Indianapolis, IN—
Michigan State: 67
Ohio State: 60
The Buckeyes NCAA tournament hopes are on life support following today’s loss to MSU in the Big Ten quarterfinals. Spartan senior guard Drew Neitzel scored 28, hitting numerous dagger threes that sucked the momentum out of OSU. Kosta Koufos (19 points) and David Lighty (12) led the way for Ohio State.
Comments: The offense was very flat, leading to a lot of lengthy possessions that ended in a forced shot. The defense adjusted to Neitzel for a brief spell, but the Spartans did a great job making their own adjustments to rotate the ball to an open Neitzel for more heartbreaking threes. The Bucks also couldn’t make the big stop when they needed it. The defensive rebounding was again atrocious, allowing 15 offensive boards to MSU. Koufos was brilliant in one of the best games of his freshman season. Evan Turner struggled and Jamar Butler didn’t step up to make the big play. A technical foul on Othello Hunter midway through the second half was also an unnecessary hindrance. The officiating certainly didn't help, as there were a lot of touch fouls called and little reward of aggressive defending on both sides.
Tourney: The Buckeyes stand a slim chance of making the NCAA tournament. Despite a solid strength of schedule, they have just two wins over teams in the top-50 in RPI. This team seems destined for the NIT, but many of the other bubble teams have also fallen early in their conference tourneys. There is a chance, but it is very small.
Dribbles: While there were some Buckeye fans in attendance, many of the 15,000-plus in attendance either wore green-and-white or were other fans who were just anti-Buckeye for the game…the broadcast team will be staying in Indy for the weekend despite the loss…Thad Matta remains one win shy of his 8th straight 20-win season…The post-game meal receives a “B-plus” from the broadcasters…stay tuned to http://www.ohiostatesports.net/ for post-season broadcasting notes
-Matt Friedman
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