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#19 Ohio State 77, #13 Wisconsin 67 (final)

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1/18/06

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Buckeyes certain they still can fill the basket
Ohio State looks to shake its shooting slump when team plays Wisconsin

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




It can’t happen again, can it?

In a nutshell, that was the line of questioning the Ohio State men’s basketball team faced yesterday as coach Thad Matta and a few players talked about what happened Sunday against Michigan State in Value City Arena and what might happen there tonight against Wisconsin.

Ohio State shot 32.9 percent from the field and made only 24.1 percent of its three-point shots in a double-overtime loss to Michigan State. The Buckeyes came into the game as one of the best shooting teams in the country, making 50.6 percent of their attempts from the field overall and 43.5 percent behind the three-point arc. It was their most scattershot performance in the season and a half since Matta turned them loose on the perimeter.

"Who believed we were going to go the whole year and not have a game (like that)?" forward Matt Sylvester said. "That was our game."

Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said he had never seen the Buckeyes shoot threes as poorly as they did Sunday, "and that’s the scary part, because usually you don’t do it two times in a row when you shoot it as well as they do."

Hearing that, Matta smiled and said, "I hope he’s right."

Was it an aberration or an indication that the second half of the season is not going to be as hospitable to the Buckeyes’ three-point shooters as the first half was? Tonight’s game against the 15 th-ranked Badgers (14-2, 4-0) appears to be another litmus test.

Just two weeks into Big Ten play, the Badgers are the only unbeaten left in part because they have allowed four conference opponents — Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota and Northwestern — to average a league-low 57.2 points and make a league-low 33.8 percent of their field-goal attempts, including 31.7 percent outside the arc.

Wisconsin isn’t Michigan State. It doesn’t have the quickness and athleticism at all five positions that the Spartans used to their advantage in defending the No. 19 Buckeyes (12-2, 2-2) on Sunday.

What the Badgers have is size — four starters and three other regulars are 6 feet 7 or taller — and a fundamentally sound system in which everyone helps each other by sagging inside to cut off gaps while still being able to recover to close out on perimeter shooters.

"Their size, their length, their positioning really makes them an effective defensive team. They’re a team that very rarely beats themselves with their defense," Matta said.

"Where Michigan State attempts to use their athleticism a little bit more, I think Wisconsin uses their size a little bit more."

Despite the credit Michigan State’s defense received after the game from not only Matta but Spartans coach Tom Izzo, Sylvester and guard Je’Kel Foster were of the opinion yesterday that the Buckeyes were more responsible for their afternoon going awry.

"We had great looks. They just didn’t go down," said Foster, who came into the game shooting 53.8 percent from three-point range and made 2 of 10.
Sylvester said that getting good shots against Big Ten teams is tougher than during the nonconference season.

"Everyone is bigger and stronger and quicker than they were in preseason. It doesn’t come as easy as it did," he said.

Regardless, he added, Sunday has not made the Buckeyes question their ability to shoot.

"No way it’s going to make us gun-shy," Sylvester said. "We have confidence in our shots. We’ve put up 8 million shots this season. We’re a good-shooting team. That’s what we do, and we’re going to go out and keep doing the same thing."

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1/18/06

Wednesday, January 18, 2006
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1/18/06


(15) Wisconsin (14-2) vs. (19) Ohio St. (12-2)Preview - Box Score - Recap

Game Info: 8:30 pm EST Wed Jan 18, 2006
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Wisconsin looks to remain the only unbeaten team in Big Ten play, and match its best start in 76 years when it visits Ohio State on Wednesday.

The 15th-ranked Badgers (14-2, 4-0) were not expected to challenge for the conference title this season, but they head into this game against No. 19 Ohio State (12-2, 2-2) alone atop the Big Ten.

Wisconsin has been able to stay unbeaten in conference play because of its strong defense. The Badgers have allowed opponents to shoot 34 percent and score 57.2 points per game in four league games, and on Saturday, held down Northwestern in a 68-52 victory.
The offense was a concern coming into this season for Wisconsin, but the team is averaging 70.0 points in conference play behind its deep roster.

Coach Bo Ryan's rotation goes nine deep, led by junior forward Alando Tucker at 21.5 points per game and guard Kammron Taylor with 15.0 a contest. Tucker had a game-high 20 points in Saturday's win.


"We've got a great group of guys who are working hard," Ryan said. "No matter who we have there, we hope he's a contributor."

Taylor says the Badgers are coming together quicker than many people expected.

"It was just something about this team, starting last summer when everyone was here, that it just felt like it was going to be a special season," he said.

Wisconsin hasn't started 15-2 since the 1929-30 team began and ended the season with that record. The Badgers have won five straight over the Buckeyes, and Ohio State is coming off a poor performance in a 62-59 double-overtime loss to Michigan State at home Sunday.

The Buckeyes shot a season-low 33 percent against the Spartans, including 7-for-29 on 3-point attempts. Senior center Terence Dials had a strong game with 19 points and 10 rebounds, but guards J.J. Sullinger, Je'Kel Foster and Ron Lewis all struggled.

The trio combines to average 37.4 points a game, but on Sunday, contributed only 16 points on 6-for-28 shooting as Ohio State lost for the second time in three games after beginning the season with 11 straight wins.

The losses have come by two and three points to ranked teams.

"It's not a game that makes or breaks our season," coach Thad Matta said. "Just like any win or any loss, you have to look at it quickly and move on. We have to find a way to get back."

Ryan said Wisconsin must focus on slowing down Dials, but has to also be aware of Ohio State's guards.

"(Dials) is a force inside," Ryan said. "You know what they can do outside ... and they can do it with so many guys. That's the dilemma. Gotta find a way to guard them." These teams meet in again in Wisconsin on Feb. 15.
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Dear Matt:

These Wisconsin guys are TALL. They like to REBOUND. Maybe a little gunshy ain't too bad, provided that you GET THE BALL TO DIALS. He's the big guy that shot 50% against MSU.

Just a thought.

Your friend,
Terence
 
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All you need to know about Jardy: "For me, my life is defined into pre- and post- '(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'" This guy must have written about Oasis a half-dozen times during his Lantern career.
 
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Tonights game is a big game simply because its against a ranked team, at our building and a conference game.

Wisconsin has won the last 8-10 against us. They have struggled on the road so far this season, barely winning at Minny by 2. This will be a contest decided by defense and rebounding. Wisconsin has a way to force their style on you, so we need to up the tempo. Its in our favor to get out and run if possible.

I think we shoot well tonight and play solid defense, look for a 10-12 point win.
 
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Good insights, as usual 44820! Defense, rebounding are very important, but we have to dictate the tempo. Our athleticism, if we are recovered from that double overtime, should let us run these guys into the court. We really need this one to get the swagger back!
 
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