PDA

View Full Version : Ohio State



DukeHoopsGuru
01-25-2011, 10:51 PM
I live in Ohio and loathe that school with a passion. If you don't like Ohio State and live in Ohio it is personal torture. However, they are the most complete college basketball team in the country now that Duke is Irvingless. They're the team to beat.......by a sizeable margin IMO.

NashvilleDevil
01-25-2011, 11:00 PM
I live in Ohio and loathe that school with a passion. If you don't like Ohio State and live in Ohio it is personal torture. However, they are the most complete college basketball team in the country now that Duke is Irvingless. They're the team to beat.......by a sizeable margin IMO.

As someone who was raised in Ohio and loathes tOSU it's my belief that they will find a way to lose early in the tourney. They have been doing it for years. My Grandma still gets angry talking about those Jerry Lucas teams that only won it once. Also they had tremendous teams in the early 90s and never made it to a Final Four. The '91 team was the #1 seed in the Midwest region that Duke came out of when they won their first title.

burns15
01-25-2011, 11:08 PM
I live in Ohio and loathe that school with a passion. If you don't like Ohio State and live in Ohio it is personal torture. However, they are the most complete college basketball team in the country now that Duke is Irvingless. They're the team to beat.......by a sizeable margin IMO.

I don't agree in the slightest. For the portion of the game that I saw tonight, Purdue played terribly, and granted Ohio State took advantage, but let's not overreact after one game. Would you ave said the same things about Ohio State when they barely squeaked by Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, and Penn State (none of which are imposing, and only one has the slightest shot at getting an NCAA bid) within 2 weeks?

jipops
01-25-2011, 11:08 PM
Six guys score in double figures against one of the best defensive teams in the country. Yea, this is clearly the team to beat.

billyj
01-25-2011, 11:08 PM
Kinda want to see us and OSU in the final. That would be an awesome game. OSU has some quality big men and capable shooters. But if our guards can beat their guards and create turnovers, I believe it will make their game difficult. I think Duke has better perimeter players than Purdue, it will be a totally different OSU you will see on the floor when we play them.

DukieTiger
01-25-2011, 11:49 PM
To me, tOSU is the best team... right now.

I do, however, think that there are a number of teams with a higher ceiling than the Buckeyes. I think tOSU is fairly complete as a team right now, and don't see much room for improvement. Can't say the same thing about Duke, Kansas or a couple others.

flyingdutchdevil
01-26-2011, 06:39 AM
To me, tOSU is the best team... right now.

I do, however, think that there are a number of teams with a higher ceiling than the Buckeyes. I think tOSU is fairly complete as a team right now, and don't see much room for improvement. Can't say the same thing about Duke, Kansas or a couple others.

I would definitely agree with you. Duke, Kansas, Pitt, Nova - they can all still improve. That said, I think that OSU's best player - Sullinger - still has room for improvement. After all, he's only a freshman.

mkline09
01-26-2011, 06:49 AM
I live in Ohio and loathe that school with a passion. If you don't like Ohio State and live in Ohio it is personal torture. However, they are the most complete college basketball team in the country now that Duke is Irvingless. They're the team to beat.......by a sizeable margin IMO.

I think Ohio State is a very good team. But I'm not convinced they are a complete team. They rely a lot on how great Jared Sullinger is. He, like Kyrie Irving, is heads and tails beyond typical freshman. However, saying they are the team to beat by a sizeable margin is a pretty big statement this early. Not that I want this to happen, or that it is even likely, but if something were to happen to Sullinger where is this Ohio State team then?

When Irving was playing Duke was easily the team to beat by a sizeable margin. When he went down Duke could rely on two All-American candidates who have kept this team a contender. I don't think you could say the same thing about Ohio State. Regardless it is still early anything can happen. I could be wrong and you could end up being right, but I'm just not sold on Ohio State being "the team" right now.

DukeHoopsGuru
01-26-2011, 08:14 AM
As someone who was raised in Ohio and loathes tOSU it's my belief that they will find a way to lose early in the tourney. They have been doing it for years. My Grandma still gets angry talking about those Jerry Lucas teams that only won it once. Also they had tremendous teams in the early 90s and never made it to a Final Four. The '91 team was the #1 seed in the Midwest region that Duke came out of when they won their first title.

I guess losing in the national title game just a few seasons ago is finding "a way to lose." They can play. They are the most complete with their one weakness being point guard play, but Craft is way better than expected. They have shooters, very good and experienced guard play sans Craft, and a beast in the middle plus a garbage guy next to him. They have the recipe. An Irvingless Duke team makes them the favorite. That doesn't meant it's a lock, but they're damn good. And it sickens me.

KyDevilinIL
01-26-2011, 08:46 AM
Nice win for OSU, but so what? It's Jan. 26. Almost exactly a year ago Duke went to D.C. and got smacked around by Georgetown. From that point Gtown was often a more popular Final Four pick than Duke. Then in the NCAAT, Gtown went 0-1. Duke performed somewhat better. There are many, many dribbles left in this season.

Still, OSU is good and I expect the Buckeyes to go pretty deep if they stay healthy. Matta's made some runs; it's not like he's a certified flameout artist. No one on this board should be afraid of OSU. If we get a crack at them it'll be a tough game, no doubt, but if Sullinger can take out Nolan and Kyle in March, then good for him.

NashvilleDevil
01-26-2011, 09:28 AM
I guess losing in the national title game just a few seasons ago is finding "a way to lose." They can play. They are the most complete with their one weakness being point guard play, but Craft is way better than expected. They have shooters, very good and experienced guard play sans Craft, and a beast in the middle plus a garbage guy next to him. They have the recipe. An Irvingless Duke team makes them the favorite. That doesn't meant it's a lock, but they're damn good. And it sickens me.

True but also remember that it took a very beneficial call for then to beat Xavier. Still a lot of basketball left though.

weezie
01-26-2011, 09:36 AM
Six guys score in double figures against one of the best defensive teams in the country. Yea, this is clearly the team to beat.

I think the Blue Devils can accept that challenge! :cool:

PADukeMom
01-26-2011, 09:42 AM
Living in Pennsylvania I detest anything Ohio State. Yes they are probably the best team on Januray 26th but quite frankly I don't care who is the best team right now.

I will admit they are really good & did defeat Purdue by ALOT but you have to take into consideration that this game was played at Ohio State & a Purdue team without one of their best players; granted he has been out all season.
Then again, how good a conference is the Big 11 this year?

Personally I would like to take a chance against them on April 5th with a healthy Kyrie Irving.

tommy
01-26-2011, 09:51 AM
I live in Ohio and loathe that school with a passion. If you don't like Ohio State and live in Ohio it is personal torture. However, they are the most complete college basketball team in the country now that Duke is Irvingless. They're the team to beat.......by a sizeable margin IMO.

They looked great last night, no doubt about it. But I wouldn't go overboard based on a home win, when the crowd was rocking and rolling and every shot was falling. They have some other quality wins this year too, but let's see where they stand after the next little stretch here, which includes @Northwestern, home to Michigan (the only "sure" win if such a thing exists in conference play), then @Minnesota and @Wisconsin. If they win all four of those, with three of them on the road, I'll be ready to anoint them the favorite (in the absence of a meaningful Kyrie comeback, of course.)

GODUKEGO
01-26-2011, 10:08 AM
Last night against Purdue, they shot 55% from the field and 57.9% from three. Their free throw % was 54.5% but for the season they are at 70.6% and 118th ranked. Their tough games remaining are at home #15 Wisconsin and #21 Illinois. Away games are #12 Purdue, #15 Wisconsin and #18 Minnesota. IMO they would be a very very tough matchup for us. Scary to think that they could also be playing with Evan Turner.

BD80
01-26-2011, 10:10 AM
Kinda want to see us and OSU in the final. That would be an awesome game. OSU has some quality big men and capable shooters. But if our guards can beat their guards and create turnovers, I believe it will make their game difficult. I think Duke has better perimeter players than Purdue, it will be a totally different OSU you will see on the floor when we play them.

Great point! A big part of post scoring is getting the ball in the right spot. Our guards make it difficult for their guards to make entry passes. If the OSU post players have to take another step out to receive the ball - post efficiency will drop significantly.

Indoor66
01-26-2011, 10:12 AM
Last night against Purdue, they shot 55% from the field and 57.9% from three. Their free throw % was 54.5% but for the season they are at 70.6% and 118th ranked. Their tough games remaining are at home #15 Wisconsin and #21 Illinois. Away games are #12 Purdue, #15 Wisconsin and #18 Minnesota. IMO they would be a very very tough matchup for us. Scary to think that they could also be playing with Evan Turner.

Please, why throw in the Evan Turner line. They are who they are - no more and no less. We would be better if we had Kyrie Irving right now - but we don't. That said, we may have Kyrie sometime this year. They will not have Turner under any circumstance. You play with who you have, you are what you are.

Rudy
01-26-2011, 12:00 PM
To me, tOSU is the best team... right now.

I do, however, think that there are a number of teams with a higher ceiling than the Buckeyes. I think tOSU is fairly complete as a team right now, and don't see much room for improvement. Can't say the same thing about Duke, Kansas or a couple others.
I haven't seen Kansas yet, and I've only seen OSU against Illinois and Purdue. However, I am impressed with OSU. Good inside and out. The Illinois game was away for OSU and both teams looked good. Both Sullenberger and their point guard are freshman, so I'd say they do have room for improvement. Purdue looked bad in what should have been a big game for them. Overrated, based on seeing about 2/3 of one game (I switched away at halftime but came back later and it was worse.)

rasputin
01-26-2011, 12:14 PM
I think Ohio State is a very good team. But I'm not convinced they are a complete team. They rely a lot on how great Jared Sullinger is. He, like Kyrie Irving, is heads and tails beyond typical freshman. However, saying they are the team to beat by a sizeable margin is a pretty big statement this early. Not that I want this to happen, or that it is even likely, but if something were to happen to Sullinger where is this Ohio State team then?

When Irving was playing Duke was easily the team to beat by a sizeable margin. When he went down Duke could rely on two All-American candidates who have kept this team a contender. I don't think you could say the same thing about Ohio State. Regardless it is still early anything can happen. I could be wrong and you could end up being right, but I'm just not sold on Ohio State being "the team" right now.

Ohio State built their huge lead last night mostly through the efforts of players other than Sullinger.

Chitowndevil
01-26-2011, 12:18 PM
OSU is the clear favorite right now, but that has as much to do with other top teams' struggles as it does with the Buckeyes' play. Duke has come back to the pack since losing Irving, Syracuse is reeling, Kansas and Pitt look mortal after their recent defeats, Villanova's played a pretty soft schedule until their last 3 games, and nobody's quite sure yet about San Diego State, UConn, or Texas.

OSU is 8-0 in Big 10 play, but 5 of those wins have been by 5 or fewer points, including road games at Iowa and Michigan and a home win versus Penn State. They are clearly a very good team but, based on what we've seen so far, nowhere near a juggernaut.

ChicagoCrazy84
01-26-2011, 01:04 PM
It's ridiculous how most experts will go nuts over a game like this. They are a very good team I will say that, but its so easy for people to get carried away over a win like this.

With a healthy Kyire Irving, we are a better team because we are deeper and have a better backcourt Without Kyrie, they may be a bit better than us I will admit, but we can still beat them because I have faith in the Plumlee's and their improved play :D

Don't forget though, this is a balanced team with a good mix of upperclassmen and younger guys. Sullinger and DeShaun Thomas are great and Aaron Craft is a solid guard. Buford, Lighty, and Diebler are GREAT supporting players. I would say they are as complete as we are with Kyrie, were just deeper.

moonpie23
01-26-2011, 01:51 PM
the lesson of duke '09 should never be forgotten.....

remember, they pretty much sliced up the entire league for the year......looked unstoppable, had amazing talent and then..........ouch...

gw67
01-26-2011, 02:00 PM
IMO, Ohio State was the second best team in the country before the Irving injury. They are now the best team, IMO, and they are slighty ahead of Kansas, Duke, Nova and Pitt. They have a nice combination of youth and experience, and they are an excellent shooting team that shares the ball. They have defeated three top 25 teams and are the class of a very good Big Ten. I like the two big guys, Sullinger and Lauderdale, who are both very tough near the basket, and their perimeter players, Buford, Lighty and Diebler, who are all very experienced and nearly interchangeable. Their freshmen, Craft and Thomas, are very talented. As a team, they shoot 50% from the field, 41% from 3-point, and 70% from the foul line (a hair better than the Devils). Any one of several teams is capable of winning the NCAAT but I would think the Buckeyes are the favorite at this time.

gw67

Chitowndevil
01-26-2011, 02:18 PM
Don't forget though, this is a balanced team with a good mix of upperclassmen and younger guys. Sullinger and DeShaun Thomas are great and Aaron Craft is a solid guard. Buford, Lighty, and Diebler are GREAT supporting players. I would say they are as complete as we are with Kyrie, were just deeper.

Nah. Call Irving vs Sullinger a wash and you're comparing Thomas, Craft, Buford, Lighty, and Diebler to Singler, Smith, Mason, Dre, Kelly, and Curry. That the latter list includes two senior All Americans pretty much ends the discussion in my view, and talent-wise I think Duke's other four stack up pretty well too. Of course, I'm extremely biased and have only watched about 6 OSU games versus all of Duke's.

Duvall
01-26-2011, 02:24 PM
the lesson of duke '09 should never be forgotten.....

remember, they pretty much sliced up the entire league for the year......looked unstoppable, had amazing talent and then..........ouch...

You mean Duke '99?

If the lesson of that season is that the best team in the country might eventually lose to the second-best team in a single-elimination tournament, then that's not much of a lesson.

ChicagoCrazy84
01-26-2011, 06:22 PM
You mean Duke '99?

If the lesson of that season is that the best team in the country might eventually lose to the second-best team in a single-elimination tournament, then that's not much of a lesson.


Well you could pretty it up a little more and say "don't get too content and think you can coast your way to a national title!" BUT the gap between us in '99 and them was far greater than the gap is between OSU and say...us here in '11 so I don't think they'll have to worry about that.