Ohio State upset #4 Kentucky
December 19th, 2015 at 7:51 PM ^
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December 19th, 2015 at 7:56 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 8:07 PM ^
Ohio State also lost to UT Arlington, an underwhelming Memphis, the same Uconn team we lost to, Louisiana Tech, and Virginia. Kentucky gave up 87 to UCLA who isn't great.
December 19th, 2015 at 8:10 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 8:15 PM ^
and they have 5 losses with two of them coming to Texas Arlington and Louisiana Tech. They lost to the same Uconn team we did by more just last week but yes they are certainly better than us /s
December 19th, 2015 at 8:16 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 8:18 PM ^
Have you watched a single game of theirs besides today?
December 19th, 2015 at 8:22 PM ^
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.
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.
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.
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.
December 21st, 2015 at 10:24 AM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 8:08 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 8:14 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 8:30 PM ^
The must-win games are against anyone outside the RPI top 100. Losing one of those is a huge blemish on your résumé. Our three losses are to top 30 teams. Those games represent missed opportunities, nothing more.
December 19th, 2015 at 8:42 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 8:11 PM ^
Xavier and SMU are probably better than Kentucky.
December 19th, 2015 at 8:14 PM ^
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December 19th, 2015 at 8:17 PM ^
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.
December 21st, 2015 at 10:28 AM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 8:12 PM ^
I do. I scrolled through the games this morning on my sportbook and the #4 team laying only 10.5 against a team that lost to LaTech, Texas-Arlington, and Memphis seemed like easy money. fugging nope!
At least Dook lost so there's that.
December 19th, 2015 at 7:52 PM ^
Kentucky and Duke are both overrated this year.
December 19th, 2015 at 8:04 PM ^
I know nothing about Kentucky, but NPR was saying that their star freshman center is soft and the team lost a lot of players. You know you aren't good when NPR is talking smack about you.
December 19th, 2015 at 7:53 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 8:02 PM ^
He was player of the game.
December 19th, 2015 at 8:06 PM ^
Did he transfer out of Middle Earth?
December 19th, 2015 at 8:12 PM ^
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December 19th, 2015 at 7:53 PM ^
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December 19th, 2015 at 7:55 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 11:17 PM ^
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.
December 19th, 2015 at 7:57 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 8:09 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 7:58 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 7:59 PM ^
I think its more of a reflections of Kentucky not being that good right now.
December 19th, 2015 at 8:02 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 8:13 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 8:02 PM ^
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December 19th, 2015 at 8:22 PM ^