The Buckeye Blog

Man oh man oh man oh man!

I don’t know what it is about this team. How many times this year have they looked dead on the court only to come back and win it at the last moment?

So let’s review the Ohio State offensive plays:

Plan 1:
Oden sets up in the middle, the rest of the team sort of waits around the outside for the ball and then they throw up bricks. Yeah, it works great in theory and when it is going well, it looks good. The ball goes to Oden in the middle drawing the defense in and opening up players on the three point line. With everyone going for Oden, he just puts it back out to a teammate waiting patiently at the three-point line and in the words of that Brian Collins…”Boom goes the dynamite.”

The only problem is that way too often, the Buckeyes can’t seem to light the fuse.

Plan 2:

Give the ball to Conley and let him drive the net up the middle, give the ball to Lewis and let him drive up the baseline, give the ball to whoever and let them drive the net.

Personally, I like the latter. When Oden sets a pick it’s like driving a Mac truck onto the court opening up beautiful lanes for Conley. When we settle down and score two at a time, the three point opportunities open up and before you know it, the Bucks are back in the game.

How many game this year have we seen the Bucks slump at the threes only to make a dramatic comeback two points at a time.

It is also apparent that the Buckeye opponents have been studying their films. Both Xavier and Tennessee got Oden into foul trouble early and with the Vols at least, it was a designed plan.

In post-game interviews, Dane Bradshaw of the Vols said, “It was part of the game plan to get him [Oden] in foul trouble. We just really didn’t do a good job from the get-go (in the second half).”

And it appears that the way to get Oden in trouble is to just keep driving him and Tenn did a good job of that in the first half.

Sat. the Bucks meet up with Memphis. If the Buckeyes can start the game like they did the second half last night or play like they did in overtime against Xavier, Memphis doesn’t stand a chance.

The questions is, at what point will the Bucks show up to play. From this point on, I wouldn’t count on anybody letting us come back from 20 points.

Sorry it took me so long to write this. I had to change my pants.

I have to admit, I didn’t see this coming and I should have given Xavier a little more respect. Xavier came into this game bent and played that way. Xavier has always been a good basketball school and they have long wanted a chance to take down “The Program” to the north. You’ve also got two coaches who worked together as assistants at Miami* and again at Xavier. Even though Matta practically snuck out of town in the middle of the night many at Xavier (including players) feel he never really explained his leaving even though he did leave Xavier coach Sean Miller with a pretty good lineup. The fact that some of those players are still at Xavier and the fans are hungry and you have all the motivation a nine seed needs to bring down the #1 ranked team in the country.

What concerns me most about today’s game was the way Ohio State refused to take control of until overtime. All season, the Buckeyes have slipped into these periods of taking crappy shots from the outside looking like a bunch of marble statues. They do this until they either slip behind or blog a big lead. Then all of a sudden, Conley, Butler and Lewis start driving for the net and Oden starts making big offensive rebounds and the Bucks are back in control.

Today, I think we waited just a bit too long.

And if it wasn’t for a missed foul shot by Xavier, I’d be trying to decide if I would even write about today’s game (you’ll notice I haven’t been able to get to the blog much lately).

Finally, in overtime, with Oden fouled out, The Ohio State Buckeyes showed up and played the type of basketball they know how to play. They drove the net and when they took the three point shot, they sounded oh so sweet going in.

Oden’s 5th foul must have been the kick in the pants the Buckeyes needed because they opened the overtime with a 10 point run and never looked back. While it’s great to have Oden, every now and then we need to let the other four step back and play some ball. When they turn it on, even without Oden, they will be very tough to beat.

(* I have certain family members who get quite upset when I refer to Miami University as Miami of Ohio)

I told you I would put it up here once I found it. Count ‘em as you go…one one thousand…

You may have seen this before but if you haven’t, it is probably about the most painful three minutes of television I have seen in a long time.

It’s been two years since Ball State hero, Brian Collins made internet fame as a sports broadcaster and as he nears graduation, ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski got in touch with Collins for an update.

It’s moments like these that make me appreciate writing.