Lauderdale is 49 of 60 at home this year.
#6 Ohio State
14-4, 23-7 Big Ten
Roster | Schedule
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March 2, 2009 9:00 PM ET - ESPN —— The Schott Columbus, OH |
Illinois
10-6, 18-11 Big Ten
Roster | Schedule
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Raise your hand if you thought the Buckeyes would be playing for the Big Ten title after their 1-3 start in league play. With a win over the Illini tonight, they will secure at least a share of the crown for the 3rd time in Thad's 6 years.
The Buckeyes moved up to 6th in the AP and 7th in the coach's this week, putting themselves in position to secure the 1 seed in the B10 tourney and more importantly, a 2 seed in the Big Dance.
Illinois is playing their 5th ranked team in the last 7 games and come in losers in 3 of their last 4. The first loss in that string of games was a 72-53 smack down against OSU, their worst home loss in 33 years. This is also their 7th road game in the last 11.
| # | Name | PTS | REB | ASST | POS | # | Name | PTS | REB | ASST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Evan Turner | 19.7 | 9.2 | 5.9 | G | 32 | Demitri McCamey | 15.0 | 3.2 | 6.9 |
| 33 | Jon Diebler | 12.3 | 2.9 | 1.6 | G | 1 | D.J. Richardson | 10.7 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
| 44 | William Buford | 14.2 | 5.5 | 3.1 | F | 30 | Bill Cole | 4.3 | 3.3 | 1.1 |
| 23 | David Lighty | 12.3 | 4.6 | 2.7 | F | 24 | Mike Davis | 10.5 | 8.8 | 1.0 |
| 52 | Dallas Lauderdale | 7.4 | 5.2 | 0.2 | C | 54 | Mike Tisdale | 11.5 | 6.2 | 0.7 |
Opponent
If Illinois can get one more win or a Minnesota loss, they can slide into the 5 seed next week in the tourney, avoiding that dreaded Thursday game. The Illini come in scoring 65.8 points a game during league play, on 43.4 percent shooting overall and 33.5 from deep. Illinois does lead the conference in FG defense, holding opponents to 38.5 percent from the floor and the 32 percent D from 3-land ranks second.
Weber will play 8 or 9 guys, with Brandon Paul and Dominique Keller leading the way off the bench. Paul, a 6' 4" freshman is scoring 8.1 points almost 19 minutes of action and Keller scores 5 points and grabs 3 boards in 12 minutes. Jeff Jordan will play, but he clearly is not blessed with his dad's talents, scoring less than 2 a contest.
For the starters, McCamey leads the conference and is second nationally in assists and enters the week needing 14 assists to break Eric Snow's B10 single season mark of 141. Mike Davis has had 3 straight double doubles, averaging 13 and 12 over that span, while Tisdale is second in FG percentage at 54 percent and Cole lead Illinois in scoring last game with 15.
Buckeye Breakdown:
OSU comes in scoring 68.2 points a game on 47.4 percent shooting in conference play, which both lead the Big Ten. Their +7.5 winning margin is good for second, as they give up 60.7 points per contest, holding opponents to 42.4 percent from the floor.
The Buckeyes will send off 5 seniors tonight, all of who have sacrificed more playing time some where else for the betterment of the Ohio State program. Simmons and Hill came here as emergency fill-ins and quietly have gone about their business as their minutes have decreased significantly. Madsen has done a nice job of coming back home and playing that role of "senior who does exactly what you need him to do" or also known as the Terwilliger Award.
And then there is Danny Peters and Mark Titus, who with a win tonight can set the all-time victories mark for scholarship players with 105. What more can you say about 2 guys who decided to follow a different path than that of their fellow freshmen classmates and help Thad build this program to what it is. The life of a bench player isn't easy and of course Titus has taken it to a new level, but without their services over the last 4 years, there would have been times when the Bucks couldn't have enough players to practice.
Though I don't expect the blowout we saw in the first game, I think OSU has more scoring punch and will come out with a win tonight. The Buckeyes made 11 bombs in Champaign (their most in B10 play) and shoot 53 percent in their home games, but their defense has been smothering and will be the difference tonight in their 67-57 win.
If the Buckeyes do pull off the win, we here at 11W get a slight bump in our street cred, as our preseason predictions for this team comes comes pretty damn close. Evan Turner turning in an AA type season was easy, but then we dropped this bombshell.
We feel OSU will do better than the predicted 3rd place finish and end with a 14-4 conference record, with an overall record of 25-6.
Not bad for a roster full of non-scholarship writers.
Etc
- With 27 points tonight, The Villian could jump Brent Darby and Brian Brown for 19th all-time.
- All 5 Buckeyes who participated in the Olympics (all in hockey) earned a medal.
Comments
I would love to win this game, keeps our streak going, and will give us an even better seed, provided some more teams fall.
If my memory is correct, last game they played Demitri McCamey was smoothered all night. That zone causes major problems, and Evan Turner looked like a Varisty vs. Freshman. But, wait what team hasn't it looked that way.
The 1-3-1 absolutely killed these guys last time. I expect to see more of the same. I think they will shoot better and make it a more competitive game. However, the Buckeyes know that they can clinch at least a tie of the Big Ten title with a win, and I don't see them losing this game at home.
Win tonight and Thad should lock up Big10 Coach of Year honors. Something the Vest covets, I bet.
Its nice to have a game at a sensible time that even people in the Central time zone will be able to watch. Those 5:30 central start games on BTN drive me crazy, it is past halftime by the time I get home from work.
You are dead on, CB...
The 1-3-1 destroyed Illy. OSU held them to 1/9 FG during the big 15-2 first half run and for the game Illy shot 34% including 17% (4/24) from 3's.
http://www.elevenwarriors.com/...
dude is lucky all he got was a neck slam after that elbow
Went to grad school at Illinois....learned to hate that those guys after four years. I hope the Bucks smoke 'em tonight, but they really need this win to have a shot at the tourney.
hate strong...can't write...
He's gotta be a lock for it if they win tonight. To do what he's done considering Turner was hurt and the team was only picked 3rd or 4th in the preseason.
Amen. I'm on the train home, checking Twitter for score updates half the time. Wonder if the late start has anything to do with the opponent being from the CT?
I think Thad will start with the 1-3-1 and see how Illi reacts to it. I'm sure Weber is looking for the same D, and may have practiced how to beat it. I'm betting to see more man tonight with either Turner or Lighty on McCamey all night. We need another strong performance from Swatterdale. Its always great to see him fill the stat sheet like he did against Michigan. I dont expect the same performance out of Diebler, kid really needs to learn to stay consistant and move with out the ball. Maybe Madsen will get a few more minutes tonight, it would be cool to see him go out with a 10 point night with a few rebounds and assists. He's earned it.
A win tonight will be the nail in the coffin for all the haters that say Matta can only recruit and not coach.
He basically played 5 guys all year, in a conference where the top 2 teams returned virtually their entire team (one NC runner up BTW), and he is 1 home win away from locking up a 3rd conference title.
Now what? We'll be lucky if Carolina doesn't come calling, give Thad 7 McDonalds all-americans and we'd have back to back titles.
OT, but how about all-american Florida Gator CB Joe Haden turning in a blistering 4.59 40 at the combine!! SEC SPEEED!
Still want that guy at number 5 Brownie fans?
I'm throwing that number out the window. I really doubt he runs a 4.59. Plus, take in to account how they take off. For legit sprinters who play football and have track experience its not an issue. for other players though taking off from the stance my slow them down. that could have been his issue. i'm not a florida fan, nor a browns fan but he's a pretty good corner who will make some team pretty happy.
The Browns pick is #7
Iball: LET IT GO!!!
What?!
1. So if we LOSE tonight, then there is some credibility in what those folks are saying? I don't think the result of tonight's game has any bearing on whether or not Matta can coach.. he has proven he can over and over again.
2. MSU did not return even close to their entire team. Travis Walton, Goran Sutan and Marquise Gray were all HUGE contributors last year as Seniors and left huge holes in the roster.
3. Why the hell would Carolina want Matta? They have Roy Williams, a legend, and a man who has already won a national title there. Also, it doesn't matter WHO is coaching at NC, they will get McDonald's AAs.
I say this in all honesty and without any personal contempt: Your comment may have been the most ill-informed I have ever seen on this website.
I believe Roy has won 2 titles at UNC.
40 times are overrated anyway. Wasn't Jenkins getting judged for a slow 40 time last year and he played well this year as a rookie. Running in a strait line without pads doesn't translate to game situations.
Take it with a grain of salt, sure, but UF is known for keeping a depth chart of team members' 40 times in the locker room. They get plenty of practice at it, before and after the season.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/f...
A)Don't believe I said if we lose, then the haters earn credit. I just said this should be the official end, even though his coaching was never in question by me, who has constatntly defended Matta.
B) MSU returned 6 of their top 8 scorers including B10 POY Lucas and Raymar Morgan who both avg. in double figures. Not to mention 2 0f the top 3 rebounders who actually avg.'d over 5 boards a game. (Morgan and Green) TRAVIS WALTON are you fucking kidding me?
C) What was so uninformed about B10 tourney champ Purdue returning their entire squad? Other than leaving out their ENTIRE STARTING FIVE returned?
D) The message to the haters is that Roy Williams has 7 McDonalds AA's, and may not make the tourney. Thad had no incoming freshmen and had 2 players bolt early. Also, plays a 6'7 SF at PG and the Bucks are a virtual lock for a 3 seed. Why wouldn't a school want a coach with the track record of Matta? Both recruiting and coaching. He looks up to no one.
I honestly can't believe your response accuses me of being uninformed, NOW THAT"S IRONY.
I am looking forward to this game, sending the Seniors off right, with a chance to win a conference title. Isn't Lighty a Senior or am I a complete idiot? My initial impression was that he was gonna be a star. That never panned out but he is a hell of a glue guy, and he will be missed.
I am guessing the NCAA gave him last year back?
Lighty got a medical redshirt last year.
I figured as much, just hadn't read it...thanks.