#12 Michigan St. 58, #3 Ohio State 48 (Final) - ScarletBuckeye

PHATBUCK13 · 02-08-2012, 05:01 PM

#12 Michigan St. (18-5, 7-3) vs #3 Ohio St (21-3, 9-2)
6:00 PM ET, February 11, 2012, ESPN
Value City Arena, Columbus, OH

__VS__

OSUBasketballJunkie · 02-08-2012, 05:32 PM

Biggest game of the year............

We need this one.......

PHATBUCK13 · 02-08-2012, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OSUBasketballJunkie

Biggest game of the year............

We need this one.......

This will be the 3rd game out of our last 4 that the winner will be in first place.....

This is a big game....

Our schedule is very back-loaded...

Killer Nut91 · 02-08-2012, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHATBUCK13

This will be the 3rd game out of our last 4 that the winner will be in first place.....

This is a big game....

Our schedule is very back-loaded...

Then we are about to see what these guys are made of

Arapahoe · 02-08-2012, 06:25 PM

I view this as a welcome challenge. No time to slack around or play poor ball. Get better each day... no excuses.

Champions love challenges.

OSUBasketballJunkie · 02-08-2012, 06:46 PM

I like what I am seeing from the bench............

Thompson has played some quality minutes the past few weeks........

Great to see Spoon in there early..........same with Williams.....

OSUBasketballJunkie · 02-11-2012, 09:23 AM

Scout.com (Free)

Hot Buford Leads Bucks into MSU Game................

PHATBUCK13 · 02-11-2012, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Men's basketball: Buckeyes can match Spartans’ toughness

When coach Thad Matta arrived at Ohio State in 2004 and began the process of building a championship program, he knew who was king and who he would have to knock off the hill:

Tom Izzo and Michigan State.

“That was one of the few programs that probably was going to stand the test of time, that we were going to have to compete with if we wanted to do this thing like we had set out to,” Matta said.

The first thing Matta had to do to catch Michigan State was recruit better players. That has not been an issue.

Next on the list, he said, was a “culture adjustment” among his players. They needed a mindset, a resolve, a toughness that allowed nothing to shake them as long as they trusted Matta’s system.

“You recruit that,” Matta said, “(and) you attempt to mold it through your daily practices.”

Toughness is a core value of the Michigan State program. The Spartans have won, typically, by defending and rebounding better than their opponents and wearing them down with their manpower and physical play.
No longer, though, are they the biggest bully of the Big Ten.

Since Matta took over, Ohio State has won seven of the teams’ 13 meetings, including the past three, and more conference championships (four).

The No. 3 Buckeyes also bring a higher national ranking into their game against the No. 11 Spartans tonight in Value City Arena, one of two showdowns in the next three weeks that could determine the Big Ten champion. They finish the regular season March 4 in East Lansing, Mich.

But perhaps the highest compliment that could be paid Matta’s team came from Izzo himself last February after the Buckeyes won a 71-61 slugfest in Columbus, in which Michigan State was called for 26 fouls and Ohio State only 12. The Buckeyes made 23 of 29 free throws while the Spartans netted 5 of 6.

Izzo said he was “bothered” by the disparity, partly because his point guard, Kalin Lucas, “was getting beat up all night” by Ohio State freshman Aaron Craft.

Continue.....

Men's basketball: Buckeyes can match Spartans

PHATBUCK13 · 02-11-2012, 09:35 AM

Quote:

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Game preview: Ohio State vs. Michigan State

6:00 tonight

• Where: Value City Arena

• TV: ESPN

• Radio: WBNS-AM/FM (1460/97.1)

• Records: Ohio State 21-3, 9-2 Big Ten; Michigan State 19-5, 8-3

• Matchup to watch: Michigan State’s Adreian Payne, a Dayton native, was on the same AAU team as Jared Sullinger, Aaron Craft, J.D. Weatherspoon and Jordan Sibert. He didn’t join them in college, rumor had it, in part to escape Sullinger’s shadow. He’s a long shot-blocker, the kind of defender Sullinger has had trouble scoring over at times.

• Notable: Ohio State has won 39 consecutive home games, including 17 in the Big Ten. … William Buford has made 41 of his past 42 free throws and leads the Big Ten in percentage (.960 in conference, .892 all games). … Michigan State has outrebounded its past three opponents by an average of 20. … Draymond Green’s average of 11.5 rebounds in Big Ten games is the best in the conference since 1986.

• Next: at Minnesota, 9 p.m. Tuesday

Game Preview: Ohio State vs. Michigan State

louts8wings · 02-11-2012, 09:53 AM

this is a must win!