Matta's Boys: View from Section 302
January 10 2008 02:43 PM -- Filed in: Basketball
Ohio State ran Iowa out of the gym last night in a
convincing 79-48 victory. I
had the chance to take in the action and my view
from section 302 saw the Buckeyes attack an Iowa
squad that is trudging through a transitional
period. Former Iowa coach Steve Alford bolted
for New Mexico and top player, Tyler Smith,
rode off to Tennessee which
makes for tough sleding for new coach Tom
Lickliter (a former Matta assistant).
It was clear early Ohio State had the decided quickness advantage. In a game where no Buckeye played more than 23 minutes, David Lightly was the early catalyst. He scored from distance, off steals and by acrobatically finishing a few runouts. Ohio State ran a bit more than normal so the fact the turnover number was especially low (6) is indicative of the quality of passing. Othello Hunter and Lighty led the Buckeyes scorers with 14 a piece. Jamar Butler, coming off a virus which saw him lose 10lbs, turned in a 9 assist - 0 turnover night.
I snapped off a few pictures from the game. They are admittingly not very good but I offer them anyway. The slideshow is Flash based and can be controlled by the small buttons toward the bottom of the image. Should you want to hop around, one of the buttons will display thumbnails. Groovy.
In several ways, it was good to see the blowout occur. The size of the lead allowed Jamar and other starters to get much needed rest as the upcoming road trip is rather brutal. And perhaps just as importantly, players like Eric Wallace, PJ Hill and even Dallas Lauderdale received much more playing time than usual. The payoff here will likely be seen further down the road. Additional thoughts and commentary at Eleven Warriors.
It was clear early Ohio State had the decided quickness advantage. In a game where no Buckeye played more than 23 minutes, David Lightly was the early catalyst. He scored from distance, off steals and by acrobatically finishing a few runouts. Ohio State ran a bit more than normal so the fact the turnover number was especially low (6) is indicative of the quality of passing. Othello Hunter and Lighty led the Buckeyes scorers with 14 a piece. Jamar Butler, coming off a virus which saw him lose 10lbs, turned in a 9 assist - 0 turnover night.
I snapped off a few pictures from the game. They are admittingly not very good but I offer them anyway. The slideshow is Flash based and can be controlled by the small buttons toward the bottom of the image. Should you want to hop around, one of the buttons will display thumbnails. Groovy.
Sorry, I cannot display the flash slideshow for one
of the following reasons.
1. Your browser does not support Javascript.
2. If you are using RapidWeaver, please make sure your theme is using the most up-to-date version of the javascript include file.
1. Your browser does not support Javascript.
2. If you are using RapidWeaver, please make sure your theme is using the most up-to-date version of the javascript include file.
In several ways, it was good to see the blowout occur. The size of the lead allowed Jamar and other starters to get much needed rest as the upcoming road trip is rather brutal. And perhaps just as importantly, players like Eric Wallace, PJ Hill and even Dallas Lauderdale received much more playing time than usual. The payoff here will likely be seen further down the road. Additional thoughts and commentary at Eleven Warriors.
