#8 tOSU 72, #9 Siena 74 (Final, 2OT)

[Bill Lucas]

The only thing that really [censored]ed me off about last night is the same thing that has [censored]ed me off all season.

Rebounding.

Everything else I can live with but rebounding is such an important part of the game and it really has very little to do with athleticism. It has everything to do with WANT TO.

I'm not disappointed with the season, I'm disappointed with the lack of toughness that the team showed all season long.

Zones defenses give up more offensive rebounds. Most of these rebounds are weak side rebounds as the majority of missed shots bounce long.

Buford is going to be a great player but he simply isn't big enough to be the one responsible for weak side rebounding. It absolutely killed Ohio State last night.

 

[LitlBuck]

Why is there embarassment at losing to Siena?

They brought back EVERYONE from a team that beat a 4 seed last year. They are experienced, we are not. They are good at everything that gives Ohio State problems.

I guess when it boils down to experience and better players, I will take the better players. If you think that Siena had a better starting five than Ohio State well I guess we just disagree. To be outrebounded by them by more than 20 rebounds is embarrassing and to turn the ball over, after a week of preparation, as much as we did is also embarrassing. How do you think Siena would fare in the Big 10

 

[billmac91]

I thought it was a great game,probabaly the best of the tournament so far. Too bad we were on the wrong side of it.

I love PJ, and he played well last night, but we're a HANDLING PG away from being very good. I see so many PG's across the country (Wright State, Creighton, Akron, etc.) and wonder why we don't have a great ball handler on the team. PG's on all of those teams would be an upgrade over our current PG's. And they all would have jumped at a chance to play at tOSU.

I know Mike Conley leaving hurt, but you still have to be able to bring a guy in who can face pressure defenses with handle-skills. We just don't have that type of PG and it shows in a game like last night.

 

[BuckeyeTillIDie]

but we're a HANDLING PG away from being very good. I see so many PG's across the country (Wright State, Creighton, Akron, etc.) and wonder why we don't have a great ball handler on the team.

Yep, I've been harping on this all season (well, last 2 years really). I would gladly exchange a Mullens early entry into the draft for an elite 09 PG (Wall). But, I'm sure it's too late to get in on that. No more JUCOs, please.

 

[Best Buckeye]

You think the Siena coach wouldn't kill for half of what Matta has in terms of resources? How many kids from Siena could make the OSU team? If we aren't shooting for anything better that what a 3,000 enrollment school can put on the court we have the wrong people in charge.

We only had the better talent last night, Siena had the better team.

 

[Bill Lucas]

You think the Siena coach wouldn't kill for half of what Matta has in terms of resources? How many kids from Siena could make the OSU team? If we aren't shooting for anything better that what a 3,000 enrollment school can put on the court we have the wrong people in charge.

Judging from last night? The starting five certainly. I'd take their point guard. I'd take Hansbrough. The center is a battler and would be great at 4 which is probably his more natural position. I'd take their team speed and man to man defensive ability and also their trapping.

That was a very good team that beat Ohio State last night. There's a reason that they beat a 4 seed last year with the same personnel.

 

[BB73]

For those who may not be aware, the tOSU wrestling team has a slight lead over Iowa going into the last day of wrestling at the NCAA Championships. Three Buckeyes are in the Finals, including defending champions J Jaggers and MIke Pucillo. The finals will be televised tonight at 6:30 ET on ESPN. The other matches are going on now and are on ESPNU and ESPN360.com.

The team has a chance at their first-ever National Championship. I have posted details in the tOSU Wrestling thread in the 'Other tOSU and Pro Sports Forum'.

BP.thread

 

[Best Buckeye]

We all need to watch those wrestling matches and cheer on the Bucks.

 

[LitlBuck]

Ohio State basketball: Buckeyes lose when the foul never comes
by Doug Lesmerises
Saturday March 21, 2009, 1:29 AM

Ohio State coach Thad Matta was calling for a foul after OSU point guard P.J. Hill made two free throws with 9.1 seconds left in the first overtime against Siena on Friday night.

"We were, and I don't know why it didn't happen," Matta said. "I was waiting for it but it wasn't happening."

Up by three points in a first-round game in the NCAA Tournament, Matta didn't want the Saints to have a chance at a tying 3-pointer. But Hill never got the message, and he let Siena point guard Ronald Moore make and take a 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left that sent the game into a second overtime. Siena eventually won 74-72, when Moore made another 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left in the second overtime. Those were the only two 3-pointers Moore hit in the game, going 2 for 6.

"I'm really upset, because I lost the game for us," Hill said in the losing locker room. "I should have fouled when I made the two free throws. I should have fouled him. I just stopped the ball and was just thinking make him take a tough shot, so that had a lot to do with (the loss).

Continued

Cleveland.com

Don't know if this was posted

 

[LitlBuck]

I do not know if the above article or this one have been posted or not.

Cleveland.com

Ohio State basketball: No surprise that poor rebounding does in Buckeyes
by Doug Lesmerises
Saturday March 21, 2009, 1:53 AM
Guess what killed Ohio State on Friday night?
Bubonic plague? No. Rebounding.

The Buckeyes' height edge against Siena did nothing but give them a better vantage point on the rebounds that the Saints grabbed around them. It wasn't just big men Dallas Lauderdale and B.J. Mullens, as Ohio State gave up a lot of rebounds on the weakside as well. But one of the worst rebounding teams in the NCAA Tournament was outrebounded 53-37 in its double overtime 74-72 loss to Siena, and it wasn't any real surprise.

The Saints especially controlled the offensive boards, grabbing 28 offensive rebounds.

Think of it this way. When Ohio State missed a shot, Siena grabbed the rebound 77 percent of the time. When Siena missed a shot, Ohio State grabbed the rebound only 55 percent of the time. That meant the Saints got another look after nearly half their shots.

"We didn't get the job done," OSU coach Thad Matta said. "I think we had a few on the weakside. But balls were hitting us in the hands and we weren't coming up with them. Obviously, (it's) something we've got to get better at."

Continued

 

[LitlBuck]

Cleveland.com

Ohio State basketball: Turner had the shots to make a difference
by Doug Lesmerises
Saturday March 21, 2009, 2:46 AM

Evan Turner finished with game-high 25 points on Friday night when Ohio State needed 26 or 27.

Turner had chances at the end of regulation and at the end of the second overtime that fell off the rim as the Buckeyes fell to Siena 74-72 in double overtime.

"I'm in shock. I'm kind of in disbelief," Turner said after the loss in the Ohio State locker room.

As the Saints made their run, Turner did his best to keep the Buckeyes hanging on, scoring six straight OSU points during one stretch in the final minutes of regulation. But in the end, he had two shots that might have gone down and didn't while Siena point guard Ronald Moore made 3-pointers at the end of the first overtime and the second overtime that tied and then won the game.

"I was shocked because he's not really a 3-point shooter," Turner said. "But winners make plays. You can't knock it, he made plays. And that's life. We came close to winning the game, but something crazy happened and we got into another overtime and it was kind of unbelievable."
"It's March Madness. Crazy things are going to happen. I just wish it would have happened for us."

Continued

 

[NFBuck]

Disappointing to say the least. I just hope ET and WB come back next year. B.J. would be great too, but that seems very unlikely.

 

[GrizzlyBuck]

Last night was a disappointing ending to a an inconsistent year. Overall a pretty good year for the Bucks considering their youth and the loss of the leader in Lighty.

If you would have told me when DL went down, that he would not return, but the Bucks would win 20, finish in the top half of the league in the regular season, get to the final game in the B10 tourney, I would have been pretty satisfied, if not happy. While the loss in the first round detracts from this a bit, a 9 seed beating an 8 seed is no real upset, specially considering Siena's success vs Vandy last year and their experience.

It is said that March is a time for guard oriented teams to take over, and that is obviously not tOSU's strength. It is a shame that a certain PG could not be patient, nor could he always make good decisions off the court, or said point guard may have really been able to help out by seasons end, but that is water under the bridge, and the Bucks needed to suceed with who they had.

I think Thad did one of his better coaching jobs this year, specially after DL's injury and the defection. This team was playing some of its better ball at the end of the season, and poor shooting and continued erratic, if not poor PG play spelled doom against a team who put good pressure on the ball and played with great intensity, my hats off to Siena for a hard fought tough victory.

My hope is that the Bucks will use the off season and the bitter disappointment of a first round loss to improve on the glaring weakness of this squad. Hopefully Simmons and PJ will work on improving their ball handling and decision making. Hopefully Diebs will work on his taking the ball to the hoop. Hopefully ET and DL will work on their outside shooting and ball handling so they can both continue to help out by being Point Forward type players. The same for Buford who also needs to play D more with his feet and less with his hands. Offutt needs to work on his stamina and continue to get back from his most recent knee injury, work on his handle and his shot. Dallas, Big Z and Madsen need to work on their offensive games and Dallas needs to learn to move his feet better to stay out of foul trouble as he will probably be relied on more on the offensive end next year with the expected defection by BJ. Kecman needs to get healhy and work on his strength (from what little I've seen of him) and also buy into defense and work on his footwork so he can defend 3's and 4's so his shooting touch can be utilized.

If the squad uses the off season to improve their areas of weakness, then this seasons end will not be so bad as it will help them build for next year. They have a chance to be a very good team next year with a good amount of experienced, talented players returning, but ball handling and decision making will be key, it would also be nice for all of the guys to buy into defending and moving their feet on defense so Matta can play more man to man next year, if for no other reason but to mix it up.

 

[GrizzlyBuck]

I wanted to post a seperate congrats to the Siena visitors for a hardfought (albeit ugly) win last night, you guys have a tough hardworking squad that you should be proud of, to take down relative big boy squads two years in a row is sure a feather in your cap. Good luck against L'ville (can't root for you though as I drew them in a team pool as my 1-2 seed )

 

[SienaHoop]

I will say right now that I have not read this entire thread but I think I have read enough to know that this is not a football game thread because I am a little more upset about losing this game that most of what I have read. To put things in perspective for me, I would rather win a national championship in basketball than a national championship in football. That is how much I love Ohio State basketball. Saying that, I have a few thoughts on the game.

I will try and tread lightly so I will not have to take a vacation but what the hell happened to the team then I saw last weekend that the Big 10 tournament. I mean are you really going to tell me that Siena is better than MSU, Wisconsin, or Purdue. This team had all week to look at film of how Siena plays their trapping defense and we could not even get the ball past half-court quite a few of the times. Do we have any ball handlers at all or did I just answer my own question. I mean Coach Matta must have looked at film from Siena's opponents to see how they broke their press so I don't understand why we had so much of a problem. That was extremely frustrating.

I also don't know what type of instructions were given late in the game for us to leave a guy wide open for a three-point shot to either tie or win the game. I don't know if it was because we have played that zone defense all season and our guys still aren't used to covering their area.
I don't know how we could get out rebounded by almost 20 by a team that was so much smaller than us and I have no idea why we did not try to get the ball inside more instead of settling for so many three-point shots especially against a team who is not as big as we are. Plus, I don't think that we tried to drive on them even once during the game. If we did, I must have missed it. To say that Siena's players are as talented as Ohio State's is a miscalculation in my opinion. Maybe they played better as a team last night but I didn't even see that.

I never know when I have been so frustrated after an Ohio State basketball loss. I could go on but I would have to say some things about specific players and I do not want to do that because that would put me on an extended vacation. Maybe I will save that for football season.

Cleveland State wins, Xavier wins, Dayton wins, and Ohio State loses. I never thought that I would see the day that that would happen. Something really needs to change before next season or I don't see better days ahead. I guess that's it and excuse some of my rambling.

I understand your frustration but seriously... Pitt, kansas, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Northern Iowa among many others ALL had problems with Sienas defense. Siena did lose to some of those teams but after each of those games the coaches and players ALL remarked how fast, tenacious and harrassing Sienas defense was at times. Please dont let Siena's poor play and lousy shooting leave you feeling like you lost to a bad team. On the contrary... OSU lost to a very good team that struggled shooting but RAMPED up the D to compensate. Your rebounding issues lastnight in particular were due to your team ESPECIALLY your bigs getting back on D rather than crashing the boards for fear of Siena getting out and running. OSU did an incredible job of preventing siena runouts all friggin night... and much of that was due to them abandoning the boards and getting back. Had OSU hit the boards who knows what would have happened to the pace of the game.

I know youve never heard of them and probably dont respect them... but Siena is a damn good team