Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The Ohio State game.

Ohio State Buckeyes
Current record: 11-3
Current RPI: 30
Current Sagarin: 29
Current Pomeroy: 45
2007-08 record: 24-13 (10-8) (won NIT)
2007-08 RPI: 46
2007-08 Sagarin: 21
2007-08 Pomeroy: 29
Series: IU leads 101-71
Last Ohio State win: 1/2/2007 (74-67 in Columbus)
Last IU win: 2/26/2008 (72-69 in Bloomington)
Last IU win in Columbus: 2/10/2008 (59-53)
Pomeroy scouting report
TV: 7 pm, ESPN

IU's rough road in the Big Ten seems likely to get rougher tonight. After playing competitively in close losses to Iowa and Michigan, IU was humiliated at Illinois, and Ohio State seems likely to continue that trend. The Buckeyes are one of the country' best defensive teams, allowing only .89 points per possession. The Buckeyes' numbers don't reveal any particular excellence in rebounding or steals/turnovers. The Buckeyes simply play excellent two point field goal defense, block lots of shots, and their opponents don't get to the line. OSU opponents shoot fewer free throws per field goal attempt than against all but ten other teams, and OSU ranks #33 and #21 in three point and two point field goal defense. On offense, OSU shoots well from two point range and takes good care of the ball.

The Buckeyes are tall. Evan Turner leads OSU with about 15 points per game and is shooting 49 percent from the field, and just below that from two point range. John Diebler, a three point specialist who also happens to be 6-5, seems like a particularly bad matchup.

As if this team's best day weren't bad enough, IU is likely to be without one of its key players, Devan Dumes. Dumes twisted his ankle in the Illinois game and per Inside the Hall, Tom Crean described Dumes as a "game time decision at best." I think it's unlikely that he will play. After tonight's game, IU plays Penn State at home, Minnesota at home, and at Northwestern. While IU will be the underdog in all of those games, they seem a bit more realistic than the prospect of winning at OSU even with Dumes.

Despite the football-oriented name, Eleven Warriors is an OSU blog that acknowledges the existence of basketball and previews the IU game.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ohio State is looking for some revenge for last year tonight. It's too bad Sampson put Indiana in such a hole. It might be closer than you think, OSU has been very inconsistent.