Men's Basketball
Hoops Week in Review
By Tony Gerdeman
This edition of the Hoops Week in Review is dedicated to how little people want to hear about your bracket and how much you don’t care. (And no, I’m not talking about “little people”, so don’t bother them with your bracket either.)Recapping the Buckeyes’ Week
Ohio State 61 - Wisconsin 57. Ohio State trailed for much of the game and by as much as seven points with just under five minutes to play. The Buckeyes then closed the game on a 14-3 run to get the win and move on to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals. Evan Turner led the Buckeyes with 19 points and also contributed 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
Ohio State 82 - Michigan State 70. The Buckeyes led most of the way in this one and pulled away at the end. The Spartans were worn down by Ohio State’s vast superiority and not even Tom Izzo’s obsessive compulsive micromanagement could save the Spartans. Evan Turner again fueled the Buckeyes to the win with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.
Purdue 65 - Ohio State 61. Ohio State led by five points at the half and Purdue actually looked tired for about three-fourths of the game. Purdue then took control in the final twelve minutes or so, proving that they weren’t tired--they were just being lazy for most of the game. Purdue guard E’Twaun Moore took over down the stretch, finishing with 17 points to lead the Boilers.
Buckeye of the Week
It would have been Evan Turner, obviously. Although, if I listen to the Big Ten coaches and media, maybe it should be somebody else.
Additional Buckeye Thoughts
Evan Turner hasn’t made a three-pointer since January 25th. Of course he’s only attempted nine in that span, but it shows you just how amazing it is that he can get to the basket any time he wants when the defense already knows that he’s not going to shoot it from deep. Michael Redd used to be able to get to the basket whenever he wanted to, but he wasn’t as good of a finisher as Turner is. I almost worry that Turner will fall in love with the drive and not work on other parts of his game, but I know that won’t be the case given how hard he’s worked on his mid-range game--to the detriment of his outside game perhaps. Turner wants to be able to score from everywhere on the court, and I think we’ll see evidence of that next season when the outside shot becomes a larger part of his offensive game. Or at least I hope we’ll get to see it next season.
Dallas Lauderdale played more minutes in this three-game stretch than any other three games this season, and the production showed. He had a five-rebound game and a six-rebound game in the tournament and hasn’t put up numbers like that since mid-January. Now I know it’s not saying much to highlight the fact that he had five rebounds in a game, but when you look at how few he has had this season, numbers like this actually mean something. I don’t know what they mean, but I do know it’s something.
It was nice to see William Buford adding some off-the-dribble offense last week. For much of the season, he has been just a catch-and-shoot guy, but it was encouraging to see what more we have in store for us in the coming year(s).
Big Ten Week in Review
Michigan State 1-1 last week: a win over Minnesota (64-56) and a loss to Ohio State (82-70); 26-6 (15-3) on the season.
Illinois 1-1 last week: a win over Michigan (60-50) and a loss to Purdue (66-56); 24-9 (11-7) on the season.
Purdue 3-0 last week: wins over Penn State (79-65) Illinois (66-56) and Ohio State (65-61); 25-9 (11-7) on the season.
Wisconsin 0-1 last week: a loss to Ohio State (61-57); 19-12 (10-8) on the season.
Ohio State 2-1 last week: wins over Wisconsin (61-57) and Michigan State (82-70) and a loss to Purdue (65-61); 22-10 (10-8) on the season.
Penn State 1-1 last week: a win over Indiana (66-51) and a loss to Purdue (79-65); 22-11 (10-8) on the season.
Michigan 1-1 last week: a win over Iowa (73-45) and a loss to Illinois (60-50); 20-13 (9-9) on the season.
Minnesota 1-1 last week: a win over Northwestern (66-53) and a loss to Michigan State (64-56); 22-10 (9-9) on the season.
Northwestern 0-1 last week: a loss to Minnesota (66-53); 17-13 (8-10) on the season.
Iowa 0-1 last week: a loss to Michigan (73-45); 15-17 (5-13) on the season.
Indiana 0-1 last week: a loss to Penn State (66-51); 6-25 (1-17) on the season.
Big Ten Notes
It’s been known for a while now that the Selection Committee doesn’t watch the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game, but I didn’t realize until this year that they don’t watch any of the Big Ten Tournament. I wonder if they even check a Gametracker online anywhere. Do they check the papers the next day? It would be nice if the Powers That Be in the Big Ten would do something to make themselves tangible to the Committee, but I’m guessing they’re perfectly happy with getting seven teams in this year, no matter where they are seeded. If the Big Ten is fine with knowing that the final two days of their tournament has no bearing on the NCAA Tournament, then I guess it shouldn’t bother me either. Of course, I’m not cashing CBS’ checks, so I have no reason to be okay with this situation.
Minnesota finished .500 in the Big Ten, but they got into the Tournament based solely on their win over Louisville. I wonder if this will kick teams into gear to rid themselves of the cupcake schedules that were the reason teams like Penn State were left out. And it’s not like you have to play a bunch of Top Ten teams, because you don’t. The only quality team Minnesota played out of conference was Louisville--and it was at a neutral site. Penn State finished two games over .500 in the Big Ten, but because they didn’t have any quality non-conference wins, they get left out. The lesson here is to concoct some new “Classic” where you bring in three other quality teams and you play one of them for your one tough non-conference game, and then you’re covered. I think Penn State should have gotten in, and I understand why they were left out, but I do not like the constant devaluing of the Big Ten schedule from the Committee. They don’t care about the Big Ten Tournament and they apparently don’t care much about the regular season either.
Game of the Week
Syracuse 127 - Connecticut 117 (6OT). The no-brainer of the year. I don’t need to talk about this one much since everybody already knows all about it. I will tell you that I fell asleep at the end of the second overtime--in case you were wondering. Syracuse had four players who scored 20 or more points in the game, and were led by point guard Jonny Flynn’s 34 points and 11 assists in 67 minutes.
Team of the Week
Mississippi State. The Bulldogs entered the SEC Tournament as the third seed in the West and won four games in four days, culminating in a 64-61 win the championship game over Tennessee. Given that Mississippi State ended up as a 13-seed, it’s pretty apparent that they needed every single one of those wins to make the NCAA Tournament.
Player of the Week
USC forward DeMar DeRozan. Just a freshman, DeRozan led the Trojans to the Pac Ten Tournament championship last week, winning three games in three days. For the tournament, he averaged 21 points and 9 rebounds per game. DeRozan has been seen as a one-and-done player since he committed to USC, and now you have to wonder if he’s going to continue his tear into the Tournament and wave goodbye to Tim Floyd. But it would be a shame to see such a fine young player leave this classy Trojan program after just one season.
Some Things Without a Category
Akron won the MAC tournament and received the conference’s automatic bid, but it almost didn’t happen. The Zips needed overtime to beat a 7-24 Toledo team 93-92 in the very first round. It’s almost a metaphor for life--if you can just get by Toledo, things will be fine.
Syracuse guard Jonny Flynn averaged over 45 minutes per game in the Big East Tournament last week and only played more than 45 minutes in one of the Orange’s four games.
I always enjoy watching ESPN’s bracket show and seeing how emotional Dick Vitale gets over the one team that he feels got travestied. You think somebody that cares so much would be happy for the other 65 who did get in. I guess we should just be glad they didn’t spend an hour talking about A-Rod.
Georgia Tech guard Lewis Clinch shot 30 three-pointers in the ACC Tournament--and he only played twice. In the Jackets’ 64-62 loss to Florida State, Clinch went 7-18 from the three-point line. It was his fifth-straight game with at least 12 three-point attempts.
Finally, I think this might be the year Ed Hightower gets his own One Shining Moment montage.
In Summation…Please tell me more about how you picked Thursday’s upsets entirely correct…I love to hear you talk about stuff I don’t care about…Especially when I’m trying to tell you about my stuff that YOU don’t care about…Maybe when we talk about our brackets amongst each other, we should all sit in a circle and pass around a tomahawk and the only person that can talk is the one holding the tomahawk…The Big Ten Tournament Championship was there for the taking for the Buckeyes…Though it’s probably good that they didn’t win it, since an 8-seed for the Big Ten Champs would be embarrassing for the conference…The Selection Committee is still bitter about having to pay that extra $1.10 per month for the Big Ten Network…Dick Vitale’s heart bleeds for those poor kids that got left out of the Tournament…And could give a crap about those that actually made it…
The ball is tipped
And there you are
Blowing your whistle because you’re a star
And all the years
No one knows just how hard you worked
But now it shows
In one shining moment, it’s all on the line
One shining moment, you’ve made the big time
But time is short and the road is long
Milk each precious moment before it’s all gone
And when it’s done
Win or lose
You always got in the way
‘Cause inside you knew
That one shining moment, you reached deep inside
One shining moment, you can’t swallow your pride
Feel the beat of your heart
Feel the wind in your face
Can’t you see it, Eddie
You’re a freaking disgrace
And when it’s done
Win or lose
You always did your best
‘Cause inside you knew
That one shining moment
You reached all the way
One shining moment, you were bigger than the game
One shining moment…
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