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GAME 23 OHIO STATE: Alive and Kicking

Ohio State is good. As has been stated, just a Great effort by our guys. As I have said for some time we have to come out HARD & with INTENSITY from the get go. Mulcahy said much the same after the MSU win.
 
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I think my post went over your head

EJ LIDELL plays for Ohio State

Mike LINDELL is the My Pillow Guy
Apologies.....definitely did. need to google.

Reminds me off a point in the game. Did the turning point of the game from a crowd perspective happen when OSU inserted Jim Sotos. The crowd went nuts. I couldn't figure out why and i think i have pieced most of it together.
 
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Wisconsin should be a favorable matchup for Mulcahy again. Baker may be better against Indiana and Michigan. Nobody is a good matchup against Illinois/Purdue.
Not true nobody is a good matchup against Illinois/ Purdue .Our guards are better than Purdue ‘s 3 guards. Ivey is all world NBA talent and fast as hell but travels a lot and takes some bad long shots at times. He is clearly a pro but Caleb should be up to the task. Geo and Paul will run circles around Hunter and Thompson , who I think are 2 of the weaker guards in the conference and if Purdue falters down the stretch or in the NCAA ‘s they will be the culprit. Paul in particular should have an outstanding penetrating and shooting day . After watching earlier games , I cannot believe every team doesn’t press them because they look shaky bringing the ball up. Once they get into their sets they are almost impossible to stop , unless you cling to Sasha and Ivey , so the less time on the half court the better.

Ron should dominant Willis . At center like against every team Edey and Williams play that is a tough matchup but Cliff and Dean should not be totally dominated. Plus Pike’s game plan against Purdue and against Illinois will be to allow the centers to get their points but stop the other guys from going off especially Sasha from 3 and Plummer from 3 . The game plan worked first Purdue game and Michigan game and we let Illinois get started with 3’s before the wheels fell off. Kofi had 17 but everybody else went off and we never recovered. Gotta think we will let Kofi get his and try to stop everybody else.
 
Cliff defended Edey really well. We didn't see Purdue's A game that day. Hard to replicate but if we are efficiently offensively as we have been this game could be closer than you think.
 
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Cliff defended Edey really well. We didn't see Purdue's A game that day. Hard to replicate but if we are efficiently offensively as we have been this game could be closer than you think.
You didn’t see their A game because Caleb or Paul never let Sasha get out of their sight and cling to him making it harder for Purdue to run their sets. Without looking at the box score , Sasha was held to single digits and Williams and Edey got theirs but no one else went off. Similar game plan plus now they have to worry not just about Ron but a more confident and aggressive Paul and Geo.
 
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You didn’t see their A game because Caleb or Paul never let Sasha get out of their sight and cling to him making it harder for Purdue to run their sets. Without looking at the box score , Sasha was held to single digits and Williams and Edey got theirs but no one else went off. Similar game plan plus now they have to worry not just about Ron but a more confident and aggressive Paul and Geo.
And we still needed a perfect game from Harper and a miracle halfcourt shot to beat them at home.
 
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You didn’t see their A game because Caleb or Paul never let Sasha get out of their sight and cling to him making it harder for Purdue to run their sets. Without looking at the box score , Sasha was held to single digits and Williams and Edey got theirs but no one else went off. Similar game plan plus now they have to worry not just about Ron but a more confident and aggressive Paul and Geo.

Ivey is playing so much better now
 
Cliff defended Edey really well. We didn't see Purdue's A game that day. Hard to replicate but if we are efficiently offensively as we have been this game could be closer than you think.
Edey completely embarrassed Dean and made him look like a child and Agee looks like he is a foot shorter than Edey. Cliff needs to play a lotttt of minutes and stay out of foul trouble.

Nathan could actually give us a couple minutes again if Cliff is out against Edey bc hes the only one with enough size outside of Cliff to be able to even stand his ground a bit. Hurts us offensively though but it'll be interesting to see how Pike handles the bigs against them
 
Edey completely embarrassed Dean and made him look like a child and Agee looks like he is a foot shorter than Edey. Cliff needs to play a lotttt of minutes and stay out of foul trouble.

Nathan could actually give us a couple minutes again if Cliff is out against Edey bc hes the only one with enough size outside of Cliff to be able to even stand his ground a bit. Hurts us offensively though but it'll be interesting to see how Pike handles the bigs against them
If Agee has to go in the game then we better do hack-a-Zach. And hack-a-Trevion (not as catchy). Don't even try to defend them straight up, just foul them and make sure they can't get the and-1.

Reiber's 3 point shooting adds an interesting element. I honestly wouldn't mind him getting up 5 or 6 attempts (yes, I know he only has 7 all year to date). Make them defend away from the basket.
 
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Edey completely embarrassed Dean and made him look like a child and Agee looks like he is a foot shorter than Edey. Cliff needs to play a lotttt of minutes and stay out of foul trouble.

Nathan could actually give us a couple minutes again if Cliff is out against Edey bc hes the only one with enough size outside of Cliff to be able to even stand his ground a bit. Hurts us offensively though but it'll be interesting to see how Pike handles the bigs against them

Reiber has come a long way since the Purdue game in early December.... hopefully he fares better in the next meeting.
 
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Not true nobody is a good matchup against Illinois/ Purdue .Our guards are better than Purdue ‘s 3 guards. Ivey is all world NBA talent and fast as hell but travels a lot and takes some bad long shots at times. He is clearly a pro but Caleb should be up to the task. Geo and Paul will run circles around Hunter and Thompson , who I think are 2 of the weaker guards in the conference and if Purdue falters down the stretch or in the NCAA ‘s they will be the culprit. Paul in particular should have an outstanding penetrating and shooting day . After watching earlier games , I cannot believe every team doesn’t press them because they look shaky bringing the ball up. Once they get into their sets they are almost impossible to stop , unless you cling to Sasha and Ivey , so the less time on the half court the better.

Ron should dominant Willis . At center like against every team Edey and Williams play that is a tough matchup but Cliff and Dean should not be totally dominated. Plus Pike’s game plan against Purdue and against Illinois will be to allow the centers to get their points but stop the other guys from going off especially Sasha from 3 and Plummer from 3 . The game plan worked first Purdue game and Michigan game and we let Illinois get started with 3’s before the wheels fell off. Kofi had 17 but everybody else went off and we never recovered. Gotta think we will let Kofi get his and try to stop everybody else.
The biggest difference this time around is the development of Paul and Reiber, which Purdue didn't have to account for much in the first matchup. Against Wisky, they give us more options than we would have thought at the beginning of the season. Key is we have to get off to a good start on the road, can't keep digging out of double digit deficits.
 
Reiber has come a long way since the Purdue game in early December.... hopefully he fares better in the next meeting.
Reiber has but mostly offensively and help defense. He predictably struggled against the bigger stronger OSU bigs, and they are small compared to Edey. He can't hit the weight room and put on 15 lbs of muscle before the next Purdue game. He just doesn't have the size and strength. It's not his fault, but it's a really really tough ask to have him stop Edey. I'm sure he will try his best, and he can't do worse than the first game.... but if Cliff is out of the game I'm attacking relentlessly inside with Edey if I'm Purdue
 
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UNBELIEVABLE! Are you kidding me? What a thunderous turn of events in the last 3 minutes. The 10-0 comeback to end the game plus the crowd noise puts this game into the history books in the top 10 games ever at the RAC and arguably even higher. The resiliency and guts this team showed again. How many times can Rutgers perform necromancy with the all those ghosts of losses past that reside in the bowels of the RAC. It was like an outer body experience for everyone at the RAC. When the conjuring was complete, Rutgers NCAA hopes were alive and kicking. We were a boulder rolling down the court and the Buckeyes had no choice but to be leveled by all of us. Everyone was pounding nails and them chewing them out and spitting them at the Buckeyes. They did not stand a chance Credit the crowd with 8000 assists tonight. This was intense man and we got 7 consecutive stops in the last 3 and half minutes. On the Ohio State possession with about 2 left where RU forced a shot clock violation down 2, it was the loudest I have heard the RAC since the early 90s ala the UNLV game. Beating two blue bloods back to back and doing it in such different by equally impressive ways shows how wild this team is when they are on their game. I still contend if all conference games were played at home, RU would likely win the Big 10 title.


As we approached the end game, RU appeared dead in the water at 64-56 with 3:07 left after being outscored 14-4 in a 7 minute stretch. RU had played so well for about 30 minutes. Both teams did. A really enjoyable game to watch. A slugfest with mini runs where neither team could get a cushion until RU blinked. A battle of wills and it wasn't much of a blink but in a nip and tuck game like this, it was all the Buckeyes needed to wrest control of the game. Ohio State brought their A game, hitting 3s at a ridiculous clip and killing RU on the boards. A two minute run, the Buckeyes scored 10 points and got 2 treys and 4 different guys scoring. RU just was not able to match that for a stretch on the offensive end settling into some old bad habits of getting the ball stuck with the shot clock running down. I got the sense that RU just did not seem to have the energy to be able to pull this one out. Even a loss here you can say hey Ohio State was just better than us today. Tough to play from behind even with the home crowd given that we just were not getting the stops...until we did but it started with a spark from an old shotmaker. I want to point out a key play in this game at the 5:21 that might get lost in the shuffle but a sequence that I think changed the course of the game. Ron just missed an awful looking forced jumper and OSU came down and Liddell ended up with a 18 foot open jumper as it seemed almost as if RU gave him that open shot, I saw 3 RU players bolt to the basket for the board. Liddel missed thank god and Geo boarded and then Geo promptly came down in transition attacking the basket and laying it in. The lead was cut to 4 and it was a big swing and even though OSU would take that lead to 8, it signalled that Geo was activated now. From there on on the offensive end Geo simply took over the game and OSU could only watch him leave them in the dust. Geo had 10 of RU's last 12 points and assisted Big Cliff on a dunk. There was Geo taking it hard to the hoop and getting fouled. There was Geo hitting 9.9 degree of difficulty shots but all shots we have seen him make before. Locked in those shots are going in. Fittingly, with time running down on the shot clock, it was Geo driving to the hoop drawing the foul and nailing what would eventually be the game winning free throws. The wild swings that Geo has shown throughout his career have frustrated many of us. Shotmaker in some games, ghost in others, he was cool as a cucumber tonight and showing ONIONS. 25 points on 9-14 fg shooting, 4-7 from 3 in a whopping 38 minutes. Throw in 6 assists and 2 blocks and 3 boards, and it was a player of the week worthy peformance. Leadership has been questioned at times with this group and there was no doubt that Geo took control of the sword tonight. Willing to risk failure to seek reward....Who's got the touch to calm the storm inside? Don't say goodbye, don't say goodbye....In the final seconds who's gonna save you?

Geo may have made the winning plays but Caleb McConnell probably made the season saving play. On a lapse defensive play after an inbound on a timeout. It appeared Branham was headed for an easy bucket with 2:29 that would have put OSU up 6. Caleb came from nowhere and simply blocked the shot, no foul sending the RAC into a tizzy. It was like bam bam bam things were happening so quick. Geo hit a jumper and the RAC became almost sublime in its uproariousness. 30 seconds of insanity, OSU could do nothing but aimlessly pass the ball around unable to communicate anything as they were swarmed by all the conjured spirits of losses past. The RAC was everything your father told you about. It was UNLV 1991. It was otherworldly. I looked at the rafters and thought for just a minute there I saw Robert Mulcahy may he rest in peace leading the incantations. It worked. Rutgers possession down 2 with less than 90 seconds. Its going to Geo again right, no its going to Cliff and he will convert and dunk just like he did all night in his perfect 6-6 game. Game tied and its us and the players and once again we are wild as all hell and we are forcing Branham to take a tough shot. Ron rebounds and then its time for Geo to do his thing. This is not going to be Lafayette. One stop please and we do stop them, Ron big time block but damn out of bounds giving them one last shot. OSU wasnt going to make that shot and they werent going to call a foul on the 3 because this was our story, our time, our rebirth. A team that had been written off by yours truly among other fools was resuscitating it's season. A resume now injected with new elixir hoping to remove the poison of the odious and rancid Lafayette loss. We need to bring defribrilators to the RAC not masks. Breath everyone, one game at a time. 23 games in and two games into the so called gauntlet, Rutgers is alive and kicking and then some. 4 Quads wins, they certainly are piling up with opportunities for more.



You lift me up
You'll take me home where the magic's from
And I'll be with you

What you gonna do when things go wrong?
What you gonna do when it all cracks up?
What you gonna do when the love burns down?
What you gonna do when the flames go up?
Who is gonna come and turn the tide?
What's it gonna take to make a dream survive?
Who's got the touch to calm the storm inside?
Don't say goodbye, don't say goodbye
In the final seconds who's gonna save you?

Ooh oh, oh oh
Alive and kicking
Oh stay until your love is
Love is
Alive and kicking
Ooh oh, oh oh
Alive and kicking
Oh stay until your love is, love is
Alive and kicking


Another terrific recap. Welcome back to the believers side.

Alternative Alive 'N Kickin'

 
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This run we’ve seen an amazing metamorphosis of Paul, and the team as a result. He’s been so good that we hardly give recognition to an incredible 12/6/6 performance from our point guard.
This is so true. It is hard to imagine that this is the same guy that could not hit bunny layups in December.

I do think that the 3 point shot at 2:21 is one he needs to take if he want to be a big time scorer. He clearly lacked confidence there
 
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Agree it's their best imo, but I like Dont You Forget About Me too. Sanctify Yourself , All the Things She Said other good ones from the band.

Agree it's their best imo, but I like Dont You Forget About Me too. Sanctify Yourself , All the Things She Said other good ones from the band.


Alive and Kicking hit #3 in the fall of 86. You almost never hear it anywhere.

With Dont You Forget About Me the issue was oversaturation. Now removed from it after awhile I am starting to like it again and of course it brings back the warm fuzzies from high school years. I love All the Things She Said and the crazy video. The woman in that and the Alive and Kicking Video sang alot of background on that album and toured with them and they basically made her a band member...her name is Robin Clark and you think you heard of her before she sang background on Bowie's Young Americans.

Also big fan of their earlier 80s stuff before they hit it big...Glittering Prize, I Travel, Love Song, Promised You A Miracle, Up on the Catwalk. The critics didnt like that starting with Dont You (which they did not write), they sort of morphed into a U2 type band and went away from their electronic beginnings for a more radio friendly rock with songs like See The Light which incredibly was hitting #1 on altenative just before grunge took over and Shes a River and Hypnotized were hits on alternative radio even in the 1995 in world full of grunge. I like all of it though. Simple Minds is a criminally underrated band




 
Another great recap Bac. My ears have finally stopped hurting. LOL

That block by Caleb was so much like Lebron's in the Finals a few years ago. So clutch.

This team is totally a different team with Paul playing with so much confidence. It opens up everything.

Best of Luck,
Groz
 
What you gonna do when things go wrong?
What you gonna do when it all cracks up?
What you gonna do when the love burns down?
What you gonna do when the flames go up?
Who is gonna come and turn the tide?
What's it gonna take to make a dream survive?
Who's got the touch to calm the storm inside?
Don't say goodbye, don't say goodbye
In the final seconds who's gonna save you?

Ooh oh, oh oh
Alive and kicking
Oh stay until your love is
Love is
Alive and kicking
Ooh oh, oh oh
Alive and kicking
Oh stay until your love is, love is
Alive and kicking
Great job, bac! I like to find lyrics to a song that fit the moment, too.
 
Agree it's their best imo, but I like Dont You Forget About Me too. Sanctify Yourself , All the Things She Said other good ones from the band.
My favorite Simple Minds song is still "Waterfront." One of my favorite shows ever was them opening up for the Pretenders in July 1984 at Caldwell College on a beautiful warm summer evening on the hill. Once heard someone say that's when the Jim Kerr-Chrissie Hynde romance really took off.

 
Alive and Kicking hit #3 in the fall of 86. You almost never hear it anywhere.

With Dont You Forget About Me the issue was oversaturation. Now removed from it after awhile I am starting to like it again and of course it brings back the warm fuzzies from high school years. I love All the Things She Said and the crazy video. The woman in that and the Alive and Kicking Video sang alot of background on that album and toured with them and they basically made her a band member...her name is Robin Clark and you think you heard of her before she sang background on Bowie's Young Americans.

Also big fan of their earlier 80s stuff before they hit it big...Glittering Prize, I Travel, Love Song, Promised You A Miracle, Up on the Catwalk. The critics didnt like that starting with Dont You (which they did not write), they sort of morphed into a U2 type band and went away from their electronic beginnings for a more radio friendly rock with songs like See The Light which incredibly was hitting #1 on altenative just before grunge took over and Shes a River and Hypnotized were hits on alternative radio even in the 1995 in world full of grunge. I like all of it though. Simple Minds is a criminally underrated band




Don't You Forget About Me was certainly way overplayed, but I never get why some people get so angry about that sometimes (in the alt world, I've had many friends say bands "sell out" when they get popular, which is kind of silly, as the vast majority of bands want to be popular). And not that it needed it, but the song got a nice boost from it being the central song in Pitch Perfect - and of course, The Breakfast Club broke it originally. Big Simple Minds fan also.
 
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Don't You Forget About Me was certainly way overplayed, but I never get why some people get so angry about that sometimes (in the alt world, I've had many friends say bands "sell out" when they get popular, which is kind of silly, as the vast majority of bands want to be popular). And not that it needed it, but the song got a nice boost from it being the central song in Pitch Perfect - and of course, The Breakfast Club broke it originally. Big Simple Minds fan also.


ah finally something we agree upon. Will the next Melody reunion be seeing some deep Simple Mind cuts
 
Reiber has but mostly offensively and help defense. He predictably struggled against the bigger stronger OSU bigs, and they are small compared to Edey. He can't hit the weight room and put on 15 lbs of muscle before the next Purdue game. He just doesn't have the size and strength. It's not his fault, but it's a really really tough ask to have him stop Edey. I'm sure he will try his best, and he can't do worse than the first game.... but if Cliff is out of the game I'm attacking relentlessly inside with Edey if I'm Purdue
Somewhat interestingly, Purdue's three losses have come against Rutgers, Wisconsin, and Indiana. TJD played just 11 minutes with foul trouble, Wisconsin's front court is not their strength, and Rutgers had to play Agee/Reiber a lot. Poor shooting is why they lost those games but it's kinda funny they've beaten Cockburn twice, Dickinson, Ohio State's bigs, and North Carolina's bigs.
 
Somewhat interestingly, Purdue's three losses have come against Rutgers, Wisconsin, and Indiana. TJD played just 11 minutes with foul trouble, Wisconsin's front court is not their strength, and Rutgers had to play Agee/Reiber a lot. Poor shooting is why they lost those games but it's kinda funny they've beaten Cockburn twice, Dickinson, Ohio State's bigs, and North Carolina's bigs.
That really is interesting... id think the 3 point stats must have been significant in those losses
 
Alive and Kicking hit #3 in the fall of 86. You almost never hear it anywhere.

With Dont You Forget About Me the issue was oversaturation. Now removed from it after awhile I am starting to like it again and of course it brings back the warm fuzzies from high school years. I love All the Things She Said and the crazy video. The woman in that and the Alive and Kicking Video sang alot of background on that album and toured with them and they basically made her a band member...her name is Robin Clark and you think you heard of her before she sang background on Bowie's Young Americans.

Also big fan of their earlier 80s stuff before they hit it big...Glittering Prize, I Travel, Love Song, Promised You A Miracle, Up on the Catwalk. The critics didnt like that starting with Dont You (which they did not write), they sort of morphed into a U2 type band and went away from their electronic beginnings for a more radio friendly rock with songs like See The Light which incredibly was hitting #1 on altenative just before grunge took over and Shes a River and Hypnotized were hits on alternative radio even in the 1995 in world full of grunge. I like all of it though. Simple Minds is a criminally underrated band




I actually have the vinyl version of New Gold Dream.....in what looks like gold.
 
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BAC, I have read every write up I can find on this game and yours is the best by far. Keep ‘em coming.
 
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And we still needed a perfect game from Harper and a miracle halfcourt shot to beat them at home.
We were winning for most of the first half and had the lead at half. They took their 10 point lead with 7:50 left on the game until we got back even and then the lead went back in forth the last minute or two. Any team could have won it. You think we played a perfect game. Bullshit. Harper played awesome not perfect shot 10-15 and had 30 points. But Geo was out , Mag had a real good game with 12 , Caleb had 12 , Cliff 11 and Paul was scoreless. We got 5 points off the bench from Oscar and Ralph and nothing else. We were outrebounded 35-27 and had more turnovers 19-17 , we both hit 7 three pointers . Their centers Williams (21) and Edey(13) outscored ours 34-11 . But Ron outscored their guy. Otherwise it was an equal game that could have gone either way and it went in our favor.

Geo is back and I doubt Paul will score 0. The dynamic has changed as Ron doesn’t have to be all everything to keep us in games and give us a chance to win . Your characterization that we were lucky to beat Purdue sounds like they dominated and Ron’s shot was the only reason we won. We went toe to toe with them , our defense was outstanding , and we had the lead until they hit a tough shot with 3.4 seconds left. It wasn’t a fluke win.
 
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We were winning for most of the first half and had the lead at half. They took their 10 point lead with 7:50 left on the game until we got back even and then the lead went back in forth the last minute or two. Any team could have won it. You think we played a perfect game. Bullshit. Harper played awesome not perfect shot 10-15 and had 30 points. But Geo was out , Mag had a real good game with 12 , Caleb had 12 , Cliff 11 and Paul was scoreless. We got 5 points off the bench from Oscar and Ralph and nothing else. We were outrebounded 35-27 and had more turnovers 19-17 , we both hit 7 three pointers . Their centers Williams (21) and Edey(13) outscored ours 34-11 . But Ron outscored their guy. Otherwise it was an equal game that could have gone either way and it went in our favor.

Geo is back and I doubt Paul will score 0. The dynamic has changed as Ron doesn’t have to be all everything to keep us in games and give us a chance to win . Your characterization that we were lucky to beat Purdue sounds like they dominated and Ron’s shot was the only reason we won. We went toe to toe with them , our defense was outstanding , and we had the lead until they hit a tough shot with 3.4 seconds left. It wasn’t a fluke win.
You might have the most scarlet colored glasses that exist in the entire universe lol.
 
You might have the most scarlet colored glasses that exist in the entire universe lol.
Plus Flux, you have been consistent in your fandom with this team. You were pounding the drum that we were incredibly inconsistent like a lot of us were but when others , who shall remain nameless in this thread , called us a bad BiG 10 team when we were 6-5 , you pointed out the record. I went further and called them out. That is my fandom.

Just like that stupid NET formula , which is useful as 1 factor to evaluate teams but clearly not the most important factor. Actually watching the teams is much more valuable and watching the games because final scores and who won and who lost do not tell you the whole skinny on a team.
 
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