder.
14-0 run makes it 17-3 buckeyes with 13min left..
OH, there is no way BJ is a lottery pick, thats just ridiculous, I must be a FAT KID FROM CLEVELAND!!!!!!
NOT.
So wait, it's okay for the one-and-dones to leave, but not graduating players like Hartline? Total championships among all of OSU's one and dones and Hartline: goose egg.
No. He's not a lottery pick if he plays like shit, whether he's trying to or not.
Speaking of playing like shit, Ohio State just gave up an 11-0 run, 19-15 now
Yikes. No truth to the rumor this is Mr. Freeze watching our offense: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
We lose this, we will have to win out to dance.
Did turner start?
26-13 run by PSU to close the half.
Tell me again why Lauderdale ever sees the floor?
Witty comebacks and snappy one-liners dont hide the fact you're a moron. Come back with something a little more thought out and not just knee jerk reaction to your me agaist the world attitude, and you might get somewhere in life. So I think I'll try to ignore you like the girls in your high school.
There wasn't anything witty about the comeback. It wasn't even a one-liner dude.
I'll take that as a "you're right, forget I said anything", thank you very much
I'm not even sure it was a comeback. I was pointing out a logical fallacy.
I'm actually not sure why we bother fielding our inside guys anymore. It's not like we use them.
Never thought I'd see PJ get a single double.
Seriously. To his credit, he's played well...Simmons wasn't bad either..they combined for 10 points on 4/8 in first half.
Turner is getting shut down by Cornley. Matta's going to have to play 2 bigs at same time to get Turner a better matchup if he wants to get any points from Evan tonight. Turner's usual plan of driving to jump start his offense is fruitless against a bigger more physical defender and he hasn't taken cornley outside to take a jumper yet..
How ya like me now, Tampa!
I give PJ his due tonight...He's coming up huge in a must win...
Remember when it was 19-4?
hill/simmons combined for 20 points so far?!? 49-48 psu
Next ten minutes determines whether Bob Hunter writes a column praising this team's heart or one shitting all over them for lack of heart.
simmons 3..make it 23 points for those two...51-49 osu!
I take this to mean Bryant Browning will be Orlando Pace junior against Penn State next year
We got punched in the mouth multiple times, and we.... responded? Maybe?
that or we're on the verge of nuclear war.
In other news... Providence, another bubblicious team, is thumping Pitt.
Pogue--Do you ever leave your dorm room? Go have a beer or something.
I don't drink, man, I'm straight edge.
Hell, I don't even live on campus. I'm balancing homework with watching the game. Something wrong with that?
also the straight edge thing was a joke. I don't drink because I can't find any beer that tastes good.
I'd like to get Evan Turner on the edge at WR.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Either that or your fake is from Hawaii and it reads "McLovin".
Madsen just went Larry Bird on us.
Hey, that has NOTHING to do with it, alright?
*sobs*
YEAH
WIN
This is win is CLEARLY due to the awesome photo of EA on the front page.
And Pogue's face.
yay buck eyes good french fried taters yea
Oh shit BURN. I might as well retire from the internet now.
When did Florida hire Oregon's uniform director.
Awfullness. Or is that the New York Knicks? Either way...
I told ya you could do it PJ.
Crazy game tonight. PJ and Simmons were huge. Turner at the point with Simmons at the 2 guard really worked.
You seemed to have missed my point, you don't need to tell me that they draft on potential. In fact I recently made a post on here about how its great that a kid can basically get paid 1 million dollars per year in the NBA to "get better". All in all we are in agreement I guess I just find it hard to believe that a kid would purposely play down.. especially someone who is as competitive as BJ..