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Men's Basketball
Hoops Week in Review
By Tony Gerdeman

This week's edition of the Hoops Week in Review is dedicated to those of you who couldn't watch your television this week due to your view being blocked by the sheer immensity of Notre Dame.

Recapping the Buckeyes' week

It was another quality week for the Buckeyes. It was also a week that gives them something to build on. They had a blowout win in which they never let up, and a come from behind win in which they never gave up. It was a great way to finish the non-conference schedule and the Buckeyes' confidence is understandably high right now. That, of course, can come crashing down in the course of one week of Big Ten play.

Game One: The Buckeyes ran the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs right out of the state. Ohio State led by 17 at the half and built that up to a 35 point lead in the second half before eventually winning 87-58. Lest you think Gardner-Webb is an O'Brien Special (a cupcake), they aren't. They lost by three points to North Carolina in Chapel Hill and actually won on the road at Minnesota. This was a good win in an impressive fashion. Terence Dials led the Buckeyes with 23 points in 22 minutes.

Game Two: The Buckeyes went 29 minutes and 56 seconds between their third lead and their final lead against LSU. The last, and largest lead, came with 5.5 seconds left to go as Matt Sylvester hit a three from the baseline to put the Buckeyes up 78-76. Ohio State closed the game out with a 20-3 run in the final six minutes of the game. Every single gut associated with the Buckeyes was checked in this game. It was truly a classic.

Buckeye of the Week

This week's BotW averaged one foul per game and only committed one turnover last week. Watching Terence Dials two weeks ago, numbers like these didn't seem possible, but here we are. Dials also averaged 23.5 points per game and 8.5 rebounds for the week. He also shot 62% from the field and 85% from the line. He is reestablishing himself at the right time as conference play waits for no man. Since Dials' low point versus Belmont, where he was 0-7 from the field and only scored three points, he is averaging 20 points per game and 7.5 rebounds. He is shooting 60% from the field and has only missed three free throw attempts in the four games since. (J.J. Redick has missed four in his last four games.)

The Buckeyes' Magic Number For The NCAA Tournament

10 wins.

Twenty Words or Less Recap on Each Buckeye's Season So Far

Jamar Butler: Now that he's finally starting to penetrate, he will be one of the more dangerous guards in the Big Ten.

Je'Kel Foster: My hero.

Terence Dials: Took him seven or eight games to get comfortable, now the paint is his living room.

Ronald Lewis: His penchant for getting fouled is what keeps my DVR from getting the last couple of minutes of each game.

J.J. Sullinger: Jason Singleton with a jump shot, provided the defense continues to improve.

Sylvester Mayes: Sometimes looks like he wants to just run around and shoot, then remembers that Thad Matta will yank him.

Matt Sylvester: It apparently doesn't matter what you do in the first 38 minutes, it's what you do in the last two.

Ivan Harris: Tries to make the most of his time, but just can't provide the rebounding necessary.

Matt Terwilliger: One of those guys that Iowa and Wisconsin always has that I always wished Ohio State did. Quite the improver.

Brayden Bell: Still getting a feel for the game, much like Terwilliger did last year.

Samuel Payne: I haven't seen a walk-on that wants to score as badly as Payne in a long time.

Was the Buckeyes' Week Better Than Duke's?

Oh, you betcha. Duke's 33 point win over in-state "rival" UNC-Greensboro just doesn't trump the two victories for the Buckeyes.

Big Ten Week In Review

Illinois 2-0: wins over Southeast Missouri State and Tennessee-Martin (14-0 for the season)
Ohio State 2-0: wins over Gardner-Webb and LSU (10-0 for the season)
Michigan 2-0: wins over Coppin State and Chicago State (10-1 for the season)
Michigan State 2-0: wins over Tennessee Tech and Coppin State (12-2 for the season)
Wisconsin 1-1: a win over Louisiana Tech and a loss to Pitt (10-2 for the season)
Indiana 1-0: a win over Ball State (8-2 for the season)
Iowa 1-0: a win over St. Louis (11-3 for the season)
Penn State 2-0: wins over IUPUFW and Mt. St. Mary's (8-3 for the season)
Northwestern 1-0: a win over Northern Colorado (7-4 for the season)
Purdue 1-1: a win over Tennessee-Martin and a loss to Memphis (6-5 for the season)

Big Ten Notables

As I was watching the LSU - Ohio State game, Tom Hamilton (the play-by-play guy on TV) mentioned that everybody in Value City Arena was on their feet. I had to laugh, because what I saw in the lower bowl were folded arms and shut mouths. Although, technically, Tom was probably right because I'm sure many did have their feet planted on the ground in some fashion, even if it wasn't supporting their entire weight. I understand that you paid a lot for that seat in the lower bowl and you don't want to have to cheer if it's not necessary, but can't you at least yell something? If you don't want to cheer for the Buckeyes, can't you just yell out the names of your pets or uncles, just to make some noise? Again, I know your seats are expensive, and as such you'd like to use it as much as possible, but how about just making some noise now and then. I'd even be willing to lift my ban on allowing key shaking.

And now something from the Big Ten:
"PARK RIDGE, Ill. - The Big Ten will tip-off the 101st season of conference basketball with the “Welcome to the Big Stage” campaign, a two-year comprehensive marketing and promotional program developed by the league office .

With this campaign, the conference’s goal is to highlight positive messages of competition, teamwork and excellence that are universal to all Big Ten student-athletes, coaches and fans, while communicating directly with a younger audience through a contemporary voice.

The campaign will begin with a new public service announcement (PSA), highlighting the strengths of Big Ten basketball through a contemporary messenger, well-known artist Talib Kweli."

My question for the Big Ten: Who?

Here are the lyrics for this PSA:

Who Runnin’ it now…Come on…who runnin’ it now?
(MUSIC KICKS IN)
It’s the Big Ten
Welcome to the Big Stage
Give it your all or get cut like a quick fade
One step in the arena
Hear the squeak of the sneaker
Ya mama proud you made the doubters believers – Yeah!
You can’t fake it when you make it to the Big Ten
They blocking your big shots and stopping your big men
It’s a battleground whenever we come around
To let you know the number one is in town
This is it
We bout to see who running it now
See how we get love from the crowd
We put it down

I have yet to decide whether my new motto is going to be "We bout to see who running it now" or "We put it down". Maybe I'll make one my motto and the other my mantra and just use them interchangeably.

Although truth be told, this song is 46 times better than "We're Comin' To Your Cittay".

Game of the Week

With heartfelt apologies to the LSU - Ohio State game, the game of the week was Arizona at Washington. Washington led by 13 at the half, only to see Arizona score 54 points in the second half to take a late three point lead. Washington swingman Brandon Roy, who finished with 35 points, hit a three pointer with 5.6 left to tie the game and send it to overtime. As the first overtime was coming to a close, Roy hit a leaning step-through three at the buzzer to send the game to a second overtime. Brandon Roy fouled out shortly thereafter and the Huskies were left with nobody to hit their much needed three pointer at the buzzer, as Arizona won 96-95. Hassan Adams scored 32 in the win for the Wildcats.

Team of the Week

The Pitt Panthers stayed unbeaten last week, winning at South Carolina, then beating Wisconsin at home. Expect their climb up the rankings to last another two weeks, until they visit Louisville. Then expect the losses to come as often as the wins do, as their conference schedule is a tad unpleasant.

Player of the Week

Arizona senior guard Hassan Adams (6'4" 220) was a road warrior last week. The Wildcats won at Washington State and at Washington. Adams averaged 28.5 points per game 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game, while only turning the ball over once. Adams hit a bit of a Junior slump last season, as his scoring averaged dropped to 12.7 points per game from the 17.2 he scored as a sophomore. It now appears that he's back on track and ready to lead the Wildcats to the tournament.

J.J. Redick Free Throw Update

9-9 this week (100%).

A Couple of Other Things

Kentucky shooting guard Joe Crawford (6'4" 210) has finally started to show some of his McDonald's All American potential. After considering transferring last year, Crawford has stuck around and is getting very involved in the offense. In their lone game this week, Crawford scored 23 points and grabbed four rebounds against Ohio, but his most impressive stat was the 34 minutes that he played. Kentucky is looking for offense right now, and Crawford is showing signs of finding it.

Washington swingman Brandon Roy (6'6" 210) would've been the Player of the Week this time around had he not fouled out against Arizona, costing the Huskies the game. Nevertheless, Roy scored 35 points in both of Washington's games last week. He does whatever is necessary for the Huskies. He has games where he only takes one or two three-pointers in a game, then he has games like last week, where he was 9-11 in his two games. He rebounds, passes and plays aggressive defense. He's one of those guys that grew up as a role player, and even though he's now the star, he still does the little things that role players do.

And a request for Fox Sports. If I'm going to watch your Pac 10 games, can you either turn up Marques Johnson's mic, or ask him to speak up. All I hear is a low rumble when he's talking. He may have the insight of a basketball Socrates, but if your viewers can't hear him, he's just background noise. (I can't believe I just asked somebody to turn a color commentator's mic up.

In Summation

Notre Dame is immense...LSU collapsed...Terence Dials is comin’ to your cittay...Ten down, ten to go...Sylvester is terrible...Sylvester is awesome...Ohio State was once again better than Duke...Big Ten conference play finally starts this week...Bring back the key shaking...We bout to see who runnin it now...See how we get love from the crowd...We put it down...Hassan chopped his way to the PotW...Joe Crawford, Wildcat for life...and Marques Johnson may be the most enlightened man in basketball, but my volume doesn’t go to eleven, so I’ll never know

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