Thad Matta Comment....I Don't Get It

[Medill90]

Matt said, "If you look at the boxscore you'd think we won."

So I took a gander....

* OSU shot better, but not lights out;
* Teams were about even on rebounding;
* Teams shot about the same number of free throws, but NU made seven more;
* OSU turned the ball over five more times than NU.

If you turn the ball over and miss free throws in an otherwise even game you should lose, right? OSU was in the bonus at the eight minute mark of the second half and only shot 52% from the line.

Another important part of the box score. NU had two more points than OSU.

 

[DaCat]

We shot poorly. But Matta sounds like a sore loser, without context.

 

[TheC]

We shot poorly. But Matta sounds like a sore loser, without context.

That's what I posted yesterday. The players, the coach and the Columbus media all made it sound like OSU should have easily won that game but just didn't stay together or bring it every play or some other such horse manure-speak. The truth is that they got beat on their home floor by a better team who actually played kind of poorly and still beat their sorry butts.

 

[CatFanEd]

Matt said, "If you look at the boxscore you'd think we won."

So I took a gander....

* OSU shot better, but not lights out;
* Teams were about even on rebounding;
* Teams shot about the same number of free throws, but NU made seven more;
* OSU turned the ball over five more times than NU.

If you turn the ball over and miss free throws in an otherwise even game you should lose, right? OSU was in the bonus at the eight minute mark of the second half and only shot 52% from the line.

Another important part of the box score. NU had two more points than OSU.

When you lose at home for the first time since 1977 to lowly Northwestern there has to be a reason. After the 2016 football and 2017 basketball games I think Columbus will start being a little more concerned when NU rolls into town.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Matt said, "If you look at the boxscore you'd think we won."

So I took a gander....

* OSU shot better, but not lights out;
* Teams were about even on rebounding;
* Teams shot about the same number of free throws, but NU made seven more;
* OSU turned the ball over five more times than NU.

If you turn the ball over and miss free throws in an otherwise even game you should lose, right? OSU was in the bonus at the eight minute mark of the second half and only shot 52% from the line.

Another important part of the box score. NU had two more points than OSU.

I see Motta's point, and I don't think his comment is about sour grapes. For awhile, the team stats were pretty strongly in favor of OSU before evening out at the end. But I think Motta was frustrated by his team's inability to play better in crunch time.

 

[pawildcat_rivals209725]

Shooting free throws and maintaining possession of the ball are skills. If you don't do them well, you lose. How many games over the past few years did NU lose because they couldn't hit free throws or avoid turnovers at crucial times? You aren't unlucky when that happens — you're just not a very good basketball team, and this year's Ohio State squad, as the record indicates, is not a very good basketball team.

 

[JournCat]

I prefer the griping to the "Carmody is such a great coach and he's been so unlucky!" bit after another NU loss.

 

[Jonny2TheP]

Shooting free throws and maintaining possession of the ball are skills. If you don't do them well, you lose. How many games over the past few years did NU lose because they couldn't hit free throws or avoid turnovers at crucial times? You aren't unlucky when that happens — you're just not a very good basketball team, and this year's Ohio State squad, as the record indicates, is not a very good basketball team.

Yep, was texting with an OSU buddy of mine after the game yesterday (who, for the record, said straight up that the better team won that game) and the two things I cited as reasons we won was because we took care of the ball and shot free throws much better. That's what it came down to on a day when we didn't shoot very well. OSU is not a good free throw shooting team, and in a conference where there isn't a ton separating about 8 or 9 teams, that makes a big difference.

 

[Deeringfish]

Yep, was texting with an OSU buddy of mine after the game yesterday (who, for the record, said straight up that the better team won that game) and the two things I cited as reasons we won was because we took care of the ball and shot free throws much better. That's what it came down to on a day when we didn't shoot very well. OSU is not a good free throw shooting team, and in a conference where there isn't a ton separating about 8 or 9 teams, that makes a big difference.

It's funny, I hated losing those games where we couldn't hit free throws but it is hard for me to be as excited about the games where we win by hitting our free throws as I was annoyed when we lost.

I need a value of the free throw adjustment.

 

[ColumbusCatFan1_rivals]

Matta said, "If you look at the boxscore you'd think we won."

Interesting. I don't seem to recall him saying the inverse after a few matches in Evanston and Indianapolis when NU outplayed his squad...

 

[hdhntr1]

Matt said, "If you look at the boxscore you'd think we won."

So I took a gander....

* OSU shot better, but not lights out;
* Teams were about even on rebounding;
* Teams shot about the same number of free throws, but NU made seven more;
* OSU turned the ball over five more times than NU.

If you turn the ball over and miss free throws in an otherwise even game you should lose, right? OSU was in the bonus at the eight minute mark of the second half and only shot 52% from the line.

Another important part of the box score. NU had two more points than OSU.

I don't think it is sour grapes. Maybe just trying to send his team a message. I posted something similar yesterday that if you just looked at some of the stats, you would have thought we lost. But that this team just finds a way to win. And that is different for NU.

 

[Dukeman]

Yep, was texting with an OSU buddy of mine after the game yesterday (who, for the record, said straight up that the better team won that game) and the two things I cited as reasons we won was because we took care of the ball and shot free throws much better. That's what it came down to on a day when we didn't shoot very well. OSU is not a good free throw shooting team, and in a conference where there isn't a ton separating about 8 or 9 teams, that makes a big difference.

Your OSU buddy was right on. The best team won.

 

[Medill90]

I don't think it is sour grapes. Maybe just trying to send his team a message. I posted something similar yesterday that if you just looked at some of the stats, you would have thought we lost. But that this team just finds a way to win. And that is different for NU.

I like the guy and have found him over his OSU tenure to be decent towards NU.

I read it more as a brain cramp.

OSU had more turnovers than assists.

OSU shot 52% from the line.

You're not going to win Big Ten games doing that. NU's crappy shooting kept what should have been a 12 - 15 pt. NU win close.

 

[DaCat]

I like the guy and have found him over his OSU tenure to be decent towards NU.

I read it more as a brain cramp.

OSU had more turnovers than assists.

OSU shot 52% from the line.

You're not going to win Big Ten games doing that. NU's crappy shooting kept what should have been a 12 - 15 pt. NU win close.

Lots of people are generous (or condescending) when they win, but get whiny when they lose. Trying to figure out if that's the case for Matta.

 

[Palindrome_rivals517509]

Matt said, "If you look at the boxscore you'd think we won."

So I took a gander....

* OSU shot better, but not lights out;
* Teams were about even on rebounding;
* Teams shot about the same number of free throws, but NU made seven more;
* OSU turned the ball over five more times than NU.

If you turn the ball over and miss free throws in an otherwise even game you should lose, right? OSU was in the bonus at the eight minute mark of the second half and only shot 52% from the line.

Thanks for the summary, Medill90. I think those numbers tell the story for sure. What Matta might have been referencing is ..... If you look at the game from about 10:30 on the clock in the 2nd half it might give an NU fan some shivers, because during much of that time (4th quarter equivalent), the Cats were kind of leaving the door open for a Buckeye rally. Pardon barely kept an errant pass from going out of bounds on the sideline and had he not, I remember thinking, it could have been the pivotal moment when our guys had made one too many errors It wasn’t, thank goodness, one of those snowballing "shoot-yourself-in-the-foot” or “unglued" intervals we’ve tended to lapse into over the years, but it wasn’t as if we played smoothly. I felt we were kind of teetering on the brink. The thing is, OSU didn’t make us pay; they messed up a few opportunities we gave them and that enabled us to get to “free throw time”, in which we performed admirably..

 

[Walker Fan]

When you are 2-5 in the Big 10 and 12-8 overall with losses in the non-conference to UT-Arlington at home that means you don't make the tourney. When you are at OSU and you don't make the tourney two years in a row, that means your coaching seat gets hotter and you become more irritable. As for his coaching, his coaching skills were about getting top 10 national recruits like D'Angelo Rusell, Jared Sullinger, Greg Oden, Mike Conley the pipeline or trail of green that allowed OSU to get those caliber of players has dried up and that is why he might be crabby. The perception is still if you lose to NU you were upset. Hopefully, we will hear from a crabby Tim Miles and everyone's favorite coach the Creaner who will exhibit their poor postgame behavior after our games on Thursday and Sunday night. First we have to take care of business on Thursday and not fall in the trap of looking ahead to Sunday night.

 

[Secho99]

That's what I posted yesterday. The players, the coach and the Columbus media all made it sound like OSU should have easily won that game but just didn't stay together or bring it every play or some other such horse manure-speak. The truth is that they got beat on their home floor by a better team who actually played kind of poorly and still beat their sorry butts.

Why do we care what Matta says, and why do we want them to suck? If they go 5-13 or something then all we did is beat a bad team. I'd prefer they figure it out and end up respectable so our win there looks better.

 

[CSCatFan1]

When you are 2-5 in the Big 10 and 12-8 overall with losses in the non-conference to UT-Arlington at home that means you don't make the tourney. When you are at OSU and you don't make the tourney two years in a row, that means your coaching seat gets hotter and you become more irritable. As for his coaching, his coaching skills were about getting top 10 national recruits like D'Angelo Rusell, Jared Sullinger, Greg Oden, Mike Conley the pipeline or trail of green that allowed OSU to get those caliber of players has dried up and that is why he might be crabby. The perception is still if you lose to NU you were upset. Hopefully, we will hear from a crabby Tim Miles and everyone's favorite coach the Creaner who will exhibit their poor postgame behavior after our games on Thursday and Sunday night. First we have to take care of business on Thursday and not fall in the trap of looking ahead to Sunday night.

I think you meant FAU. I'm pretty sure it was Texas that lost to UT-Arlington.