Winners & Losers

A win is a win is a win.  There's some classic coach-speak for ya' on an action packed Saturday afternoon.  But sometimes a team can prove their mettle in a loss as well.

Such was the case for two teams this week.

Ohio State is no longer unbeaten, having fallen 71-67 at Wisconsin in what was, in the Maniac's humble opinion, the best played game in college basketball this season.  Ohio State looked like the were going to put Bucky away early in the second half, as freshman point guard Aaron Craft and junior swingman William Buford spearheaded the Buckeye offensive explosion.  The lead swelled to 42-30 before Wisconsin and the Krazy Kohl Center roared back.

In the Big Ten, most of the Player of the Year discussion circles around Jared Sullinger and JuJuan Johnson.  A few people made a case (well deserved) for John Lauer as well, but today Jordan Taylor threw his name in the hat as well.  The Wisconsin point guard was absolutely unconscious in the second half, scoring 22 of his game high 28 points, many of which came during Wisconsin's 17-2 run to reclaim the lead with about 7:00 remaining.

Yes, Ohio State lost, but they lost in a place where Bo Ryan has lost only 11 times in as many years.  That comes out to a winning percentage of around 94% despite playing in one of the deepest and balanced conferences every season.  Quite simply, no one wins in the Kohl Center - but the Buckeye's came darn close.

The impressive thing to take away from today's game if you are an Ohio State fan is the way they managed the final 2:00, trialing by six points.  They never panicked - they got three consecutive stops and rather than burning a lot of clock on the offensive end or jacking up a contested three pointer, the Buckeyes went straight to the basket, drew two hard fouls and stepped up to the line and knocked in four consecutive foul shots (two by Diebler, two by Sullinger).  That is the kind of poise it takes to survive and advance in March.

The other thing to take away - Wisconsin absolutely shot the lights out in the second half.  The final dagger was a three ball from the top of the key from Bruesewitz, a six-ten forward/shooter who the Buckeye's failed to rotate over to, fearing leaving open the sizzling Jordan Taylor.  It was that kind of day for Wisconsin, who shot 12 of 24 from behind the arc.

Both teams are legit Final Four threats, and if you are an OSU fan, there is little to be disappointed about today.  The Buckeyes defended very well, Wisconsin, very similarly to Notre Dame, just fills the floor with very tall shooters, each having three or four guys over 6'8'' who can hit from behind the arc.  A well played game on both sides, and I walked away feeling more confident in Ohio State's chances to go to the Final Four as opposed to less...

Another "winner" from a losing result was North Carolina's performance Wednesday night in Durham.  Yes, the Tarheels are kicking themselves after squandering a 14-point halftime lead and failing to finish off the Blue Devils, but in the defeat Carolina displayed some qualities that had eluded them last season during their struggles.

First of all, this team passes the ball and handles ball pressure far better than last season.  They feed the post, taking advantage of Tyler Zeller's size and touch around the basket.  It isn't so much that Zeller is leaps and bounds better than last season; it's the absence of Drew and Graves, and the influx of ball movement and passing that have made the demonstrable difference.

Carolina follwed up their excellent Wednesday performance with an enormous win today at Clemson to move to 8-2 in ACC play.  Most mock brackets have them "in" but not a lock; I respectfully disagree.  Carolina's play this week moves them firmly IN, and a Top 4 seed as of today.

It's February, and as any coach will tell you, a win is a win is a win; but astute fans can take away a lot of confidence from Ohio State and North Carolina's losses.