On The Horizon

Jim Squire

Boom Goes the Dynamite: 12.12.09--Rush The Court

12:15 PM: For those who caught that discussion about the relative scoring ability of Matt Howard and Jay Bilas. Here are Jay’s numbers from his time at Duke.
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12:25 PM: Great start for Butler. Up 24-14 midway through the 1st half. William Buford answers a bucket but misses the free throw. Wow. That’s a ridiculous class for Ohio State, but like Bilas mentions how long will they stay there. Gordon Hayward almost converts a ridiculous alley-oop from Shelvin Mack.
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12:47 PM: Ohio State is on a 16-0 run. Awfully quiet in Hinkle right now (except for the PA guy).

12:48 PM: Gordon Hayward ends the 5:15 drought with a lay-up. Another lay-up and Butler is down by just 2 with less than a minute left in the half. And suddenly it’s very loud in Hinkle.

12:55 PM: Kentucky up by just 1 at the half. Unbelievable shooting by both teams. Kentucky shooting 56.7% FG while Indiana is 63% FG. Ohio State up by 2 at the half. Butler is hanging in there despite shooting a paltry 37.5%. They really struggled after Matt Howard picked up his 2nd foul with 5 minutes to go in the half. Gordon Hayward kept them in the game.
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1:30 PM: Butler has opened up a 6 point lead with less than 9 minutes left in the game. The Hoosiers? Not doing quite as well. They’re down by 15 with 11 minutes left.

1:40 PM: Left-handed layup by Hayward gives Butler a 10 point lead with 7:08. This would be huge for Butler to get a win over a non-conference NCAA tournament team, but I am sure “The Committee” will discount it because of Turner’s absence.
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1:55 PM: Jon Diebler makes his first shot of the game with 1:35 left to cut the lead to 7. His mom shakes her head in disbelief about how poorly he played today.

2:00 PM: Wow. There goes the 17 point-lead after a 16-2 OSU run. Down to a 3 point lead with 46.2 seconds left after a bad turnover that led to Diebler’s 2nd FG of the day. Haywards calls a timeout.

2:01 PM: Butler got very lucky there. Got away with a carry and an offensive foul ending up at the free throw line. Thad Matta has a reason to be upset right now.

2:05 PM: Two big missed by Dallas Lauderdale. I don’t understand how can you be getting a $30k/yr scholarship and not be better at hitting something so easy.

2:07 PM: A sloppy OSU turnover gives the game to Butler. They got lucky today. Brad Stevens needs to have a talk with Matt Howard about staying out of foul trouble. It kills the Bulldogs.

2:14 PM: Greetings, folks. John Stevens taking over for NVR. Important win by Butler, there, I think. They had a bit of a rough stretch there and I think people were starting to forget about them or write them off a little, but a win over OSU, despite OSU being sans Turner and even though it was at home, is still a nice win for them. Can’t call it an upset, but they needed it.

Saturday's Pregame Beat--Ballin' is a Habit

12:00 pm: Ohio State @ Butler: This situation is less than ideal for the Buckeyes. In their first game playing without Evan Turner, they go up against a Bulldogs squad that desperately needs a win against a major conference opponent. On top of that, Butler matches up well against Ohio State - both teams are fairly small and essentially play four guards. Hinkle Fieldhouse is a tough place to win, and Butler should be able to prove that today.