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#23 Ohio State vs Morehead State; Wednesday, December 2 @ 5 PM EST BTN

That was MUCH improved all around from the UMASS Lowell game. Defense was very solid and looked especially improved on the perimeter, Morehead hit some tough contested 3's early but that dried up. Liddell was brilliant on both sides and Key was very solid inside. Sueing was silky smooth and had some nice hustle plays on top of his scoring. Guard play was very good and very minimal mental mistakes or turnovers.

The most welcome sign was we started warming up from the 3 point line, especially the second half. Team is great from 10 feet in but needs to score from the perimeter when needed and they showed they can tonight, although I don't expect it to be the strength of our offense (and it doesn't need to be). And Ahrens just started feeling it with three 3 pointers in a row to close it out.

Great signs of improvement and hope to see this team keep progressing.
 
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You said that this game should not be remotely close.

In response to that, I pointed out that it is tough to get separation when you don't shoot well and we haven't shot well this season so far.

Then you call me Captain Obvious? I was pointing out a reason this game could be close when you said it shouldn't be.
OSU won this game by 33 points. Did you really expect this particular contest to be a close game or do you just relish always being the contrarian? It's OK for you to not play Debbie Downer in response to every positive thought someone has about this OSU team. Your pregame analysis for this particular game was lame.
 
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Your pregame analysis for this particular game was lame.

Actually it wasn't because we shot better from the floor and much better from 3 than we did in the previous game. On top of the excellent D, that was enough to get us a bigger lead in this one.

The only thing lame here is your responses to me. I wasn't trying to argue with you or be negative, I was just pointing out that we needed to shoot the ball better if we didn't want another close game. You are the one that decided to get snarky and negative about it.
 
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Anyways, I really liked the contributions we saw from everyone in the rotation. Can't say enough about the team defense, it was a big improvement over the UML game in that the communication was much better. Sueing and Liddell are a power couple at forward, ha. I am really happy with what Gene and Zed are giving us as true frosh with a janky preseason. Sotos even hit a shot!

Poor Diallo, though. He was only in for a minute but it was enough for him to look very lost. Wish he had taken that ball up stronger for the slam where he ended up getting fouled (and missing his FTs--I think we were 13 for 14 before that).
 
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Actually it wasn't because we shot better from the floor and much better from 3 than we did in the previous game. On top of the excellent D, that was enough to get us a bigger lead in this one.

The only thing lame here is your responses to me. I wasn't trying to argue with you or be negative, I was just pointing out that we needed to shoot the ball better if we didn't want another close game. You are the one that decided to get snarky and negative about it.
OSU didn't really show noticeable signs of better shooting in this game, IMO. 44 percent against Morehead State. They shot 40 percent against UMass Lowell. There were more open 3s late because Morehead's performance tailed off and Lowell never quit fighting. Not a substantial improvement by OSU, all things considered. IMO, your pregame analysis added nothing of substance and it was just a dig at me (or this team) for being optimistic about how OSU was going to perform in the game. Morehead was unable to keep pace with OSU as I expected, and your comment was ignorant of the reality of the difference in quality between these teams.
 
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OSU shot 22% from 3 against UML and won by 10 points.

OSU shot 25% from 3 in the first half of this game and was ahead by 10 points.

They hit 7 of 14 in the second half and built up the lead.

DZ, you criticize my pregame analysis--which wasn't an analysis, just a fact to keep in mind--when your "analysis" was that Morehead St. lost to UK so OSU should also crush them. Oh yes, transitive property, so substantial.

But I wasn't trying to dig at you or this team. I was expressing a hope that we'd shoot better. We did, especially from 3pt land and from the FT line (and it was this team's best defensive performance so far). You tell me before the game started that we'd shoot over 38% from 3 on 26 attempts and over 80% on FTs then yes, I would have expected the final margin of victory to be over 25 points or so.

44% vs. 40% isn't a huge difference, no, but we got more points with those shots, too, because of 10 3pt makes vs. 4.

We are gonna need to find a way to keep that up. And here's Captain Obvious again, but the way we shot against UML is not gonna win us many conference games. That's not trying to be negative. That's hoping the game tonight is closer to our norm and that we keep improving.
 
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Damnit I saw the thread title and thought the game was today. Grrrr

At least the Bucks won and appeared to play much better defense. Offense will come and go with shooting but Defense can win a lot of basketball games.

Forward to 4-0!
 
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Liddell plays 'bigger' than 6'8". He held his own against the (?) 7 footer for Morehead. He's obviously been well schooled at blocking/boxing out. Also enjoy watching Young come in from the baseline for a rebound/shot. Am surprised by Zed Key though. Looks pretty polished for a freshman, course he's been playing competitive ball since he was 6. CJ seems to have grown up/matured as PG. So far, he's been in command of the offense, and not afraid to take the 3 when the D collapses inside. Washington and Sueing are providing the outside shots, and really appreciate Sueing ability to take to the rack. And as most everyone has mentioned, the D is pretty darn smothering. Always a staple of Holtmann's teams. Sorry I missed Diallo's 'minute of fame'. Always wonder how he's progressing as a player. Being lost is not positive. Anyway, nice to see cohesion, but it's time to play someone above tOSU in the standings to get a gauge on how good this team really is.....go Bucks!
 
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Chris Holtmann

+ He thought this was an improvement from the game over the weekend. They played more connected on both ends. Good win, most importantly some improvement.

+ In general they shared the ball, moved the ball better, played through the paint and the post better, but they still wasted a lot of possessions offensively. He thought they were good in transition, and the seniors led well. Overall they were more connected. They were better at attacking the Zone defense.

+ C.J. Walker is a good player. He is active defensively, he sets the tone, he plays with pace on offense, he’s tough, has good communication. That has to continue to define him.

+ This team is a work in progress, more than any of his four years here. Gradual progress will define this group. They are not as far along as they were at this point last year, some of that is health related and having new players.

+ He thinks they will have different leading scorers often throughout the season. A lot of players can be consistent double-figure guys. He is totally ok with that, it’s who they are as a group.

+ On Kyle Young, Holtmann said his 3 point shooting has improved and he is confident in his ability to make 3s. He will make 3s for them and is consistently able to do that.

+ On dealing with protocols, Holtmann said they had 6:30 AM testing on Sunday for a Noon tip, then went directly from testing which takes 45 minutes to an hour to walkthrough, to film, to a pre-game meal. He gets word as soon as they are clear and the other team is clear. If it’s a phone call, it’s not good news in the morning.

+ On E.J. Liddell, he thought he was playing with force. He has been really proud of the steps he has taken in that area. He is doing a lot of good things.

Kyle Young
+ Defense was key for them tonight, getting stops, being tough every possession, and giving them nothing easy. That was key.

+ He wants to be able to consistently shoot 3s this season. He hopes to keep that going.

+ C.J. Walker was huge for them. They look to him for leadership. The way he competed and ran the offense, he did a really good job.

E.J. Liddell
+ He’s played against bigger guys than him his whole life and tonight it was just another game. He just came out and played his hardest today.

+ They needed to come out and compete. This was a good bounce-back game to show what they can really do.

+ He tried to work on his body a lot over the summer. He has been getting in better shape and better conditioning.

+ They were more connected on all pages in this game when compared to Sunday. They worked on that in practice and they did that. They were vocal, and everybody was connected.

+ “C.J. Walker is one of the best leaders I’ve ever met.” He comes in every day with a positive attitude and leads.

+ He is more confident than last year.

+ He yells Kobe in his head every time he shoots.
 
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