Basketball Time--OSU @ KU

Thought I needed to start some thoughts on the basketball Buckeyes. The Bucks entered Phog Allen Fieldhouse without (arguably) their best player. I've heard many apologists that say that OSU is a 'good' team without Sully and a 'great' team with him. I disagree with this assessment as I believe this Buckeye team is still a 'great' team without Sully and a nearly unstoppable one with him. Listen, the offense certainly struggled yesterday, but we lost in one of college basketball's most intimidating venues without our number 1 in a game in which we were never out of it (within 4 with 4 to go and 5 with 2 min. to go). Kansas (a good team--not great) couldn't shake a team with no rhythm. This Buckeye team showed me a lot of heart and talent in the loss. I have a hard time finding a team that will beat us when we have the whole lineup.

Now, some X's and O's:
--Craft had a poor game (by his standards) which may be attributed to the loss of the rock in the middle. He was out of sync on offense but his usual pesty self on defense. I was concerned with the lack of drives to the buckets from #4 but again, this may be due to the absence of Sully as the bigs could double the drive. Craft has to improve his jump shot then he will be the best guard in the nation.
--Thomas was the hot hand in the 1st and kept us hanging around. I don't understand why the team left him in the 2nd but when 'Shooter McGavin' feels it, feed the beast.
--Buford shows that he is our number 2 (Sully as number 1) offensive threat. He was cold as ice in the first, but you have to keep feeding him without Sully as he'll get it done eventually. If we had more offensive threats, I'd say spread the wealth, but our other guards aren't great scoring options (especially when Craft can't drive the bucket).
--Ravenel had a really nice game filling in for Sully. Not perfect by any stretch, but he's stepped up big time when needed.
--Amir Williams is the guy who struggled mightily, but that will happen with a freshman on the road. He will get better, but experience is needed. Also, guarding Thomas Robinson in major minutes isn't a baptism by fire, it's a baptism by an inferno.
--Smith and Sibert need to step up their presence on the offensive end. Sibert needs to develop into a 3-point (consistent) threat and Lenzelle just needs to get a shot worked out--his shot needs work. I love their defensive intensity, but you need to play both ends (usually it's defense that suffers but they need to polish the O).
--Matta is always criticized for not using the bench, but I didn't see a real problem. I might have seen if Scott could have provided a little more offense than Craft early on, and perhaps give Weatherspoon a couple minutes to spell Smith/Sibert to spark some offense, but I trust the coach.

Two issues going forward:
1) Lack of depth for the big men.
--This has always been an issue for Matta but I like what I saw from Ravenel. Sully will be back so this isn't a huge problem in the future unless injuries flare. I think Craft and Buford are more integral but we have depth at the guard position. Underneath, there's Sully, Ravenel, and Williams (maybe count Ross in the future but not a true post guy). Having a freshman in the post is always a scare (unless it was Sully--but he still had Lauderdale to learn from). This can't be fixed so let's just not get hurt and develop Williams (I think Matta's on this).
2) 3-point consistency
--I said coming into this season that the only glaring weakness is consistency from long range. The loss of Jon Diebler is always going to hurt, but we just don't have anyone to stretch the defense. Thankfully, Sully can create for himself, but without him, we need to have the threat of the 3-ball. Buford is probably the best, but that's not his game. Thomas and Sibert are streaky. If Shooter, Craft, and Sibert can get the 3-ball around 50+%, we'll be unstoppable.

Overall, this loss means little going forward. I love the fight the team showed and I'm very excited going forward. If Sully comes back healthy, I find it hard to see a loss before the tournament. Kohl center is always tough and IU is starting to emerge as a contender, but OSU is still the force in the B1G. Keep the train rolling and we'll be fine. Congrats to KU on a big win, and I hope we get a chance for revenge in March (with Sully of course)!