Thursday, March 22, 2007
2ND HALF: OSU VS. TENNESSEE
By John Chandler
A few halftime observations, while crunching stale popcorn and sipping instant coffee:
* Chris Lofton is bigtime... 13 first half points on 5-of-8 shooting. Speedy, slippery, and smart, he's spoiling Ohio State's Sweet Sixteen party, that's for sure.,
* Lofton, Ramar Smith and JaJuan Smith combined for 34 of the Vols' 49 first half points... the three guard offense makes Tennessee appear far faster on this Alamo Dome court than Ohio State. Wait, maybe they just are.
* Ryan Childress's 8 minutes were about as productive as a coach can ask for, hitting a pair of momentum-breaking three's.
* The bench is not a good place for Greg Oden. The 7-footer just looks uncomfortable sitting, with knees nearly up to his chin. Of course, with 3 quick fouls, you could argue that tonight Oden looks just as uncomfortable on the court. Not a good night when Oden's line reads more fouls than points (3 to 2) in a half.
* The OSU freshman struggled through the first half, managing just 13 total points between them.
* Stale popcorn and instant coffee don't go well together.
2ND HALF
Ron Lewis scored the first two points of the half with a layup... that's a start. Mike Conley's drive to the lane shows that the Buckeyes seem determined to attack UT's defense in this half. Not a bad idea, just maybe a little too late. Ohio State caught a classic case of three-point envy in the first half, trying to match the Vols three-for-three. But one team shot 60% (9-15) from beyond the arc, the other 30 %( 3-10). You figure out which was which.
Just when I type that, Ivan Harris bombed a three to pull the Buckeyes within 11 at 51-40 and... wait, what's this? Cheering from behind the Ohio State bench? Why, I had no idea their fans made the trip.
Comeback Trail...
16:26, 2nd Half... Ron Lewis's bucket cut OSU's deficit to 51-44... cue the comeback. I'll believe it when I see it.
Why? Even with an aggressive start to the second half, Ohio State can't seem to put together consecutive crisp possessions. They'll appear to start a flow, then won't finish at the offensive end. The bottom line is they've made quite an awful mess to clean up here.
Pearl of Wisdom
This observation is a little like shooting fish in a barrel, but Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl looks much better wearing an orange tie than orange paint on his chest. Remember that silliness earlier in the season at a Lady Vols game? Pearl appeared, dressed only in Sherwin Williams' finest shade of orange from the waist up, cheering on the women from the front row of the student section. To return the favor, women's coach Pat Summitt showed up to a men's game, clad in cheerleader's garb, to sing Rocky Top and climb the pyramid. Now that's school spirit.
Take Three
Just when the three point fireworks stopped... Dane Bradshaw beat the shot clock with a triple from the wing and a 57-48 advatage. Ron Lewis answered, eying up three of his own to pull the Buckeyes within 6... then added a layup to cut the deficit to 57-53 with 11:53 to play.
Looks like Lewis has decided to pick up the broom and start sweeping for Ohio State. Figures the senior would take it upon himself. Say what you want about the Buckeye freshman, but Ron Lewis is clutch.
More from Ron... who just slammed home a Daequan Cool alley oop to cut the Vols' lead to 59-57. This hasn't been a two point game since early in the first half. The Buckeyes have managed to erase a 20 point lead, and all without Greg Oden.
Speak of the devil, he just checked in, dunked, and picked up personal foul number four. And he thought Xavier was his worst game?
Ohio State is opting for speed, with four guards in Mike Conley, Jamar Butler, David Lighty and Ron Lewis joining center Matt Terwilliger. Interesting.
9:55, 2nd Half: UT 64, OSU 62 ...can't wait for the encore.
A few halftime observations, while crunching stale popcorn and sipping instant coffee:
* Chris Lofton is bigtime... 13 first half points on 5-of-8 shooting. Speedy, slippery, and smart, he's spoiling Ohio State's Sweet Sixteen party, that's for sure.,
* Lofton, Ramar Smith and JaJuan Smith combined for 34 of the Vols' 49 first half points... the three guard offense makes Tennessee appear far faster on this Alamo Dome court than Ohio State. Wait, maybe they just are.
* Ryan Childress's 8 minutes were about as productive as a coach can ask for, hitting a pair of momentum-breaking three's.
* The bench is not a good place for Greg Oden. The 7-footer just looks uncomfortable sitting, with knees nearly up to his chin. Of course, with 3 quick fouls, you could argue that tonight Oden looks just as uncomfortable on the court. Not a good night when Oden's line reads more fouls than points (3 to 2) in a half.
* The OSU freshman struggled through the first half, managing just 13 total points between them.
* Stale popcorn and instant coffee don't go well together.
2ND HALF
Ron Lewis scored the first two points of the half with a layup... that's a start. Mike Conley's drive to the lane shows that the Buckeyes seem determined to attack UT's defense in this half. Not a bad idea, just maybe a little too late. Ohio State caught a classic case of three-point envy in the first half, trying to match the Vols three-for-three. But one team shot 60% (9-15) from beyond the arc, the other 30 %( 3-10). You figure out which was which.
Just when I type that, Ivan Harris bombed a three to pull the Buckeyes within 11 at 51-40 and... wait, what's this? Cheering from behind the Ohio State bench? Why, I had no idea their fans made the trip.
Comeback Trail...
16:26, 2nd Half... Ron Lewis's bucket cut OSU's deficit to 51-44... cue the comeback. I'll believe it when I see it.
Why? Even with an aggressive start to the second half, Ohio State can't seem to put together consecutive crisp possessions. They'll appear to start a flow, then won't finish at the offensive end. The bottom line is they've made quite an awful mess to clean up here.
Pearl of Wisdom
This observation is a little like shooting fish in a barrel, but Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl looks much better wearing an orange tie than orange paint on his chest. Remember that silliness earlier in the season at a Lady Vols game? Pearl appeared, dressed only in Sherwin Williams' finest shade of orange from the waist up, cheering on the women from the front row of the student section. To return the favor, women's coach Pat Summitt showed up to a men's game, clad in cheerleader's garb, to sing Rocky Top and climb the pyramid. Now that's school spirit.
Take Three
Just when the three point fireworks stopped... Dane Bradshaw beat the shot clock with a triple from the wing and a 57-48 advatage. Ron Lewis answered, eying up three of his own to pull the Buckeyes within 6... then added a layup to cut the deficit to 57-53 with 11:53 to play.
Looks like Lewis has decided to pick up the broom and start sweeping for Ohio State. Figures the senior would take it upon himself. Say what you want about the Buckeye freshman, but Ron Lewis is clutch.
More from Ron... who just slammed home a Daequan Cool alley oop to cut the Vols' lead to 59-57. This hasn't been a two point game since early in the first half. The Buckeyes have managed to erase a 20 point lead, and all without Greg Oden.
Speak of the devil, he just checked in, dunked, and picked up personal foul number four. And he thought Xavier was his worst game?
Ohio State is opting for speed, with four guards in Mike Conley, Jamar Butler, David Lighty and Ron Lewis joining center Matt Terwilliger. Interesting.
9:55, 2nd Half: UT 64, OSU 62 ...can't wait for the encore.
Posted at 8:15 PM
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