For those who weren't able to see the game let me try to give you a feel for it.
First half:
If you are on your computer there is probably a pencil nearby. Sharpen the pencil and poke it in your left eye. Do this repeatedly for about 14 minutes. Now stick it in your right eye (this was about the point where we down 6 or 8 and Fuss missed two free throws and Dials a dunk). Twist the pencil so the point breaks off. Work it around for another six minutes. That was pretty much the first half.
Lack of defensive intensity. Spurts of individula effort, but llittle team effort. Several shots that looked to be in the bottom of the hoop, but came out. Several forced shots. Forced and ill advised passes. It looked like they expected a lower tier performance from Minnie and weren't ready to react when they got something different.
18 freakin points. In the first 11 minutes there were three points scored by someone other than Dials. 0 for 8 on threes.
Half Time - this was actually much better than the first half itslef. We got to see the fencing team introduced. I was really surprised there were so many people on a fencing team - and they had their backs to me - but it was still better than watching the first half.
Second Half - Re-sharpen your pencil. This time you will only need to jab for 10 minutes.
What was it about Tony Stockman that folks get so excited about? How can a team that has so many players shooting over 40% on threes go 2 for 21 with so many open looks? Why does TD need to put the ball on the floor so many times. 12 steals by Minnie? Geesh.
As it turns out with around 10 minutes left OSU did decide to play some ball. The crowd got into it and we made a nice run. Even had the lead by (I believe) 6 at one point. But then didn't act like we wanted to finish.
In fact, it wasn't really the team that stepped up. It was Matt Sylvester. He went on one of the finest stretches of individual offensive effort I have seen in some time. And a good bit of it was outside of the offensive approach of standing and hoping a Minnie player would fall down so he could shoot a three. He was going to the hoop and making it happen. He was awesome. But when he slacked off nobody filled the gap - although I shouldn't sell Dials short - he had his moments throught the evening.
Many folks will say that this was another game where OSU had chances to pull off the win. I would argue they were lucky to keep it close. It was Minnie that lost their starting center in the first half. It was Minnie that had to play on the road and watched the refs be influenced by the crowd during the brief stretches when it got really loud (missed defensive foul on one end followed by a missed charge at the other in one brief exchange). The team that wanted it more won it - pure and simple.
I wanted to see how this team would react after losing three tough games to in a stretch of four. I was confident Matta would have them up for it. They were flat. I am very concerned as to how they will react from here.
And I can't put it all on the players. The Minnie D was shutting them down throughout the first 30 minutes. I didn't see adjustments that brought them out of it. (It was more Syl's individual effort than anything else that kept them in the game.) I also saw a team that looked totally lost against the press (although the phrase 'I saw a team' may be a bit of an exageration). Once again I had to hear the refrain I heard far to many times last season - "This is their first victory in Value City Arena". Somewhere in there you have to talk about coaching. I will give Matta credit in that his first statement in the post game was an apology to the crowd.
I also want to mention one fascinating matchup. Vince Grier and JJ. Grier plays an athletic style that is remarkably similar to JJ. It was tough to take him seriously at first - what with a hair do that made him look something like Chris Webber wearing Mickey Mouse Ears. In the first half he was out of control a lot and I almost wrote him off. But he started hitting and down the stretch he carried Minnie - ultimately getting JJ in foul trouble that took him out of the game. But for the majority of the game it was fun watching those two go at it. Maybe even more exciting than learning that the OSU fencing team won the National Championship.
First half:
If you are on your computer there is probably a pencil nearby. Sharpen the pencil and poke it in your left eye. Do this repeatedly for about 14 minutes. Now stick it in your right eye (this was about the point where we down 6 or 8 and Fuss missed two free throws and Dials a dunk). Twist the pencil so the point breaks off. Work it around for another six minutes. That was pretty much the first half.
Lack of defensive intensity. Spurts of individula effort, but llittle team effort. Several shots that looked to be in the bottom of the hoop, but came out. Several forced shots. Forced and ill advised passes. It looked like they expected a lower tier performance from Minnie and weren't ready to react when they got something different.
18 freakin points. In the first 11 minutes there were three points scored by someone other than Dials. 0 for 8 on threes.
Half Time - this was actually much better than the first half itslef. We got to see the fencing team introduced. I was really surprised there were so many people on a fencing team - and they had their backs to me - but it was still better than watching the first half.
Second Half - Re-sharpen your pencil. This time you will only need to jab for 10 minutes.
What was it about Tony Stockman that folks get so excited about? How can a team that has so many players shooting over 40% on threes go 2 for 21 with so many open looks? Why does TD need to put the ball on the floor so many times. 12 steals by Minnie? Geesh.
As it turns out with around 10 minutes left OSU did decide to play some ball. The crowd got into it and we made a nice run. Even had the lead by (I believe) 6 at one point. But then didn't act like we wanted to finish.
In fact, it wasn't really the team that stepped up. It was Matt Sylvester. He went on one of the finest stretches of individual offensive effort I have seen in some time. And a good bit of it was outside of the offensive approach of standing and hoping a Minnie player would fall down so he could shoot a three. He was going to the hoop and making it happen. He was awesome. But when he slacked off nobody filled the gap - although I shouldn't sell Dials short - he had his moments throught the evening.
Many folks will say that this was another game where OSU had chances to pull off the win. I would argue they were lucky to keep it close. It was Minnie that lost their starting center in the first half. It was Minnie that had to play on the road and watched the refs be influenced by the crowd during the brief stretches when it got really loud (missed defensive foul on one end followed by a missed charge at the other in one brief exchange). The team that wanted it more won it - pure and simple.
I wanted to see how this team would react after losing three tough games to in a stretch of four. I was confident Matta would have them up for it. They were flat. I am very concerned as to how they will react from here.
And I can't put it all on the players. The Minnie D was shutting them down throughout the first 30 minutes. I didn't see adjustments that brought them out of it. (It was more Syl's individual effort than anything else that kept them in the game.) I also saw a team that looked totally lost against the press (although the phrase 'I saw a team' may be a bit of an exageration). Once again I had to hear the refrain I heard far to many times last season - "This is their first victory in Value City Arena". Somewhere in there you have to talk about coaching. I will give Matta credit in that his first statement in the post game was an apology to the crowd.
I also want to mention one fascinating matchup. Vince Grier and JJ. Grier plays an athletic style that is remarkably similar to JJ. It was tough to take him seriously at first - what with a hair do that made him look something like Chris Webber wearing Mickey Mouse Ears. In the first half he was out of control a lot and I almost wrote him off. But he started hitting and down the stretch he carried Minnie - ultimately getting JJ in foul trouble that took him out of the game. But for the majority of the game it was fun watching those two go at it. Maybe even more exciting than learning that the OSU fencing team won the National Championship.
