Cavs 97, Spurs 102 – LeBron Uncharacteristically Outplayed in Fourth
March 27, 2010100 Wins for the Tribe
March 27, 2010
Ohio State took their six-man rotation to St. Louis last night to take on the Fightin’ Bruce Pearls in the Sweet Sixteen. From the onset of the game it was apparent that the referees were keeping a tight ship – the kind of thing that does not benefit teams with a short bench. The Buckeyes ended the first half up three points after a back-and-forth period, full of good basketball from both teams.
While the offense was clicking in the first half, the second half saw extremely sloppy offense from the Buckeyes. While some of the bad play can be attributed to the Tennessee press, the real problem for the Bucks on offense was the lack of crisp passing. On a number of occasions (especially down the stretch) the Buckeyes tried lackadaisical drop-off passes while rounding picks. Tennessee’s defenders were effective in taking advantage of the sloppy play by OSU.
I’ll let Chris from 11W take it away from here:
Painfully, the Buckeyes had their chances in the final seconds but a hurried exchange between Turner and Kyle Madsen following an o-board of Turner’s missed lay up allowed Bobby Maze to seize the rock and hit two free throws with :13 left as OSU had no choice but to foul. With most of us expecting UT to foul, they didn’t and Turner was able to get off a leaning missed three from the corner before getting his own rebound and launching another prayer from the left wing that was blocked as time expired. The bench went crazy demanding a foul but the refs made their one and only correct decision of the night (both ways).
While turnovers were certainly an issue (as they have been over the past few weeks), the biggest problem that the Buckeyes could not overcome was the lack of any rebounding presence inside. The Vols tore up the glass, outrebounding the Buckeyes 36-23.
Now for some notes in no specific order:
– It’s a shame to see Even Turner likely leave OSU with such a difficult last game. Yes, he hit some big shots down the stretch, but what really sticks in my mind are the turnovers.
– We’re gonna miss you, Titus.
– I am really, really hoping that David Lighty returns next year. It may be a stretch, but he’s one of the best players on this roster.
– Deibler, really? At least two airballs. There may have been more but I got distracted by the Hash House Harriers in the bar I was watching the game at.
– I look forward to the days when there’s a traditional lineup on the floor, and not a forward bringing the ball up the floor.
– Lack of size hurt the Buckeyes tonight, but the lack of boxing out was the most costly.
– It really makes me put on a sadface knowing that there was an “SEC” chant post-game.
– Spring ball starts in a few weeks. So there’s that.
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(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
10 Comments
1) OSU has three timeouts left when Madsen tried to pass the ball to Turner in the corner…idiota.
2) I don’t care how off the Deibler elf was, he was standing at the top of the key, hands up, three feet away from Turner who decided to take a one handed fall away three instead of shoveling it to his trifecta-firing compatriot…idiota.
3) Just another Ohio State-like performance in a big moment.
It was kind of amazing Ohio State kept it that close considering they basically play 6 guys while Tennessee was running players in and out. Turner is silky smooth but you see it takes a team and not just one superstar to get it done. Just ask LeBron about it.
Btw what is it about Chism and the way he wears that headband? I laughed because everytime I see him I laugh.
Once they announced that Titus wouldn’t be in the building, we should have known the Bucks had no chance. What a huge bummer.
Chism losing the headband only made things worse for Ohio State.
I think I like Duke to win this thing now.
There were at least two turnovers on attempted hand-offs, including the one in the last two minutes when Turner was trying to get it. Then Turner turned it over on a drive on the next possession. Those really hurt, especially so late in the game. That last play was atrocious- why would they expect to get any separation for a shooter by dribbling into the corner?
I’m excited for next year, but I feel like they won’t be a legitimate championship contender unless Turner comes back. Turner-Buford-Lighty-Sullinger-Lauderdale would be a good balanced starting 5, but having two bigs probably wouldn’t be allowed.
not a shock here
I knew OSU was in trouble because they only go 7 deep while Tennessee went 9-10 deep. You knew UT would press the whole game and with the way the game was called, the Buckeyes were at a notable disadvantage. Great season for the Buckeyes nonetheless.
This team went as far as they were going to go. The only disappointment in my mind is losing to an SEC team, which is sure to be brought up come football season.
Seriously this had everything to do with how the game was called and little to do with long vs short benches. Williams had two crucial calls go his way at the beginning of the second half that turned the game around. first he shoved Lighty who off balance ran into a Tenn guard. Third on Lighty. Two minutes later, Williams shoved Lauderdale coming down the lane. Dallas runs into a Tenn guard, foul on Dallas. Had either of the two plays been called correctly, Tenn would have had to bench Williams (who was playing with two fouls and would have made it three early in the second half). Tenn’s size advantage would have then been completely negated because Lighty woudl not have had to guard Chism, instead it would have been Dallas. Even if Williams had stayed on the floor, Lighty could have guarded Chism more closely because he would have had only two fouls instead of the 3 fouls with 15+ minutes to play.
@ Morph:
When you have a short bench, you can’t afford to get into foul trouble; whether or not you get into foul trouble is largely based on how the game is called. This game had to do with both depth and the way the game was called.
That was not the point. My point was that the complexion of the game was changed on two horrendous calls. It was not as if they were down low battling for position and it could have gone either when Williams shoved both Lighty and Dallas. It is one thing to have a short bench. It is another for pressure being put on the bench on incorrect calls.