Ohio State

[DarkSide576]

In my opinion, Thursday, at Ohio State, is a must win for the Cats. The Buckeyes are reeling. They are under achieving. There is a lot of pressure on them to right the ship. We must pounce on them and not relent. I will be in attendance. Hopefully, we have a great night.

 

[NJCat]

I hope you got one of the $2 tickets widely available on the secondary markets.....

 

[DarkSide576]

Lol. Friends invited my wife and me before the season started. $2 is more than NU football tickets for Howard next year.

 

[SmellyCat]

In my opinion, Thursday, at Ohio State, is a must win for the Cats. The Buckeyes are reeling. They are under achieving. There is a lot of pressure on them to right the ship. We must pounce on them and not relent. I will be in attendance. Hopefully, we have a great night.

It's also a must-win just because wins will come at a premium down the stretch. I figure three more wins keeps NU in the conversation. Doesn't mean they'll get in with three wins, but they definitely won't get in without 'em. I'd like to get those wins in the bank as soon as possible, so OSU and Purdue would be a nice start.

 

[olsh]

It's also a must-win just because wins will come at a premium down the stretch. I figure three more wins keeps NU in the conversation. Doesn't mean they'll get in with three wins, but they definitely won't get in without 'em. I'd like to get those wins in the bank as soon as possible, so OSU and Purdue would be a nice start.

Wayyyyyy too early to say they won't get in without them.
Bubble has trended soft in recent years as well.
Either way, JUST WIN BABY

 

[bringbacktherantboard]

It's also a must-win just because wins will come at a premium down the stretch. I figure three more wins keeps NU in the conversation. Doesn't mean they'll get in with three wins, but they definitely won't get in without 'em. I'd like to get those wins in the bank as soon as possible, so OSU and Purdue would be a nice start.

If one of those three wins is Purdue, I think that really helps our cause.

 

[Username Not Available]

Winning the next game is definitely the priority goal for the Cats.

 

[NUCat320]

In my opinion, Thursday, at Ohio State, is a must win for the Cats. The Buckeyes are reeling. They are under achieving. There is a lot of pressure on them to right the ship. We must pounce on them and not relent. I will be in attendance. Hopefully, we have a great night.

There’s definitely a lot to like about the situation OSU is in — lots of doubt creeping in. Whether they respond with a positive or negative fury is to be seen.

I’m really excited for this one. As a Cats fan, I’ve learned that this probably means that NU will be down 16-4 at the first media timeout, but I’ll choose not to expect that.

OSU is a tough matchup for NU, but their best player is a freshman and NU three best are multi-year starters.

 

[CappyNU]

The order of wins by how much it will help us is as follows:

@Rutgers
-------
@Illinois
@Maryland
Purdue
@OSU
----------
Indiana
---------
Iowa
Penn State

 

[hdhntr1]

The order of wins by how much it will help us is as follows:

@Rutgers
-------
@Illinois
@Maryland
Purdue
@OSU
----------
Indiana
---------
Iowa
Penn State

Would have to thing that a win against Purdue would carry more weight than Rutgers unless you are suggesting that Rutgers is more toward the end of the season. Maybe they are 1 and 1A. I would put IN in the 2nd group and might move OSU down to PSU level

 

[timbfischer]

It's also a must-win just because wins will come at a premium down the stretch. I figure three more wins keeps NU in the conversation. Doesn't mean they'll get in with three wins, but they definitely won't get in without 'em. I'd like to get those wins in the bank as soon as possible, so OSU and Purdue would be a nice start.

I think the problem with the three-more-wins scenario is our NET ranking at 52 is not very strong. So, if we get those three against Purdue, Indiana, and Rutgers, then ya, I see that. But if against OSU, Iowa, and Penn State, then I think we need a fourth, either in the tourney or just a big win against a good team.

 

[PURPLECAT88]

Would have to thing that a win against Purdue would carry more weight than Rutgers unless you are suggesting that Rutgers is more toward the end of the season. Maybe they are 1 and 1A. I would put IN in the 2nd group and might move OSU down to PSU level

It's because road wins carry more weight than home wins.

 

[1989CatAlum]

How is NU a 5 point underdog in this game?

 

[Secho99]

How is NU a 5 point underdog in this game?

KenPom has us a 5-point dog, Torvik has it at 4 points. Vegas spreads are usually very close to these numbers. And they did beat us by a wide margin already, even if they’ve struggled lately.

 

[CappyNU]

OSU has only played two bad games at home - the loss to MN in Zed Key's first game back from the injury that has really hampered him, and the loss to WI where Sensabaugh fouled out in 16 minutes.

 

[Titanium999]

How is NU a 5 point underdog in this game?

No way Jose! We got more leg speed!

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

How is NU a 5 point underdog in this game?

Because they “kilt” us on our home court. This is a much tougher game that people on here are leading is on to believe.

 

[Username Not Available]

OSU defends home court pretty well this year. I like the game plan of getting Sens in foul trouble in the first half though, that sounds like a great plan.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Because they “kilt” us on our home court. This is a much tougher game that people on here are leading is on to believe.

They wore kilts? I have always wanted to try that on my mountain hikes, as I know some people swear by them. But I never worked up the courage...

 

[NUCat320]

I’m personally going into this one with low expectations*. NU is pretty athletic relative to historic norms, but OSU is always really, really athletic. Sensabaugh is a freak and can shoot the ball.

OSU (and, sadly for this week’s prospects, Painter’s Purdue teams) are consistently the ones I feel least confident about every season.

*low expectations, but very excited because a win would be great

 

[1989CatAlum]

I was thinking of all the games we have left, tonight would be one of the more winnable ones. Hard road ahead and the three wins we need have to come from somewhere.

 

[PlowKing2]

The athleticism comments take me back to the 2012 NIT game at Univ of Washington. I attended it. Thought going in we had a real chance. But then both teams came out for warmups and it was clear the game wasn't even going to be worth playing. Very different team this year ... but my PTSD is still activated.

 

[TheC]

For whatever reason, our guys seem to look more afraid playing at home then on the road. They have gone into these road games with a real attitude. If they show that toughness tonight, then Ohio State may start to feel the pressure and play frustrated. If we play scared, then I do think OSU's athletes will roll us.

 

[NUThump]

This is just a bad matchup for us, in my mind, so I see why we are getting points. The line is now +5.5 on MGM.

 

[NUCat320]

I really like the idea of Sensabaugh fouling out in 16 minutes.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

This is just a bad matchup for us, in my mind, so I see why we are getting points. The line is now +5.5 on MGM.

Ohio State is one of those teams that has more talent than we do (on paper).

Nicholson had 8 offensive rebounds against the Buckeyes in the Big Ten opener. It was his first start in the Big Ten. He was 0 for 7 from the floor, in large part because he kept trying to tip the rebounds in (and missing) - that counts as both an offensive rebound and a missed layup. He was also 0 for 4 from the free throw line.

Hopefully he was nervous and our coaches have talked to him about sometimes tapping the ball back if he can't grab it. Nicholson should be able to extend right over the top of Zed Key.

Martinelli and Barnhizer should give us additional presence on the glass, assuming they get minutes.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

They wore kilts? I have always wanted to try that on my mountain hikes, as I know some people swear by them. But I never worked up the courage...

One of my esteemed classmates in college said in an interview after a tourney game, “ we had to get that rebound, because we were getting kilt on the boards all game”. It’s been kilt not killed to me ever since.

 

[CSCatFan1]

How is NU a 5 point underdog in this game?

Good call. Easy money. Hope @Purple Pile Driver was on this one.

 

[SmellyCat]

I was in a candy store tonight and could've had anything. I chose a buckeye. It was delicious, but not as delicious as this win.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Good call. Easy money. Hope @Purple Pile Driver was on this one.

Didn’t touch it. I was apprehensive about this game, but Boo and Barney stepped up!

 

[hdhntr1]

It's because road wins carry more weight than home wins.

But Purdue is #1 in the country, I understand that RUT is on the road but that should still not be better than beating the number one team (Not just in the conference but in the nation)

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

But Purdue is #1 in the country, I understand that RUT is on the road but that should still not be better than beating the number one team (Not just in the conference but in the nation)

Thats why the NET is not nearly as good as any reasonable computer algorithm.

 

[DarkSide576]

Back to last night. I attended the game. The crowd was small and not too interested in the game. The first half, in particular, was not exciting enough to grab anyone’s attention. There were a smattering of Cats fans throughout the arena. We were not particularly loud, but at the end of the game (despite our ability to nearly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory) we were smiling. OSU AD Gene Smith’s wife was clearly disappointed with the performance of the Buckeyes. Frankly, their fans were somewhat displeased with the performance of their team. I can appreciate their dissatisfaction. On paper, their team should be a lot better than it is.
This was a must win game for the Cats. We still need three more wins to lock up an invitation to the NCAA tournament (I know you all know this).
As someone who is a big CCC guy, I am pleased to have been proven wrong. The team is playing hard and they seem to have a nice chemistry (winning does that). It was cool to see the other players try to pick up Ty Berry, who is clearly struggling. It is cool to see Martinelli exceed expectations. It is wonderful to see Audige and Buie as leaders and stalwarts. Lastly, it is cool to see Matt Nicholson dwarf an opposing teams big man.
Go Cats!