Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Ohio State, take 2.

Ohio State Buckeyes
Current record: 17-10
Big Ten record: 8-6
Current RPI: 54
Current Sagarin: 37
2006-07 record: 30-3, 15-1 (NCAA runner-up)
2006-07 RPI: 1
2006-07 Sagarin: 2
Series: IU leads 100-72
Last IU win: 2/10/08 (59-53 in Columbus)
Last Ohio State win: 1/2/07 (74-67 in Columbus)
Last OSU win in Bloomington: 2/21/04 (59-56)
TV: 7 pm tonight, ESPN
Sorry, not much time for analysis today. The Buckeyes have squandered some opportunities. OSU dropped a road game to improving-but-still-bad Michigan the Sunday before last and then squandered an opportunity to knock off Wisconin at home. OSU, while its tournament hopes are in jeopardy, has opportunity, in the form of tonight's game at IU and with home games against MSU and Purdue, but also could end up 9-9 and firmly in the NIT. As noted before the first game, Ohio State excels at field goal defense and shot blocking but not much else. The Buckeyes' three point shooting and overall offensive production (aggravated by some turnover problems) have not been good. Still, IU's only game under interim coach Dan Dakich was a last minute win against 0-14 Northwestern. The Hoosiers, when faced with adversity the last two weeks, played well in a loss to Wisconsin and comfortably beat Michigan State and Purdue. Now that Sampson is gone and Dakich is in charge, can IU recover and beat a team with a pulse? The road game at MSU Sunday will determine IU's fate in the Big Ten race, but only if IU takes care of should-wins against OSU, Minnesota, and at Penn State.

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