Hoopraker

The ridiculous talent level of the Buckeyes often forgives their casual, almost bored approach to the game as it did Friday, but it may not be quite so profitable beginning today against Purdue or next week in the big brackets. If Penn State, as Matta asserted a few weeks ago is one the best bad teams in the country, then his Buckeyes are among the worst good teams.

The Bored
Unlike Wisconsin who despite the loss of Butch have the look of a one seed, the Buckeyes have the aura of a team coasting, a team that is one tough opponent away from an unpleasant shock. To their credit, they got Oden involved yesterday and predictably, he was virtually unstoppable on the low block. But, this week’s Courtney Sims will be replaced by someone like Roy Hibbert or Al Horford in the NCAA tournament and the results may not be dissimilar to what happened last March (Georgetown 70, OSU 52) or December (Florida 86, OSU 60).

The Beautiful
Matt Painter’s Boilermakers hit the court with a vengeance yesterday and did not let up until forty minutes had elapsed and the Iowa Hawkeyes had the vacant eyes of a team thoroughly dominated. Painter’s team has won nine of its last twelve games and is playing very high level basketball at the right time. Chris Kramer’s defensive effort on Haluska yesterday was something to behold. The true freshman from Huntington, Indiana never left the Big Ten leading scorer’s side yesterday, fighting through screens and bodying Haluska into 4 of 16 shooting. The total team effort from Purdue is yet another reminder, not that anyone should need it at this juncture, that Matt Painter is doing all the right things in West Lafayette and will be spending a lot of time in the upper half of the conference standings.

The Buckeyes will be forced to find a tad more passion to take down Purdue this afternoon. Oden will make life more difficult for Carl Landry, but Kramer, Crump, Watt, Lutz, Teague, and Green are playing with the kind of investment that will make the Buckeyes earn it.

Spartans Run Into Number One Seed
Wisconsin, unlike the Buckeyes, are playing like a team deserving of top five national status and the top of a regional bracket. For those who think Butch’s slinged elbow spells doom, think otherwise. The Badgers are way to deep, much to poised and talented to go belly up this season. Michael Flowers joined Chris Kramer as the MVP most likely to be overlooked yesterday. His job on Neitzel was fabulous. Michigan State, of course, fought valiantly and made this a much closer game than the final score indicated. Unfortunately, Rich Falk’s band of AARP incompetents took the game hostage in the final eight minutes. The calls against Raymar Morgan down the stretch were horrible and it took the fast emerging superstar out of the game at the worst time. But, the suspect officiating notwithstanding, the Badgers always had an answer for the Spartan runs. Steimsma, Krabbenhoft, and the other interchangeable pieces of the Bo Ryan machine are playing great basketball.

An Offensive Offense
The Fighting Illini’s twenty-third win was as ugly as possible and perhaps an indictment of their fitness for any kind of NCAA run, but better than the alternative. They moved themselves off the bubble and have an opportunity to measure themselves tomorrow against a Wisconsin team that is playing like an NCAA one seed. Now, if the Illini can somehow, despite looking like a team in desperate need of an offensive identity, manage a close game or victory against the Badgers, maybe they can reframe March expectations. But, the struggles of Weber and his guards to get their team into a consistent rhythm on the scoring end of things, a problem evidenced not only in Chicago this weekend but much of the season, is a significant and damning one.

Of course, the defenses on display last night had something to do with the ugly offense. With its seemingly neverending phalanx of athletic guards, Indiana’s perimeter defense is among if not the best in the conference. Their swarming, passing lane choking presence at the top of the key found Chester Frazier struggling to get the Illinois offense started anywhere near the basket. Lacking an accomplished dribble penetrator who can get into the lane and find the bigs for high percentage looks at the basket, Illinois spends a lot of time swinging the ball outside the zone only to resort to a long shot.

Compounding the problem, Rich McBride, already a streaky shooter at best, is mired in a two game slump. Frazier hit some big shots against Penn State on Thursday, but he too is an unreliable outside shooter. As he did in the home stretch against the Hoosiers, Weber is well advised to start giving Trent Meacham significant minutes. It is Meacham shooting that may well determine the Illinois fate in March. In the absence of Jamar Smith, he is the only Illinois guard whose shot looks remotely provident at this point in the season.

Fortunately, help arrives next fall in the person of Demetri McCamey of St. Joseph’s high school. He is a tough-bodied pure point guard in the Deron Williams mold who can break down defenses and should garner major minutes for Weber from day one. Quinton Watkins, the two guard from Compton will also help shore up the backcourt deficiency in Champaign. But in the next two weeks, without McBride relocating his jumpshot or Meacham hitting a good groove, foes will zone the Illini to great effect.

Posted by DJ Elsass on Saturday, March 10th, 2007 at 10:40 am.