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After the first few weeks of buckeye basketball, I was not very optimistic on the buckeyes chances in 2008. However, after a solid upset at Illinois and a win against Northwestern when the leading scorer is shutout, I like this basketball team. I think they can compete in the big ten. Right now, I say the bucks finish 3rd in the big ten, and go on to be a 4 or 5 seed in the tourney. Anybody else have predictions?
They are a young, dangerous team, but the win over Illinois is not really an upset, considering Penn State beat Illinois on their home floor today. Illinois just isn't very good, and watching Bruce Weber's constipated look at the crappy players he recruited is kinda nice.
I didn't get to see today's game thanks to the ongoing Big 10 Network vs. Time Warner dispute, but it seems like Butler is just about able to play any role they need him to. Today, they needed him to play pure point guard after putting up 32 on the road to take over the game Thursday. The Big 10 only looks to have three other good teams in MSU, Wisconsin, and Indiana, so the Buckeyes should finish in the top half of the conference and go to the NCAA as about 5-7 seed.
While very talented, I think they are too young to be a serious contender in the Big Ten this year. The few quality teams they have played thus far have handled them fairly easily. They go into funks far too often which will plague them down the stretch. It is always tough to win at Illinois, but keep in mind Penn State accomplished that today and I wouldn't be too excited about a lackluster win at home vs. Northwestern...
I tend to agree with traderumor's and Reds Freak's takes. This team has a lot of versatility but is still so young. I really like the pieces on this year's team but still think they are searching for a true identity. Light and Turner give them lots of athleticism and length. KK and Hunter are very very nice inside pieces. Butler is doing a nice job doing what is needed from him. Diebler is coming along and should continue to improve his all-around game along with his shooting. Twig is doing a fine job off the bench. I certainly enjoy watching this group develop, when like traderumor I am not shut out due to BTN.
I'm heading down for the Iowa game this Wednesday, so am looking forward to an excellent week of Buckeye sports. If only that work thing didn't intrude so much!
I think the problem with this team is that they don't have a true point guard. Butler is more of a shoot first kind of player and takes too many bad shots. If Conely were on this team I think they would be very very dangerous. I think they can be scary in march because they have Lighty and Hunter who are both good defenders as well as depth and if Diebler can get hot he can shoot the bucks to a victory.
While there is all the talk of how weak the Big 10 is in football, it cannot hold a candle to bball. OSU ripped Iowa tonight, who used to be a perennial conference top dog, there are only 3 ranked teams, and the rest of the league after the Buckeyes barely qualify as mediocre. I could see Minny maybe being right there with the Bucks in the 4-5 position, but Michigan, Iowa, Northwestern, Purdue, Penn St., and Illinois are bad teams, not even mediocre. It wasn't that long ago that 3 of the final 4 were Big 10 teams.
While Butler may not be a true PG like MC (there weren't many better at college level than Conley was at the end), IMO Jamar is doing a very fine job running the team this year. He leads the B10 in assist at 6/game (1 more per game then the guy in 2nd). In the 3 conf games to date he's averaging nearly 9. He also has 2.7 assist-to-TO ratio and shooting 42% from 3. And just by watching the games that I've seen, he is the guy in total control out there. The hole would be huge this year if he were to go down as we are very thin at that spot.
I have not seen a blowout like that Iowa game in a while. They had a double digit lead very early on and just kept stretching it beyond 30. Iowa was surprisingly bad, as was Illinois. I agree the conference seems weak after MSU, Indiana, Wisky and the Buckeyes (and possibly Minny). I loved the effort on D by the Bucks the entire night. They have really started tio sell me on their zone, but I'd prefer they rebound a bit better out of it.
Well, the Bucks went down today in what could easily have been the worst ref'd game in a LONG LONG time. Some of the calls both ways were laughable.
It did give the young freshman even more of a sense of how you have to play on the road in the Big Ten. As well, I thought Koufos had his best game of the Big Ten season. He actually asserted himself down low and played like a man.
The key to the Bucks season comes down to if Butler can keep his conditioning for the entire season. Purdue pressured him every time he had the ball today and he seemed to be wearing down towards the end of the game. He still provided OSU with great offense though.
I completely agree. Koufos was much more physical and strong with the basketball. Lighty had a terrible game, and couldn't get anything going. Nobody was shooting the ball from outside but Butler, and Purdue locked him down in the second half. Two tough ones on the road now at MSU and at TennesseeQuote:
Originally Posted by Buckeye33