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2017-2018 Ohio State Men's Basketball (24-7, 15-3, #2 Seed in B1G Tourney)

To add screwing up the Big Ten scheduling by moving the Conference championship to NYC, I would like to know who the hell is in charge of seeing what preseason games are put on BTN because we certainly have gotten the short end of the stick with 3 out of 4 games being put on Plus rather than the normal network. That is a bunch of crap and I do not think that it helps our exposure with recruits. I know they are only preseason games but we need to be seen on TV. It is like we had become the stepchild of the Big Ten conference when it comes to basketball.
 
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This is the Buckeyes schedule for the next two weeks and someone, mainly the Big Ten office, need kicked in the nuts for letting this happen. I understand the games that we are committed to play in the PK80 Invitational and the game against Clemson in the ACC Challenge but the 2 Big Ten games following those games fall right on the shoulders of the Big Ten office because the season has to start a week early. I am pretty sure that we were scheduled to play in the Invitational tournament before the Big Ten decided to cave-in to the Big East and have to start the postseason conference tournament a week early which I think is bull[Mark May]. The hell with New York city. Keep the Big Ten tournament in the Midwest where it belongs.

Vs. No. 17 Gonzaga on Nov. 23 (Thanksgiving Night at midnight)

Vs. either No. 8 Florida or Stanford on Nov. 24 (probably around midnight)

third game against No. 1 Duke, Texas, Butler or Portland State (probably around midnight)

Wednesday, Nov. 29 against Clemson in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge

Ohio State plays at Wisconsin on Saturday, Dec. 2

home game against ttun on Dec. 4

Our game against Gonzaga will probably start at least a half an hour after midnight EST as the game before ours is scheduled for 10PM and we will start half an hour after their game ends. Game 2 will either be at 9 or 11 EST (they will determine whether the winners or losers play first after the matchups are set). If we lose game 1 and win game 2, we will play at 3ish EST on Sunday and if we lose our first 2 games, we will play at 9:30 EST.

I do agree that the schedule is a little rough with traveling and such. Couple that with a team thats not very deep in the back court and we could be in for a bit of a rough go of it the next couple of weeks (part of my reasoning for a 9-4 non-conf record).
 
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I do agree that the schedule is a little rough with traveling and such. Couple that with a team thats not very deep in the back court and we could be in for a bit of a rough go of it the next couple of weeks (part of my reasoning for a 9-4 non-conf record).
I take it that you have us losing to Gonzaga,, Florida, UNC, and either Clemson or the team we play in the last game of the PK80. I do not know that much about Clemson but I will give us a shot because it is at home so maybe we come out of the preseason with only 3 losses.

Not sure at all because we could lose to a lesser team who plays zone defense. I am afraid that is going to be a problem all season with us because of the lack of an outside shooter. Some lesser teams playing a zone defense will probably beat us because we were not be able to score.. That is why it is sad that Kam is in touch a "slump".. Besides KBD, Musa, and hopefully Jackson we just did not have anybody that can consistently hit from the outside. I guess that is why it is so difficult to predict what games they will win because they might not win those games.
 
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Obviously we don't know who all of our opponents will be in the PK80, so I am just guessing 1-2 given the trip out west, over Thanksgiving with short turnaround between games and a thin back court. I expect a loss to UNC and think there will be one other. We will be favored in all of our other non-conf games, but I've just got the feeling that the back court depth is going to be an issue and we'll drop an unexpected game (Clemson is most likely with the return from the West coast).
 
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The interesting thing about the early shooting woes is that Coach Holt doesn't seem concerned about it. He has stated that the three point shooting will improve down the road, so I'm trusting he's seen good things in practice. Micah, obviously, can go out in practice and make well over 50% of his threes. Hasn't translated yet. Same with Kam. I expect streakiness from those two. I'm hoping for more consistency from CJ, as in the ability to get two or three of them a game.

What better time to break out the can of 3-ball than Thanksgiving week in Oregon?
 
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Men’s basketball: Chris Holtmann’s greatest challenge in his first year at Ohio State: 6 games in 12 days.

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Chris Holtmann didn’t have any control over his schedule for his first season coaching Ohio State. He was going to be coaching in the Phil Knight Invitational whether he was in Columbus or still coaching Butler. But unlike at Butler, he has to endure the possibility of six straight games against high-major opponents.

In 12 days.

Now that it’s here, Holtmann is staring down the greatest test he will have not just in his first year with the Buckeyes, but also in his entire coaching career to this point.

“It’s completely unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” he said. “It’s something we’re going to have to be mindful about with rest and sleep, and it will be interesting to see, too, the teams that come out of Portland and how they respond to this stretch once they come back.”

The Buckeyes (4-0) have played well to this point and have played with more energy and consistency than they showed at any point last season. But that road ahead gets much tougher.

On the schedule, Ohio State has No. 17 Gonzaga, Stanford or No. 7 Florida, Clemson, Wisconsin and Michigan. Holtmann’s squad also has a third game in Portland, Oregon, at the PK80 — the tournament celebrating Nike founder Phil Knight’s 80th birthday — against either Duke, Portland State, Texas or Butler.

Holtmann has made it clear he isn’t putting any goals or expectations on this season. He said it again Tuesday before his team departs for the West Coast.

“For us the end game right now for us is get better today,” Holtmann said. “That’s really the end game. We don’t have another end game other than get better today.”

That might be coach-speak, but let’s consider the obvious.

He arrived in June after an out-of-the-blue firing of former coach Thad Matta. He arrived with no recruits remaining in the 2018 recruiting class, so he immediately had to hit the trail. He didn’t have time to really get to know his players until official practice began in September.

So given the circumstances, all Holtmann has been able to do is focus one day at a time.

That being said, he’s still a coach, and a coach demands a certain level of play from his players. That bar can be set and raised with a strong showing in these next six days.

“It’s a good opportunity,” senior forward Jae’Sean Tate said. “To compete against multiple teams in a span of 48 hours, it’s great, it’s exciting. We’re looking forward to it.”

Entire article: https://www.thelantern.com/2017/11/...-first-year-at-ohio-state-6-games-in-12-days/
 
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BASKETBALL PREVIEW: OHIO STATE VS. NO. 17 GONZAGA

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For the first time in about a year, Ohio State basketball will be in the national spotlight. Sort of.

The Buckeyes are set to play in the inaugural PK80 Invitational on Thursday against No. 17-ranked Gonzaga, their first game in a national tournament since appearing in the 2014-15 NCAA Tournament.

The matchup against the Bulldogs kicks off a stretch of six games in 12 days for Ohio State. Five of those games, three of which come in the PK80 Invitational, are guaranteed to come against teams that are nationally ranked or come from major conferences.

First-year Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann said the upcoming stretch is unlike any he has faced in his time as a college basketball coach.

"It is completely unlike anything I have ever experienced. It is something we are going to have to be mindful with, with rest and sleep," Holtmann said. "It will be interesting to see the teams that come out of Portland and how they respond to this stretch once they come back."

Holtmann was not the head coach of Ohio State when the program agreed to appear in the early-season tournament, but was the head coach at Butler when his former team agreed to play in the PK80. Holtmann said the tournament, followed by games against Clemson, Wisconsin and Michigan, has its positives and negatives.

"To play a quality program that is extremely well-coached like Gonzaga, and to be a part of a tournament that is this prestigious, really makes a lot of sense," Holtmann said. "You do worry about fatigue on the back end, so there are some things you think about and wonder if it's really going to be worth it."

Prior to tip against Gonzaga, Holtmann said the Buckeyes will have a Thanksgiving meal with family and friends that are making the trip west. On Ohio State's day off on Saturday in between games, Holtmann said there is a good chance his team and coaching staff will take in the Ohio State vs. Michigan football game, which will kick off at 9 a.m. local time in Portland.

The game against the Bulldogs will be the first time Ohio State has played a ranked team since Feb. 23, a game the Buckeyes won 83-73 over then-ranked No. 16 Wisconsin.

OPPONENT BREAKDOWN

The Bulldogs, who return two starters from a team that challenged North Carolina for a national title last season, have opened up the 2017-18 season with three straight wins.

Guard Josh Perkins, one of the returning starters from last season, leads Gonzaga in scoring, averaging 13.3 points per game. Fellow returning starter Johnathan Williams also averages double digits in the scoring column, pouring in 11.0 points per game and grabbing 7.3 boards per contest.

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Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...asketball-preview-ohio-state-vs-no-17-gonzaga
 
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I'll be up watching this one despite having to work in the morning. Will be a rough day but I got to see if these Buckeyes are going to be for real in their growth or just a product of awful schedule so far.
 
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Any predictions?

I'm going to give the Bucks a 2-1 performance, losing a close one to the Zags before winning the last two. I feel like the Bucks should beat Stanford, Butler, Texas, and Portland State, could beat Gonzaga, and probably would not beat Florida or Duke.

The Bucks seem like they are on the cusp of breaking through and becoming relevant again, but they feel like a pan of muffins that just aren't done yet.

Key, other than the obvious need for guard play, is to see some 40% 3 point shooting out of anybody other than KBD. I'm still holding out hope for Potter and Kam to get hot, but it just keeps feeling like a long-shot for some reason.

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