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**iam416** · February 12, 2014, 08:14 AM

OSU's chances of winning evaporated earlier than Amir's dumbfuck foul. I can tell you exactly when. It 56-52 with 3 something to go. M missed and OSU actually got the rebound, Amir was fouled and, much to my horror, OSU was in the bonus. As good as a turnover. Amir isn't a bad FT shooter this year, but I knew he'd miss the front end, which he did. M then came down the court and put on a bit of a clownshow offense that somehow resulted in a wide open 3 for Robinson who finally made it. Ballgame. There was no way OSU could come back from 7 down in the final 3 minutes.

**iam416** · February 12, 2014, 08:26 AM

On recruiting front, Ben Edwards, a 4* safety from Florida commits. Damien Harris also decided to visit Columbus.

I think the 2015 class may be as light on Ohio players as I've ever seen. They might only take 3. Now, Crawford is a kid they wanted and he's going to M. Hilliard is a kid they definitely want, but that's a real battle. So they may end up with just 3.

However, their Florida class is shaping up to be, ummm, good.

**WM Wolverine** · February 12, 2014, 08:37 AM

Crawford doesn't sound 100% committed, you might still have a shot at him if you can impress him enough. Hilliard sounds like a bit of a lean to M, from the latest I've heard; which is down slightly from earlier...

Midwest is awful this year in terms of 'top' talent, down year for Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, etc. M might not offer 15 kids in the entire MidWest; in football terms the Midwest being Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa...

**iam416** · February 12, 2014, 08:47 AM

I think Crawford will stick with M. Obviously, if he visits OSU then all bets are off, but I don't see that happening. He wants to play at M, and nothing on the defensive side of the ball has changed. I love his game. His upside is Antoine Winfield 2.0, and that's about as high a compliment as I can pay a DB.

I thought M's chances with Hilliard weren't quite that good. I've "heard" there's probably no favorite at the moment. If there was, I think OSU insiders would say it's ND.

Agree re the Midwest. There is almost no one OSU is pushing for hard in the midwest with the exception of Cornell (definitely more of a longshot) and Sterling Jenkins from Pittsburgh (toss-up). They're hitting Florida really hard and Virginia (welcome aboard, Larry Johnson, Sr!).

**WM Wolverine** · February 12, 2014, 09:24 AM

M is doing the same; offering kids all over with very few in the Midwest. M banked a couple scholarships from '14 to '15 (hooray walk-ons.) Right now they are at 14 but attrition should take them to 17-to-19 and I'd guess at most 7 of those will be from the Midwest. Despite this being a small class, it'll take quite awhile for M to fill up as there are so few kids in M's backyard that are within driving distance to visit Ann Arbor...

M's 'junior' day (they have about 1 a month) is coming up in a couple weeks, I think that'll give a lot of us a good idea who in '15 has interested in M and vice versa.

**hack** · February 12, 2014, 10:08 AM

Originally posted by iam416 View Post

OSU's chances of winning evaporated earlier than Amir's dumbfuck foul. I can tell you exactly when. It 56-52 with 3 something to go. M missed and OSU actually got the rebound, Amir was fouled and, much to my horror, OSU was in the bonus. As good as a turnover. Amir isn't a bad FT shooter this year, but I knew he'd miss the front end, which he did. M then came down the court and put on a bit of a clownshow offense that somehow resulted in a wide open 3 for Robinson who finally made it. Ballgame. There was no way OSU could come back from 7 down in the final 3 minutes.

Yeah, for sure. Robinson's 3 was the dagger and the missed front end made it possible.

LOL @ the use of the phrase ``clownshow offense''. I think it was the very next series of possessions, that ended with LeVert's missed corner 3, that was very clownshowish, but I don't remember what led up to the Robinson 3 and whether it was like that or now.

**iam416** · February 12, 2014, 10:12 AM

It was something where OSU almost had a steal -- they laid hands on a number of M passes in the 2nd half that didn't result in TOs -- and the resulting convergence on the ball left Robinson open.

Now, that was a clownshow possession. M ran fairly smart offense in the 2nd half. OSU aspires to be clownshow.

**iam416** · February 12, 2014, 10:15 AM

M is doing the same; offering kids all over with very few in the Midwest. M banked a couple scholarships from '14 to '15 (hooray walk-ons.) Right now they are at 14 but attrition should take them to 17-to-19 and I'd guess at most 7 of those will be from the Midwest. Despite this being a small class, it'll take quite awhile for M to fill up as there are so few kids in M's backyard that are within driving distance to visit Ann Arbor...

M's 'junior' day (they have about 1 a month) is coming up in a couple weeks, I think that'll give a lot of us a good idea who in '15 has interested in M and vice versa.

Yeah. I think Hoke is really going to have to earn his stripes this year. He's going to have to be successful outside his regional comfort zone.

Ironically, Michigan actually has a decent number of players in-state, but MSU is sitting there in good shape for a number of them.

Oh, and M needs more attrition than just 3 or 4. Heh.

**hack** · February 12, 2014, 10:20 AM

Originally posted by iam416 View Post

It was something where OSU almost had a steal -- they laid hands on a number of M passes in the 2nd half that didn't result in TOs -- and the resulting convergence on the ball left Robinson open.

Now, that was a clownshow possession. M ran fairly smart offense in the 2nd half. OSU aspires to be clownshow.

Yeah. I've got to go back and see how it was done, because I perceived it as mostly a defensive victory until realizing how well UM scored in the second half. I thought it was mostly about Walton leaving Craft alone and OSU's 3s just not falling. But Michigan really did score very well in the second half.

**iam416** · February 12, 2014, 10:35 AM

The 12-0 run from 37-43 to 49-43 was done in the space of 2-3 minutes and basically involved scores on 5 or 6 straight possessions -- maybe 1 stop. Several offensive rebounds led to scores, I'm sure. But overall M shot well in the 2nd half and when they missed generally got the rebound.

**hack** · February 12, 2014, 10:46 AM

Yeah. I do recall looking up at 49-43 and thinking how fast it was to that point. I was expecting the typical slow progression of building a lead, but OSU's offense sucks to start and it was a cold-shooting night. It's no surprise Michigan spotted OSU the first five minutes and still managed to control the game, given that. Damn well better have. The talent gap between the two teams is massive. I still like the Matta approach.

**The Oracle** · February 12, 2014, 10:48 AM

What, the small stretch 4? ;)

**hack** · February 12, 2014, 10:52 AM

The ``defending like a motherfucker'' thing. You can't ignore the talent gap. On paper, considering talent only, that's a team we should utterly destroy.

Those players aren't developing, though. LQR gets more shots this year, certainly. More room to show himself. But Craft has regressed big-time on offense it seems. Scott and Thompson and Williams are the same players this year, it seems from last night. I've only seen OSU two other times this year and not forfull games, but that's what it seems like to me.

**Hannibal** · February 12, 2014, 11:04 AM

I was really surprised at how OSU got pwned on the boards last night. Laziness?

**The Oracle** · February 12, 2014, 11:15 AM

Helps to get 24 from your 4 guards.

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