Ohio State at Illinois 1/10...Thoughts??

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0311sdp

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Jan 11, 2012 12:41 AM
This team has no one who consistantly makes outside shots, offensively you get little or nothing from Craft and Smith and with Buford shooting so poorly most of the time (and every time when it counts) I don't think that you can afford to have both Craft and Smith playing at the same time. Thomas has played well this season and looks really good when he stays within 10 feet of the basket and Sullinger is dependable as well but without any shooters this team is going to struggle at times. Thompson and Weatherspoon are great athletes but again can't shoot and in Weatherspoon's case really can't do anything except dunk (if he's all by himself)gets stripped with any defense around. Amir Williams is just too lazy to contibute much and the transfer from BC (can't think of his name) is just plain horrible. I would like to see Ross play some with the first unit and see if he can shoot as well as advertised. The other young big guy #55 looks like he just picked up a basketball for the first time about 2 days ago and Siebert hasn't shot well except for 1 game.. Defensively they need to quit getting beat off the dribble all the time that is what breaks their defense down. The only good on ball defenders are Craft and Smith. With this group Thad may need to consider a zone part of the time. Matta is a great Coach and I'm sure that he will straighten some of the problems out but right now this is a good team but not a great team and I could see them at 13-5 in the B1G.
Jan 11, 2012 12:41am
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hoops23

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Jan 11, 2012 1:04 AM
I'd love to see Ross get worked into the rotation, even if it's 10-12 minutes overall a game. His scoring ability would be a welcomed addition.

Matta and his staff needs to figure something out, because at this pace, this team is at best a sweet 16 participant.

The good thing is, it's only January. A lot of time left to get things worked out. If anything, UCONN proved last year that you don't need to go 30-2 every season to win a title.
Jan 11, 2012 1:04am
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vball10set

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Jan 11, 2012 7:58 AM
I'm mainly disappointed with OSU's inability to put teams away, and IMO this is due to something I've maintained all along---WE HAVE NO LEADER!!! Also, why do we seem to always be the team that opponents have "career games" against? E'Twaun Moore, Jordan Taylor, Brandon Paul....who's next?
Jan 11, 2012 7:58am
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bases_loaded

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Jan 11, 2012 8:09 AM
Pauls 3 pointer with craft in his face and time running out summed up the night
Jan 11, 2012 8:09am
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SnotBubbles

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Jan 11, 2012 8:13 AM
se-alum;1044627 wrote:Illinois isn't very good.
wildcats20;1044813 wrote:This game won't be close.
Laley23;1044840 wrote:For some reason Bruce Weber continues to coach as if hes at a Mid Major with a lack of talent, walking the ball up and not letting his players make plays by calling plays each time down the court. Its pathetic.

Id expect that to continue...and not end well.

OSU - 73
ILL - 59
chicago510;1047630 wrote:Still a lot of time for Illinois to return to being Illinois.

Hahaha....fuck you all. Ohio State is the better team (right now). But Illinois is a young, talented team and if you think you're going to crush them, you're going to get beat. Next season, Illinois will be an Elite 8 team.

Jan 11, 2012 8:13am
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bases_loaded

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Jan 11, 2012 8:15 AM
Ohio State is younger and more talented. They lost on the road to a good Illinois team who saw a guy averaging 13 points score 43
Jan 11, 2012 8:15am
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SnotBubbles

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Jan 11, 2012 8:37 AM
bases_loaded;1047964 wrote:Ohio State is younger and more talented. They lost on the road to a good Illinois team who saw a guy averaging 13 points score 43
A guy with a "sky's the limit" amount of talent who's struggled at times. And Illinois has 2 Seniors. 1 doesn't play, 1 didn't play last night...and is a spot starter. Illinois' entire team will be back next year, OSU's will not.
Jan 11, 2012 8:37am
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Wooball

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Jan 11, 2012 8:39 AM
SnotBubbles;1047984 wrote:A guy with a "sky's the limit" amount of talent who's struggled at times. And Illinois has 2 Seniors. 1 doesn't play, 1 didn't play last night...and is a spot starter. Illinois' entire team will be back next year, OSU's will not.
I'll take Thad Matta and OSU's team going forward over Bruce Webber and Illinois. I'd say there is a better shot that Bruce Webber is fired after next year than there is they make it to the Elite 8. Matta recruits Chicago better from Columbus, OH than Mr. Webber does from just down the road.

And Meyers Leonard is a projected top 12 pick in THIS years draft, so I wouldn't be so certain that the Illini return the entire team.
Jan 11, 2012 8:39am
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vball10set

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Jan 11, 2012 8:39 AM
bases_loaded;1047964 wrote:Ohio State is younger and more talented. They lost on the road to a good Illinois team who saw a guy averaging 13 points score 43
This sums up what is becoming a troubling pattern. Who's going to step up and say 'enough'?
Jan 11, 2012 8:39am
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gerb131

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Jan 11, 2012 8:44 AM
Did they really rush the floor? I flipped that shit quick.
Jan 11, 2012 8:44am
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Wooball

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Jan 11, 2012 8:49 AM
vball10set;1047988 wrote:This sums up what is becoming a troubling pattern. Who's going to step up and say 'enough'?
I'm not worried yet. They lost at Kansas w/out their top player. They lost at Indiana where no one has won yet, including the top team in the country. And they lost last night at Illinois when some guy went off for 43 points.

Do they need to go out and get a quality win on the road? Absolutely. But, I feel they will start to pick up some W's on the road soon enough. Good teams lose on the road in conference play. It happens. It will probably happen again this year, but I'd expect the Bucks to start pulling a few of these close road games out. Tighten up their execution down the stretch and feed the big man in the post and they will be fine.
Jan 11, 2012 8:49am
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Wooball

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Jan 11, 2012 8:50 AM
gerb131;1047993 wrote:Did they really rush the floor? I flipped that shit quick.
You bet. OSU has owned them lately, especially at Assembly Hall.
Jan 11, 2012 8:50am
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bases_loaded

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Jan 11, 2012 9:10 AM
Wooball;1048000 wrote:You bet. OSU has owned them lately, especially at Assembly Hall.

That would be a record for oldest average age to rush a court then.
Jan 11, 2012 9:10am
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gerb131

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Jan 11, 2012 9:23 AM
bases_loaded;1048016 wrote:That would be a record for oldest average age to rush a court then.
I was going to say hardly any students in attendance last night.
Jan 11, 2012 9:23am
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Automatik

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Jan 11, 2012 9:59 AM
thedynasty1998;1047820 wrote:OSU is not as good as last years team. Craft didn't improve. No one has ever demanded anything from Buford. Sully shouldn't have lost weight. Matta doesn't develop a bench.

With that said, they are an elite 8 team.
lmao...you are still saying Sully shouldn't have lost weight? He's the same beast he was last year.

I agree with you on Craft. I thought he would have improved his scoring, at least a develop somewhat of an outside jumper.
Jan 11, 2012 9:59am
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centralbucksfan

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Jan 11, 2012 10:30 AM
Personally, not too concerned with the loss. I said the Big Ten winner may have up to 5 losses. Ill is better than some give them credit. It took a herculian effort by Paul to beat OSU. He was in the zone last nite. It happens. He and others hit shots they haven't hit all season. The stars were aligned.
Yes, OSU needs to get better, tougher, especially on the road. They need to be more consistant. The overall effort last nite was my concern. They didn't look into the game. They got complacent with the large leads instead of putting their foot on the throat.
This team will be ok. Better they are going through this now than at the end of the season. But they do have their weaknesses, especially outside shooting.
Sunday vs IU, is now even a bigger game than it was going to be.
Jan 11, 2012 10:30am
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SnotBubbles

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Jan 11, 2012 10:31 AM
Wooball;1048000 wrote:You bet. OSU has owned them lately, especially at Assembly Hall.
Just not last night.
Jan 11, 2012 10:31am
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SnotBubbles

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Jan 11, 2012 10:34 AM
Wooball;1047987 wrote:I'll take Thad Matta and OSU's team going forward over Bruce Webber and Illinois. I'd say there is a better shot that Bruce Webber is fired after next year than there is they make it to the Elite 8. Matta recruits Chicago better from Columbus, OH than Mr. Webber does from just down the road.

And Meyers Leonard is a projected top 12 pick in THIS years draft, so I wouldn't be so certain that the Illini return the entire team.
Leonard will be back. He has a lot of developing to do. And yes, Webber isn't a "great" recruiter when it comes to raw talent out of HS...but he develops the 4-star talent into 5-star talent by the time it's all said and done.
Jan 11, 2012 10:34am
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vball10set

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Jan 11, 2012 10:37 AM
It looks like the B1G will be won with at least 5 losses...as long as we continue to win at home, and hopefully split our remaining six road games, we'll be okay.
Jan 11, 2012 10:37am
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centralbucksfan

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Jan 11, 2012 10:41 AM
thedynasty1998;1047820 wrote:OSU is not as good as last years team. Craft didn't improve. No one has ever demanded anything from Buford. Sully shouldn't have lost weight. Matta doesn't develop a bench.

With that said, they are an elite 8 team.
Well, hate to say I told you so, but I did. Don't agree with Sully weight. Thats a non issue. He is not been healthy. Last two games, he is healthy and saw what he can do. The bench? Matta has played it more than he ever has. Maybe too much to be honest. Craft has improved, but not in shooting the ball. He seems to be pressing too much, trying to make things happen. Its a cumalitive affect. Typically when a team struggles, its not just one or two players. We'll see how they handle some adversity now. We may look back and this could be a good thing. They played so well early in the season, there was no way they were going to keep that up the entire season. Its a long season of highs and lows. Maybe the low point is now. Although again, last nite was not a bad loss IMO.
Jan 11, 2012 10:41am
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SnotBubbles

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Jan 11, 2012 10:49 AM
Ohio State is far and away the best team in the B1G this season. I won't argue against that. They'll win the conference, probably with 4 or 5 losses.
Jan 11, 2012 10:49am
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Wooball

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Jan 11, 2012 10:51 AM
SnotBubbles;1048106 wrote:Leonard will be back. He has a lot of developing to do. And yes, Webber isn't a "great" recruiter when it comes to raw talent out of HS...but he develops the 4-star talent into 5-star talent by the time it's all said and done.
Almost all 7' college players have developing left to do, doesn't usually stop them from entering the NBA draft when they are a lottery pick (or worse)

2010/11: 20-14 (2nd round NCAA exit)
2009/10: 21-15 (NIT)
2008/09: 24-10 (1st round NCAA exit)
2007/08: 16-19 (no postseason)
2006/07: 23-12 (1st round NCAA exit)

0 first round draft picks in that period. I must be missing all these 5 star players that leaving Champaign after tutelage from Webber. Yes, Illinois won last night and looks like they have some solid players to build on going forward. I just wouldn't start printing your sweet 16 t-shirts anytime soon.

Snot, not to be ripping on you or the Illini. I have just found from reading other message boards that Illini fans have had a huge problem w/ OSU and Matta's recent success on the hardwood. Not sure if it's because OSU has risen the same time that Illinois has fallen into pretty much mediocrity. If its because of Turner's success at OSU instead of him staying at home, or because of Webber's struggles to recruit top tier talent in the Midwest while OSU has had top classes almost every year. Either way, it has given me a negative view on Illini fans when I used to enjoy watching them with Dee Brown, Deron Williams and even before that.
Jan 11, 2012 10:51am
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LJ

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Jan 11, 2012 10:57 AM
Buford just needs to learn that shooting the ball 2438723475023475 times per game no matter if he is on or off is not being a "leader"
Jan 11, 2012 10:57am
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centralbucksfan

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Jan 11, 2012 11:13 AM
SnotBubbles;1048117 wrote:Ohio State is far and away the best team in the B1G this season. I won't argue against that. They'll win the conference, probably with 4 or 5 losses.
Not far and away. The big10 is by far the most difficult conference top to bottom. MSU is really coming on. Wisky, although struggling, will turn things around. Ill, as we saw last nite, is capable. IU we know about. Mich is is pretty good as well. Going on the road in those venues, against quality teams, will not be easy. Its never as easy as it looks at this level.
Jan 11, 2012 11:13am
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SnotBubbles

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Jan 11, 2012 11:19 AM
Wooball;1048119 wrote:Almost all 7' college players have developing left to do, doesn't usually stop them from entering the NBA draft when they are a lottery pick (or worse)

2010/11: 20-14 (2nd round NCAA exit)
2009/10: 21-15 (NIT)
2008/09: 24-10 (1st round NCAA exit)
2007/08: 16-19 (no postseason)
2006/07: 23-12 (1st round NCAA exit)

0 first round draft picks in that period. I must be missing all these 5 star players that leaving Champaign after tutelage from Webber. Yes, Illinois won last night and looks like they have some solid players to build on going forward. I just wouldn't start printing your sweet 16 t-shirts anytime soon.

Snot, not to be ripping on you or the Illini. I have just found from reading other message boards that Illini fans have had a huge problem w/ OSU and Matta's recent success on the hardwood. Not sure if it's because OSU has risen the same time that Illinois has fallen into pretty much mediocrity. If its because of Turner's success at OSU instead of him staying at home, or because of Webber's struggles to recruit top tier talent in the Midwest while OSU has had top classes almost every year. Either way, it has given me a negative view on Illini fans when I used to enjoy watching them with Dee Brown, Deron Williams and even before that.
Of course they have a problem with the success of OSU. Everyone does, it's not an Illinois thing, it's a national pandemic. People like to see the Buckeyes fall, it's jealousy. I've had the joy of living in Ohio for half of my life as an Illinois fan and former resident, so I see it first hand. Frankly, I think the problem with Illini fans is that we don't have a football program that can compete year in and year out. It's our basketball program (much like it was for Indiana) that gets us through college sports misery. When a team like Ohio State (that excels in football) comes along and is the top dog in the conference in a sport we want to dominate...it's frustrating. I'm not taking anything away from Ohio State, as long as what they do is done by NCAA regulations (which I believe it is), I respect them.

The one thing I cannot stand, however, is the arrogance that many OSU fans display sometimes.

Just my 2 cents, and I hope I helped paint a picture of the Illini fans' frustration the last 4 or 5 years.
Jan 11, 2012 11:19am