Why is Thad Matta only going with 6 players for an entire game?? What happened to PJ hill , Simmons??? I know these guys arent exactly offensive machines , but they still need to play some so Turner ,Diebler and Lighty arent completely out of gas come the tournament. Not sure what is going on here but Thaddeus needs to find a couple of more guys off of his bench to go in and spell the starters
Most teams shorten their bench as they get near the end of their season and the games become more important. They have figured out which guys can produce by now.
Matta did the same thing with Xavier in the 2004 post-season when XU made "THE RUN". they basically had Dedrick Finn off the bench playing A LOT of minutes, but Brandon Cole played maybe 10 at the most.
it worked then, so why not now?
i have felt for a few weeks now that OSU is a final four caliber team. Evan Turner could possibly be the best player in the country right now. i do worry about their depth, but when it comes NCAA tournament time, you only have to play 2 games in 3 days and then you get a few days off before you play again. these guys should be well-rested for each game there.
now, come Big Ten tourney time, i don't know if they can last 3 games in 3 days or whatever it is for their conference. it won't matter anyway because OSU is a LOCK to get in.
The only player that should be getting some time that isn't IMO is Simmons. And not a whole lot. 10-12 a game I'd say.
What Matta is doing is obviously working, it's just a matter of how much longer it will work. The starting 5 is one of the best in basketball.
it may work for the first couple rounds of the tournament , but it will stop there ... he will have to be ready to use a couple other guys other than Kyle " The Butcher" Madsen or they will come up against a team that will run them into the ground because they will wear out or foul out...no team can continue to play their best 3 players , 40 minutes , every game
I believe Simmons had an eye injury or something to that extent lately that has caused him to be unable to play. The others, especially Hill, I'm not sure about.
it may work for the first couple rounds of the tournament , but it will stop there ... he will have to be ready to use a couple other guys other than Kyle " The Butcher" Madsen or they will come up against a team that will run them into the ground because they will wear out or foul out...no team can continue to play their best 3 players , 40 minutes , every game
Just saying.....but doesn't Ohio State get out and go a lot too? They have been able to play an uptempo game as well. It's not like they are Northwestern or Wisconsin, a slow it down half court team. Bufford, Lighty and Turner all run with it. Not saying they are like a run n' gun team. But I don't think teams will be able to run them in the ground. I'd say at this point, they are a pretty well conditioned team and they are in a pretty good rhythm. The only thing that can hurt their short bench is foul trouble. I'm not concerned with conditioning. They've done it all year long.
It's about talent and necessity, not choice. I'm sure if he had a deeper bench, those guys would get more playing time.
I'd like to see them play out the rest of the regular season to try to win the Big Ten title, play the starters in the first game of the Big Ten tournament, then rest the the key players when they get to the tournament semifinals. They may be playing for seeding, but probably not a huge difference, so no sense in going all out in my opinion in Indianapolis.
Matta is doing something right. The fact that the Bucks are within striking distance of a Big Ten title is pretty amazing. If they can get some help and manage a split of the title, I think he's the conference COY and Turner is the POY.
Matta is doing something right. The fact that the Bucks are within striking distance of a Big Ten title is pretty amazing. If they can get some help and manage a split of the title, I think he's the conference COY and Turner is the POY.
I agree, Matta is doing the most with the least.
Turner is hands down the POY in the conference. There really shouldn't be any discussion on this. He leads the conference in both scoring and rebounding and he's second in the conference in Asst's and Steals. Total domination. It's a story line if a player leads those categories for his team.....and Turner does it in the conference.
Turner really should be POY in all of College Basketball, for the same reasons mentioned above. He's the most dominant statistically this year and I would argue he means the most to his team. With him they are 19-4, 3-3 without.
Turner is hands down the POY in the conference. There really shouldn't be any discussion on this. He leads the conference in both scoring and rebounding and he's second in the conference in Asst's and Steals. Total domination. It's a story line if a player leads those categories for his team.....and Turner does it in the conference.
Turner really should be POY in all of College Basketball, for the same reasons mentioned above. He's the most dominant statistically this year and I would argue he means the most to his team. With him they are 19-4, 3-3 without.
I agree, Without Turner both Purdue games would of been blowouts along with the MSU game and probably would of lost at Illinois as well. I'm sure there are other games that the Bucks would of lost.
Couldn't agree more. He makes Ohio State a 3 seed and a threat for the Final 4. With out him, they'd most likely be an NIT team to be honest. They'd have 12 or 13 losses I think.
Agree with Turner as POY in B10 but disagree on coach Matta getting the award. I would have to give that to Bo Ryan this year. Matta would be close behind though
Fair enough. I like Bo too and he always seems to have an overachieving team. He's had some good players come through, but it doesn't seem like he ever has a super star, yet they are always a solid team and unbeatable at home.
you all are missing the point of the thread thenat the great hof started ... i am not debating or disagreeing with the fact that Matta is a very good coach...i am just saying that if this team wants to be a serious contender for the final 4 , they cant do it playing a total of 6 guys ... sooner or later this will catch up with them ... Turner can carry them ala Glen Big Dog Robinson , but they will have to have alot of gas in their tank playing every minute of every game... if they win their first 2 tournament games they will going up against a team like Duke, who will wear them down and eventually beat them b/c of OSU's lack of depth...and lets not get too carried away with the big 10, a very avg UNC team beat OSU, Butler beat OSU and WVU beat OSU ...so aside from a win over Fl St...OSU really has no signature out of conf wins
If they try to play with just six in the tournament, and get matched up against a team that just wants to run the whole game then those guys might see some time, but also you have to have your best guys on the floor. So making sure those guys are ready to go physically in the next couple weeks is key for Ohio State. I like them going to the Elite 8/Final 4 depending on who the one seed is they get matched up with. They need to avoid Kansas and Syracuse I think. But they're playing very well right now.
like I said when I started this thread... it caught up with OSU... I know Simmons played more against Tennessee , and hit some shots, but Matta should have been playing him and Hill more throughout the yr., Madsen, The Butcher , cost them the game against Tenn. .......as always hof is right .......
like I said when I started this thread... it caught up with OSU... I know Simmons played more against Tennessee , and hit some shots, but Matta should have been playing him and Hill more throughout the yr., Madsen, The Butcher , cost them the game against Tenn. .......as always hof is right .......
Actually, I don't think the lack of bench strength really did the Bucks in. Diebler having an off night was the difference in the game, IMO.
I was pretty impressed how the team's conditioning held up for the regular season, the Big Ten tournament, and the NCAA tournament. As a group, those five starters must be in incredible shape.
Actually, I don't think the lack of bench strength really did the Bucks in. Diebler having an off night was the difference in the game, IMO.
I was pretty impressed how the team's conditioning held up for the regular season, the Big Ten tournament, and the NCAA tournament. As a group, those five starters must be in incredible shape.
I agree Diebler having an off night is what beat OSU. Now whether you could argue that a jump shooter legs got heavy becasue of a 6 man rotation at the end of the season could be debatable.
I agree Diebler having an off night is what beat OSU. Now whether you could argue that a jump shooter legs got heavy becasue of a 6 man rotation at the end of the season could be debatable.
I doubt that was the case considering Diebler hit a LOT of shots in the first two rounds against UCSB and GT. Diebler, Lighty, and Buford all had off-nights against Tennessee and that basically was what ended Ohio State's season. That's the NCAA Tournament though, one bad game and you're finished.
It was Diebler's 1-for-8 shooting that was really off his normal game. He basically carried the team against UCSB, though.
Madsen got way too much playing time against Tennessee.
I agree...
They should of went with a smaller lineup with Simmons instead of Madsen. They already couldn't defend the paint against Chism so might as well put an extra scorer on the floor.
Actually, I don't think the lack of bench strength really did the Bucks in. Diebler having an off night was the difference in the game, IMO.
I was pretty impressed how the team's conditioning held up for the regular season, the Big Ten tournament, and the NCAA tournament. As a group, those five starters must be in incredible shape.
What did OSU in was getting killed on the boards and in the paint. UT scored 50 or their 74 points in the paint and had a 10+ rebound advantage that led to a lot of 2nd chance points. Getting extra pssessions and keeping OSU's possessions down led to the victory for UT.
Actually, I don't think the lack of bench strength really did the Bucks in. Diebler having an off night was the difference in the game, IMO.
I was pretty impressed how the team's conditioning held up for the regular season, the Big Ten tournament, and the NCAA tournament. As a group, those five starters must be in incredible shape.
Diebler did not really have an off night, it was just that Tenn guarded him so he was always rushed a little bit and thus missed his shots... Diebler is simply another 3 point specialist.... If he is open , he knocks it down, if he runs into a defense that keys on him, he will do virtually nothing b/c he cant get his own shot...... he is a poor mans jj reddick
What did OSU in was getting killed on the boards and in the paint. UT scored 50 or their 74 points in the paint and had a 10+ rebound advantage that led to a lot of 2nd chance points. Getting extra pssessions and keeping OSU's possessions down led to the victory for UT.
That's directly related to Madsen getting too much playing time. The cold, hard truth is that Madsen really is a MAC-level player.
With Sullinger and Thomas along with the other incoming freshman next year, maybe the Bucks will press and shoot the 3 with as many as 10 players seeing some PT each game. Should be exciting..
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