ESPN Weekend Picks
- Thread starter joshmott123
- Start date
hawkeye12345
Well-Known Member
There is certainly hope that we can win and I would love to see it happen. With that said;
Craft will eat Sapp alive.
The game will be decided by how well we defend Ross and if Woody/Olaseni can hold up against Williams. I will go on record early to say that if McCabe plays more than 5 minutes at the C position, we will lose.
Craft will eat Sapp alive.
The game will be decided by how well we defend Ross and if Woody/Olaseni can hold up against Williams. I will go on record early to say that if McCabe plays more than 5 minutes at the C position, we will lose.
ibahawkeye
Well-Known Member
My key to the game is for Mike Gesell to have a good game for this very reason.
We all know what Craft means to the Buckeyes... not just on defense but also in creating penetration and opportunties for his teammates. Let him shoot from outside all he wants but don't let him drive.
The Creighton/Xavier game should be a good one on Sunday as well.
McCabe won't play 5 mins at the 5 spot, but we will still lose. But no shame in losing to a top 5 team on the road.
ibahawkeye
Well-Known Member
What will it take to win this game?
JG10Hawk
Well-Known Member
Guard play decides this game. Whoever wins the matchup in the backcourt most likely wins. Have to take care of the ball and not over dribble, which tends to happen with this team every once in awhile. If they don't take care of the ball Ohio State's guards will take advantage of it.
Gesell playing the best game of his career plus White being aggressive and attacking all game and having someone off the bench go for double digits. We can't give away possessions when we have a lot of our bench players in there. I just don't think we match up well with OSU as they have two of the best perimeter defenders in the country and are great at disrupting offenses.
Craft isn't even the best defender on OSU, Shannon Scott is better, but they are both terrific. You can't get passive when those guys are guarding you, which is what I'm afraid will happen to both Gesell and Clemmons and we'll end up with them picking up their dribble 25 feet from the basket.
Does anyone think they could put Craft on Marble and Scott on Gesell? If I remember right from the Mich St game, Scott guarded Appling, while Craft was on Gary Harris (their best player).
Both Craft and Scott are very good defenders, so it wouldn't matter much. But I think it's a possibility.
Both Craft and Scott are very good defenders, so it wouldn't matter much. But I think it's a possibility.
Linesetter
Well-Known Member
Totally hit it on the head. If there's one team in the BIG you want to zone, it's OSU. Their backcourt currently shoots 26% from three point range. The last team you'd want to zone is a good shooting team like Wisky or Michigan. Conversely zone opens up lobs from behind the zone to a guy like Sam Thompson but a team isn't going to rely on lobs for consistent offense.
Iowa scores 68+ and they win the game. I'll come back and own that prediction if they don't.
Linesetter
Well-Known Member
Of course they could. He'd be giving up a few inches but he more than makes it up with strength. Wouldn't surprise me to see that the majority of the time.
CPHAWK82
Well-Known Member
Agreed. Might need to see Sapp step up in this one but not confident that will happen. Either way you chop it OSU looks to have the upper hand with Aaron "I'm not touching you" Craft playing the point.
Maybe. I would be concerned that they would kill Iowa with offensive rebounds and 2nd chance points if Iowa plays a lot of zone.
ibahawkeye
Well-Known Member
I was about to say I didn't think so due to height. Marble is 6-6, where Harris is only 6-4 and Craft is 6-2.
But little did I realize that Scott is listed at 6-1. Craft is actually taller than Scott. That I did not realize.
I still think Marble is a touch matchup for Craft becuase he's giving up 4 inches. I'm not sure who they will put on him.
Linesetter
Well-Known Member
Wisky put 6'1" Brust and 6'3" Gasser on White and Uthoff at times. The times they were guarding them Iowa didn't do a good job of exploiting it. A 6'2" Craft guarding a 6'6" Marble will not be an issue at all.
tm3308
Well-Known Member
I don't think that's necessarily the case. Iowa didn't exploit White's mismatches against Wisconsin, but that doesn't mean they weren't mismatches. This might be a good time to get Marble working in the post a little; force Craft to defend a guy posting up, and maybe he gets into foul trouble. It's one thing to be good on the ball, but this would present a different situation for Craft, and one he might not be particularly comfortable in.
WindsorHawk
Well-Known Member
We have lots of guys that can score. White, Basabe and Uthoff could all have real good games. Ohio State has to win with defense because they are offensively challenged at times. If the Hawks bring their A game on defense I think we win. I think they will play their A game to welcome Fran back and take this one...71-66.
