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OSU-DNA
03-13-2009, 11:04 PM
Just back from the game, had great seats thanks to my daughter.

Given Byron's injury probably good that we did not win, he needs total rest on that ankle heading into the Dance.

For the game specifically; not a bad outcome given:
-Byron's injury and absence for 10 minutes in the first half
-Byron playing with an obvious injury in the second half that impeded his ability to turn the corner on his drive.
-Terrel being out of the game after 3 minutes with 2 fouls.
-Anderson out of the game after his 2 fouls
-Terrel returning to pick up foul number 3 after playing just 2-3 more minutes

Great first half coaching:
-First time lineup of Brown, Moses, Page, Sidorakoris, Muonelo and Anderson/Harris. Ford and staff did a great job of moving and positioning these guys to get to half time.

Things to improve:
-In the dance, Ford needs to give the team a chill pill. Calm them down, they started so hyper that it resulted in unforced turnovers early. Byron was trying to replicate that great speed pass to Harris he made in the OU game and threw the ball too hard too fast to guys who do not have Terrel's hands.
-Need to examine the offense that places Page in the corner on the wing. MU covered it easily and Page never got a shot off from the wing. He needed to be in a rotation that would have gotten him to the top of the key for a shot.
-Should have rotated Harris in earlier in the second half to get more production for Page's position.
-Got caught running a zone late in the second half that allowed MU to burn 30 seconds before they shot, needed to have come out of the time out in a man.
-Need an assistant to be in communication with the players when they come off the court to instruct and correct. JA drove several times and refs were not going to call a foul, rather than adjust he kept on driving and when he came to the bench it was not discussed.

Overall:
-Great team effort. Team chemistry is solid.
-Scouting by the coaches and preparation is solid.

While this team could exit in the first round of the Dance, it also has an ability to win the first two.

From the performance in January to watching them play now is Night and Day.

Thanks to Ford and his staff and

Special thanks to Byron Eaton and his teammates. Byron makes everyone better which is what a leader does.

OSUFan
03-13-2009, 11:32 PM
Just got back home myself. My game thoughts are this: pffffffttttt! No, seriously my game thoughts are *&^%$!#!

I thought Missouri looked like the team that had the late game. They looked completely flat, slow and tired the first half. "IF" OSU could have hit their free throws and not turned the ball over so much and hit a few more shots OSU could have had a 15 to 20 point lead and had the lead and the momentum going into the half. But OSU didn't and fouls took Terrel and James out of the game and then the injury to Byron about ended OSU's chances even with a half left. I thought OSU looked tired in the second half and when Missouri got the lead OSU just couldn't find an offensive answer to back control of the game.

I think OSU will probably be an 8 seed in the tourney. I'd like to see the team get hot and make a run but Byron has to get healthy and OSU has to do better on offense.

Oh, and I thought what may killed any hopes of winning was when James Anderson got his 4th foul. That put him on the bench and once he came back he couldn't be as agressive as he was in the first half driving into the lane. That was a major part of OSU's offense in the first half.

OSUSTORM
03-13-2009, 11:35 PM
Live by the three, die by the three.

legelegel
03-13-2009, 11:36 PM
Live by the three, die by the three.

Exactly

OSUSTORM
03-13-2009, 11:45 PM
0-9 in the first half and 4-24 in the game. If we would have hit our normal 39% that would have been 18 more points. But really 4 or 5 of those attempts were very low percentage shots at the end of the game. So really, we should have made atleast 4 more 3 pointers and win the game!

OSUSTORM
03-13-2009, 11:58 PM
Looking at the stats, Eaton had 8 turn overs, 3 assists, and 0-7 on his shots. I felt a lot of those TO were unforced.

Looks to me like where Eaton goes, so do the Cowboys.

That being said, It was a great week of Basketball and I had a good time despite the weather, refs, and u0 fans.

orangeblood
03-14-2009, 08:39 AM
Yes, live by the three, die by the three! But I have never seen them that COLD from the three! Hopefully it is a fluke! I still like our chances in the dance. The way Baylor is playing I think they will knock of Mizz

TheLoveDoctor
03-14-2009, 09:34 AM
I think we were tired and that contributed to the poor percentage from 3 point range and on free throws. I can't wait to see what Ford can do with an actual bench (no offense to the effort Brown and Sidorakis and others have given).

Missouri was basically running full speed at our guys and knocking them around both when they were bringing the ball up and in the lane. I'm all for letting them play but come on, it looked like a no pads football scrimmage out there.

WyomingOSUAlum
03-14-2009, 10:22 AM
Given Byron's injury probably good that we did not win, he needs total rest on that ankle heading into the Dance.


In the big picture/grand scheme of things view, I completely agree. This is going to be a blessing in disguise...hopefully!






.

CaliforniaCowboy
03-14-2009, 10:33 AM
In the big picture/grand scheme of things view, I completely agree. This is going to be a blessing in disguise...hopefully!

.

Bobby Knigh always hated conference tournaments, exactly for that reason. He always wanted to have his team fresh for the Big Dance, over winning some meaningless conference tournament.