2014-15 Ohio State Men's Basketball (Official Thread)

[MaxBuck]

If I were Matta, Shannon Scott would play about ten minutes a game, and Amir Williams not at all. My starting five would be:

Russell
Loving
Thompson
Lee
Tate

I am fed up with Amir's lack of production and Scott's boneheaded miscues. Scott, assists notwithstanding, has regressed seriously this season.

 

[scarletmike]

I was happily surprised to not see Amir in early against NW (missed the tip, so not sure if he started, but I know he wasn't in for a good chunk early in the game so I assume he didn't start). Maybe if Matta doesn't start him a few games straight that could light a fire for him and get him playing at the level he can and should be at.

Not so sure I agree as much with Scott. He's made some mistakes, sure, but his biggest issue has been trying to score more, especially earlier in games. I think if he quits trying to score more and goes back to being the primary facilitator it would help the team's offensive production. Thompson...seems inconsistent with his production, but he's too much of a threat to take off the court for too long, I think. He can get hot from the arc (although I haven't seen it this year, which surprises me), can come in and surprise with blocks on defense, and of course provides some spark with his leaping ability. He definitely needs to improve his toughness down low to be more of a threat for rebounds on the defensive end (how he doesn't grab more with his leaping ability and long arms baffles me at times), but this late there won't be much improvement for Ohio State, it will be for the next level. I absolutely love Tate's drive and energy, and hope his minutes keep going up. Lee certainly gives you more energy and..."play" inside than Amir, but he seems way too prone to picking up fouls to be consistent. I think Trey is the not so happy medium of between Lee and Amir, but he didn't redshirt, so that sucks.

 

[DZ83CK]

If I were Matta, Shannon Scott would play about ten minutes a game, and Amir Williams not at all. My starting five would be:

Russell
Loving
Thompson
Lee
Tate

I am fed up with Amir's lack of production and Scott's boneheaded miscues. Scott, assists notwithstanding, has regressed seriously this season.

When Scott is on his game, he is a valuable part of the team, I think he does too many things well to only play 10 or so minutes on this team. But you're right at times he seems to have a tendency to be robotic with his passes and not pay any attention to where the defense is. Scott can shoot pretty well off a couple bounces, especially when he dribbles into a shot, but ask him to catch & shoot and he is terrible.

 

[OHSportsFan]

Ok. Back off the edge a little bit...

The next 6 games are huge for the Buckeyes. There should be some winnable games:

An extended break until they play again Thursday-
@NW
IU
Maryland
@Purdue
@Rutgers
Penn State

If they want to get things back on track it starts on Thursday. That could be a 5-1 stretch if they can split one at home between IU/Maryland. I would love to see it.

Then again, I'm a big proponent of "past results indicate future outcomes" and nothing shows this team can compete consistently. They could struggle to go 3-3.

Something has to click with these extra days off.

2-0 on the 6 game stretch I called out.

Gotta carry some momentum into Thursday and beat Maryland at home. Definitely a winnable game.

It's right in front of them to turn the season around a bit.

 

[LitlBuck]

2-0 on the 6 game stretch I called out.

Gotta carry some momentum into Thursday and beat Maryland at home. Definitely a winnable game.

It's right in front of them to turn the season around a bit.

Sort of like last season but the next four games we will need one of the big guys to step up because that small lineup is not going to work against a couple of those teams.

 

[Bestbuck36]

Sort of like last season but the next four games we will need one of the big guys to step up because that small lineup is not going to work against a couple of those teams.

Thing is, it would work against most teams in the country, outside length and athleticism like KY or Louisville, IF they guys would go balls to the wall on defense and give themselves more run out opportunities. DAR can play any kind of game but some of the guys on this team just aren't cerebral enough to work an offense and get the best shots all game long. Same with playing the zone. They aren't thinking one pass ahead enough to shut down the wide open looks and then rebound. I don't know why they haven't been able to adjust but they havent.

 

[Jake]

I said it before and I'll say it again - this team is better than some think. Talent-wise, this team is better than last year. They lacked experience and it showed against better teams, but they are getting more each week and it's showing up on the court. Maryland is getting flat out smoked tonight and the Bucks are less than 3 minutes away from a second place tie in the B1G.

 

[MaxBuck]

I said it before and I'll say it again - this team is better than some think. Talent-wise, this team is better than last year. They lacked experience and it showed against better teams, but they are getting more each week and it's showing up on the court. Maryland is getting flat out smoked tonight and the Bucks are less than 3 minutes away from a second place tie in the B1G.

Yeah, they can be conceivably the best team in the B1G ... or about the 8th place team. It all depends on chemistry, which to date has too often sucked donkey balls, but which shows signs of development now that everyone has accepted Russell as the Big Dog and leader of the team.

This is what happens when you have the best player in the league (Russell: Kaminsky is not as good) and a bunch of seniors with leadership issues. Let's hope things continue to develop as they currently appear to be doing.

 

[DZ83CK]

I said it before and I'll say it again - this team is better than some think. Talent-wise, this team is better than last year. They lacked experience and it showed against better teams, but they are getting more each week and it's showing up on the court. Maryland is getting flat out smoked tonight and the Bucks are less than 3 minutes away from a second place tie in the B1G.

Yeah, the team is improving thanks to the freshmen (D-Russ and Tate) improving, plus the switch away from the zone which effectively muted the defense. Truth be told Lee seems to be better than Amir so that switch is helping too most likely. I hate that they lost to Iowa at home when they shouldn't have, but that loss was one of the tipping points in convincing Matta to scrap the zone so at least there was that positive out of it.

 

[MaxBuck]

Yeah, the team is improving thanks to the freshmen (D-Russ and Tate) improving, plus the switch away from the zone which effectively muted the defense. Truth be told Lee seems to be better than Amir so that switch is helping too most likely. I hate that they lost to Iowa at home when they shouldn't have, but that loss was one of the tipping points in convincing Matta to scrap the zone so at least there was that positive out of it.

Matta hasn't "scrapped the zone." Most of the last couple of games the Buckeyes have played a matchup zone, with sometimes a switch to a diamond-and-one.

Matta is brilliant in mixing up defenses to suit the demands of his opposition.

 

[Jake]

Yeah, they can be conceivably the best team in the B1G ... or about the 8th place team. It all depends on chemistry, which to date has too often sucked donkey balls, but which shows signs of development now that everyone has accepted Russell as the Big Dog and leader of the team.

This is what happens when you have the best player in the league (Russell: Kaminsky is not as good) and a bunch of seniors with leadership issues. Let's hope things continue to develop as they currently appear to be doing.

No way this team finishes 8th in the B1G. I'll go as far as predicting Sweet 16 right now, barring catastrophic injuries or suspensions. Ohio State is arguably the most talented team in the B1G while Wisconsin are the most efficient and experienced group - which are very important. Does anyone really think Iowa is more talented? I hope to see them again in the B1G tourney. scUM and Purdue have improved as well and history suggests Sparty will get it together by March. This conference is deep - ask the ACC - and despite our issues we are right in the thick of it.

 

[DZ83CK]

Matta hasn't "scrapped the zone." Most of the last couple of games the Buckeyes have played a matchup zone, with sometimes a switch to a diamond-and-one.

Matta is brilliant in mixing up defenses to suit the demands of his opposition.

Most of the time they have been playing m-t-m & they switch. They do still do some pressing full court but the halfcourt defense is pretty much the opposite of the passive 2-3 that they played earlier in the season.

 

[MaxBuck]

No way this team finishes 8th in the B1G. I'll go as far as predicting Sweet 16 right now, barring catastrophic injuries or suspensions. Ohio State is arguably the most talented team in the B1G while Wisconsin are the most efficient and experienced group - which are very important. Does anyone really think Iowa is more talented? I hope to see them again in the B1G tourney. scUM and Purdue have improved as well and history suggests Sparty will get it together by March. This conference is deep - ask the ACC - and despite our issues we are right in the thick of it.

Based on how the team has played the last two games, you're obviously right. But based on how the team played its two games against Iowa, and how we looked against Northworstern, you're not so obviously right. And if you want to see how "deep" the B1G is, look at how low our teams rank (aside from Ohio State and Wiscy) on kenpom. The league blows this season.

Look, I think it's very unlikely that we will now finish any worse than 3rd-4th in the league, and I actually agree that Sweet 16 is pretty realistic. But all that depends on the current lineup continuing to play with emotion and energy and on D'Angelo Russell not entering a shooting slump like he was in earlier in the season. (In a 3-game stretch against James Madison, Louisville and Colgate he was a combined 18-of-51, and he went 4-of-17 against North Carolina). Again, I think we've probably turned the corner, but too many people are IMO extrapolating way too far from the last couple of games.

 

[DZ83CK]

I think the experts nationally are definitely underrating Ohio State at this point in the season. Are they a top-10 team? Probably not. But they are legit top-25 caliber IMO. They have a much more difficult league schedule than Wisconsin, with the Buckeyes having 9 games against the current top-7 of the conference while the Badgers have only 6 such games (and 3 of those 6 being among their last 4 of the conference season).

 

[OHSportsFan]

Ok. Back off the edge a little bit...

The next 6 games are huge for the Buckeyes. There should be some winnable games:

An extended break until they play again Thursday-
@NW
IU
Maryland
@Purdue
@Rutgers
Penn State

If they want to get things back on track it starts on Thursday. That could be a 5-1 stretch if they can split one at home between IU/Maryland. I would love to see it.

Then again, I'm a big proponent of "past results indicate future outcomes" and nothing shows this team can compete consistently. They could struggle to go 3-3.

Something has to click with these extra days off.

Well, the uncertainty of Loving changes things a little, but not much really, imo. Not a knock on Loving's ability and importance, but the expected Big Ten wins are going to still be the Big Ten expected wins. There are some low teams in the league. I can still see 11 wins.

Certainly the next 2 need to be handled. Like I said, the 5-1 stretch is very attainable and keeps the Buckeyes in the hunt for the top of the league (Wisconsin has it locked up) and a chance at the Tourney.

Tonight sucked, though. Tough loss.