My first blog entry for Inside the Shoe! Or should I say "Inside the Schott"? Oh Wait--Value City Arena.... Tonight's OSU vs. Purdue game was one of the biggest games of the year for Thad Matta's Buckeyes. Number 4 ranked Purdue, vs. Number 9 ranked Ohio State. The Buckeyes (undefeated at home), riding a 9 game win streak, and Purdue on a 7 game win streak--Purdue's last loss? To the Buckeyes at home. A win meant a share of first place in the Big 10, with a HUGE showdown with Sparty this weekend for sole possession of first place, and inside track to an outright Big 10 Championship. Unfortunately, that's not how things worked out tonight. The Bucks came out very flat, and played a sloppy first half. Purdue came out with some hot shooting, building a lead they would never relinquish. Simply put, the Buckeyes dug themselves in a hole in the first 20 minutes, and despite a valiant effort in the 2nd half, they came up just short. Now, for the "Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" from tonight's game: The Good: - Despite a miserable 1st half and 13 point deficit at the break, The Bucks came out swinging in the 2nd half--proving this team does not know the meaning of the word quit. This team is never out of it, and Thad Matta makes great in-game adjustments.
- Evan Turner. Wow.... In the first half, ET pretty much carried the team on his back or the half-time deficit could have been even bigger. ET is without question the best player in the Big Ten, and deserves serious consideration for National Player of the Year.
- No supporting cast tonight for Mr. Turner (especially in the first half). A few bright spots with some key threes from Diebler and Buford to pull the game within two, and ultimately with a shot to tie it at the buzzer; however, the supporting cast tonight came in small spurts with no consistency. And where was David Lighty tonight?
- Poor shot selection: When the Bucks made a run and got within two, they too often seemed to settle for hoisting a quick three, vs. the driving the lane, and finding the open man.
- First sellout-crowd this season for the Bucks. Congrats--but wow Value City Arena does not rock, even when sold out. The building is beautiful, but it does not have an intimidating feel to it for opposing teams. I would have loved to have seen tonight's game in St. John Arena. That place ROCKS!
I will give credit to Matt Painter and Purdue--these boys came ready to play, and deserved the win. Hope we see 'em in the Big 10 Tourney for the Rubber match.
Here is the box score from tonight's game. The biggest takeaway for me from the box score? I think the number of players used is the most telling statistic of all. Bucks again only play 6 players, while the Boilers went 9 deep.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/gamecenter/boxscore/NCAAB_20100217_PUR@OHST
