Ohio State upset #4 Kentucky

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on
Kentucky might be underwhelming this season, but I'm surprised and actually impressed this abysmal Ohio State team beat Kentucky.. As much as I hate the Buckeyes you can't really lie, this is pretty actually impressive. Hoping Michigan can pull it together.

UofMfanJJ (not verified)

December 19th, 2015 at 7:56 PM ^

I do, Ohio State beat Kentucky.. We got taken to the woodshed and slaughtered violently by SMU and Xavier.

It's highly concerning to me that we can pound / poop on Youngstown State but play like absolute shit against bigger, better and more physical teams.. Playing on no equal level in terms of competition.

bronxblue

December 19th, 2015 at 9:11 PM ^

I continue to be amazed you still watch UM basketball, considering literally every post about the team you take shots at how bad they are.

UK isn't a particularly good team this year; they beat an okay Duke team early on and that's been it.  They lost to a mediocre UCLA team and beat up on dregs beyond that.  Congrats to OSU for pulling off an upset, but this feels as much a by-product of a rare good shooting night (they hit 50% of their 3s and 74% of their FTs, both numbers well above their season averages) while UK didn't (under 40% FG, under 58% FT) and playing one of their weird neutral-court games in Brooklyn.  OSU has a ceiling that is better than losses to La Tech; they definitely aren't one of the top 6 teams in this conference.

Stringer Bell

December 19th, 2015 at 9:42 PM ^

I watch UM basketball because I'm a fan, just like I watch the Lions because I'm a fan.  Doesn't mean I'm not gonna bitch about them being bad.  I'm very concerned about the direction the program is headed.  I personally just don't see much talent on this team, which is inexcusable considering the heights we reached 2-3 years ago.

But anyways, Michigan won the Big Ten in a year they lost to Charlotte in the nonconference, so I'm not gonna read too much into a very young team losing to 2 bad teams.  I personally think OSU has a high ceiling and will be pretty good in conference play.  Matta is a very good coach and they do have talent.  They beat a very good Kentucky team that's probably better than anyone we've played, and they hung tough against a very good Virginia team.  I'd be surprised if they're not one of the 6 best teams in the conference, considering that the Big Ten appears to be down this year.

bronxblue

December 19th, 2015 at 10:50 PM ^

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree about UK; they feel like the worst type of Cal teams, wherein a bunch of guys just play pickup ball and it falls apart against teams that can weather the surges.  I watched them against an okay ASU team last weekend and they seemed very streaky, and that's the type of high-variance team that I think you think OSU is.  To me, OSU doesn't have that ceiling; they would have been even worse last year had they not had Russell, and they don't have anyone like him on the team now.  Like it said, it felt like just one of those nights where stuff went better than expected for one side and the other not so much, but I'm not expecting either of these teams to take much from this game.

Xavier would destroy this UK team, and I'd argue SMU is probably as good.  And the UVa team OSU played early on was struggling to get their feet under them a bit; they are playing much better now.  

When I look at the conference, I see MSU, Maryland, and Purdue a step ahead of others, followed by the likes of UM, IU, and Iowa.  OSU feels like they'll float around .500 in conference, maybe a game above or below.  But they'll have games where they'll beat anyone and others where they lose to, I don't know, PSU because their shot isn't falling.

 

Stringer Bell

December 19th, 2015 at 11:34 PM ^

Saying Xavier would destroy UK, and SMU is probably as good, is pretty bold.  Xavier and SMU are both good teams but neither have played particularly tough schedules so their records are probably a bit inflated.  OSU may not have Russell this year, but they have guys like Tate and Bates-Diop who were highly regarded recruits that have developed and improved this year, and they also brought in another good recruiting class that featured a 5 star player in Jaquan Lyle.  So they have lots of talent, even though they lost a top 3 pick from last year.

I agree that MSU, Maryland, and Purdue appear to be above the rest of the Big Ten.  I'm hesistant to put us up there with a team like Iowa as I think they're pretty good as well.  Indiana is another one of those teams, like OSU, that can lose to anyone but also has a lot of talent and thus can beat anyone.  I guess I just don't see Michigan as one of those teams that is capable of beating the good teams in the Big Ten.  I think they will beat up on the conference bottomfeeders but it will be nowhere near good enough to contend for the conference title, and with the lack of quality noncon wins it might not be good enough to even get in the tourney.

Gofor2

December 21st, 2015 at 10:24 AM ^

Is very young, but it honestly has more athletic ability than its had in many, many years. This team will lose some games it's supposed to win, no doubt. It has not shown the ability to be consistent or confident on a week in and week out basis. But that will come in time. When watching the play UK they looked like a Team that could beat anyone in the nation on any given day, they have a roster that has far more balance in athletic ability. Going forward, as they develop and learn to work together as a team they are going to be the kind ofvteam that nobody will want to play.

UofMfanJJ (not verified)

December 19th, 2015 at 8:14 PM ^

How so? We lost our must win games, Pounded teams anyone should pound.. Our key wins are over Texas and NC State.

Texas may become a key victory down the stretch, but Xavier and SMU proved teams with bigger, stronger more athletic players will not allow us to do anything but shoot pointless 3's all game.

Ohio State has embarrassing losses.. But Kentucky is more impressive to me than beating NC State. We'll see about Texas but as of right now, yeah I'd go as far as saying that.

I figured basketball would be so much better than they are right now.

bronxblue

December 19th, 2015 at 9:17 PM ^

SMU is very talented; they've slaughtered a whole bunch of people this year (they've beaten everyone they've played by at last 14 save, weirdly, Yale), and there's a good chance they could go undefeated this year.  They won't play in the tourney because of Larry Brown's antics, but this is a VERY good team that could probably snag a 3 seed if they weren't banned.  Losing to them, especially given the uncharacteristicly bad shooting night by Caris, wasn't terrible.

UM isn't a top team because of uncertainty at center, but look across college basketball and you see teams that just need to get hot to go far in the tourney.  Hell, MSU looked like possible 1st-rounder loser and snuck into the FF.  UM has one thing they can do as well as anyone in the country - shot from 3 - and that can be enough in the right matchups.  

Bodogblog

December 19th, 2015 at 7:55 PM ^

I saw OSU play Northern Illinois last week and they seemed disinterested and unsure of themselves. Northern Illinois seemed to miss every shot they took, and not because OSU was playing great defense. It was a snoozer I kept on the background with a margin of about 6 points for most of the game, but OSU did pull away late.

Very surprised to see they beat UK, good win for the B1G, but I'm not sure how they did it. They must have played much harder than they against NIU.

ColoradoBlue

December 19th, 2015 at 7:56 PM ^

but OSU really fought hard.  Objectively speaking, it was an impressive win.  My attitude toward buckeye basketball is a little different this year after the respect their coaching staff showed the Carr family.  Despite the fact that I'm not a fan of the institution that cuts his paycheck, Matta is an okay guy in my book.

That said, Kentucky seemed pretty sloppy.  Not sure if they're a bit overrated or had an off night.

UofMfanJJ (not verified)

December 19th, 2015 at 8:09 PM ^

A rival beat a top 10 team almost by 10... That team they beat would absolutely slaughter our laughable stretch power forwards trying to play center.

UofMfanJJ (not verified)

December 19th, 2015 at 8:05 PM ^

Big Ten Network asked if this was the biggest win of the season by a Big Ten team and Spartan fans are claiming them being ranked 13 beating #3 Kansas without a key contributor to their squad is far more impressive and that this is a joke to even be discussing.

UofMfanJJ (not verified)

December 19th, 2015 at 8:22 PM ^

It's laughable to me how we're sitting here pounding our chests over a YSU asswhooping and a triple double, but we're not concerned at all how abysmal our team could be in Big Ten play.

Maybe I'm just an idiot but I foresee many losses, and being woodshedded by Staee as badly as I hate to admit it.

I see how the future could be bright in our young stars, but I said that last year as we missed the NIT and I feel like a fool for saying we'd be competing for a big ten run.