***OFFICIAL KU VS. OSU GAME THREAD***
 

Let's do this...

Okie Lite favored by 1:
http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-.../date/02-20-13

OSU only favored by 1?

JFC didnt these asshats watch the TCU game or the OU game? OSU is a much better team than either one of those and both of those teams whipped our ass all day long..

OSU can win this game by 8-10.

I'm guessing you guys don't want me on here rooting for OSU this evening?:evil:

By all means come on...

IF KU shows up and plays like they can, it will be a great game...

IF they play like they did against TCU or OU, OSU will run them right out of Stillwater...

I've found over the years that those who think Vegas is wrong, usually are the wrong ones.

Yep

That said, if you like to gamble, take a look at the Kentucky line tonight...seems off by about six points to me.

This is a really interesting matchup. Looking forward to it.

Smart may be the best player in the country.

McLemore has the ability to be the best player in the country on any given night, but he hasn't even been the best player on his own team this year.

I can't wait to see who wins that matchup.

In for a KU win

Huge game tonight.

Maybe they know those two games have nothing to do with tonight? :shrug:

Do you host your own sports talk radio show?

No but I refuse to bury my head in the sand and over look what happened at during that 3 game stretch...

Guess we will see tonight. But this isnt a cake walk for KU... They have to play flawless tonight in order to beat OSU...

Any smart KU fan knows this is not a cake walk.

Huh? Did you mean Smart?

Yes, edited. I even looked at my post, thought it sounded funny, and left it alone. Damn

Markel Brown is very good, but I think he means Marcus Smart

If KU plays like they have the last two games, I think they'll be just fine at the end of the night. No back flips, but walking with a swagger.

I am a Mizzou grad and fan, but I am really looking forward to this game. I really enjoy watching Ben McLemore and Marcus Smart play and I think the game tonight is going to be great in a great atmosphere.

Yeah, I know he does. He's not a basketball fan though, he admitted.

what will KU do about OSU pulling Withey away from the basket?

ROFL

I'm a basketball fan. I'm just more of a football fan. That's not why I said Brown instead of Smart, though. That was just me not being very...um...smart.

Best wishes in joining the Cats atop the standings again.

What CAN you do, really? I spouse you can switch to zone if you're getting killed by it. OSU doesn't really have a big time post presence. You would think Withey would dominate, but he struggles on both sides of the ball when playing teams that play this style.

This one should be fun. Just hope we get solid play from EJ and limit the number of easy shots Smart gets. Can't wait until 8. Rock Chalk!

zone defense off and on throughout the game

make sure you have withey on the worse outside shooter when not in zone

make them pay on the defense end(which means don't allow the 2 small guys to double Withey)

Uh... yes he has.

I'm tired of this whining from some of the players about the back flip. If they didn't want the guy to do a back flip in celebration, they shouldn't have bitched out on their home court and let him walk all over them during that game. Smart can and should celebrate that win however he pleases, it was a big one.

Wow... flawless? We're really giving OSU that much credit here? Look, they're a good team, a really good team, but neither KU nor OSU has to play flawless to win. Chill out with the hyperbole.

OSU played damn near flawlessly - certainly Markel Brown did - last game. If you expect him to go off from three again you're putting a lot of faith in an action that is difficult to replicate.

Withey is much more important to KU's success than McLemore. Does that make him a "better player?" Hard to answer that.

Not if you go by plus/minus. Travis leads the team at 13.2, and Withey/Ben are close at 12.3/12.2.

http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/sta...ason=2012-2013

KenPom has OSU winning by 1. Vegas lines usually correspond quite closely to those predictions.

If KU plays with the renewed swagger they found last week it will be a fun game.

Plus/minus might be the worst statistic in sports. All it factors in is whether or not a player was on the floor. Not A) who was on the floor with him, B) Who was on the floor opposite him, C) what he did on the floor.

I could have a shitty plus/minus because my teammates can't guard Markel Brown. Then both Markel Brown and I sit on the bench. Now my team starts clicking. Then I come back in with Markel Brown and we're outscored. Yay, I got a shitty plus/minus.

Ben McLemore has been the best player on this team, the most complete, the biggest playmaker, the ONLY go-to scorer and a clutch defender.

Withey is by far the best shot defender, releford the best man defender, Young has outclassed the entire league in hustle plays.

But no one has done what McLemore has done. Come on, people, let's not get silly here.

His third game in uniform he dropped 25 points. He isn't as consistent as the four seniors, but he has been the best player.

That's a good question. Is most valuable the same as most outstanding or "best"? You could make an argument there. I think I might still put McLemore as more valuable than withey. If withey comes out, you can do things to make up for his production and defense. You can't replace them - certainly not the defense - but you can change your scheme to cover for the void.

You cannot replace what McLemore does.

I usually just try to ignore silly MUrons when they talk about KU as if they know anything. :shake:

But they really know KU... Saul Good and Prison dude says so...

Eat a bag of dicks, Oklahoma State.

All we have to is not get swept.

Go Osu!

Withey is the best player on the team so far this year. Ben has the higher upside and will become the better player, but Withey as a senior is better than Ben as a freshman.

Withey is on another level defensively. He completely changes the game, and he does it without fouling. It's pretty incredible. He's also an underrated scorer. He shoots a higher percentage that Ben, and he has more points per attempt than Ben. Obviously, he doesn't create like Ben, though.

McLemore is incredibly talented, but he isn't dominant yet. There are times when he does things that nobody else in college basketball can do, but there are other times where he just kind of stands sound and blends into the background. He isn't the defender Withey is. He isn't the rebounder Withey is. You wouldn't expect a guard to be, but he isn't a guy who creates for his teammates particularly well, and he has more turnovers than assists. He really doesn't even score much more than Withey despite the fact that he shoots 26% more often.

Don't get me wrong, I'm being hyper-critical in order to illustrate Withey's relative value. Ben is an amazing player, and it wouldn't shock me to see him go Carmello Anthony in the tournament. So far, though, Withey is the much better player. I don't think Kansas fans appreciate just how good he is.


Withey averages 13.2 ppg while shooting 55% from the field and 70% from the line, 8.4 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 1.6 fouls per game.

Last year, Anthony Davis won NPOTY with numbers that were very similar. They were better, but not by all that much.

Sure, you can change your scheme to try to make up for it but it wouldn't be anywhere close to better. His presence alone forces teams into taking low percentage jump shots rather than attacking the basket. Without Withey, you can't force teams into doing that anymore. I've said he's the most irreplaceable player on the team before and I haven't seen anything that would deter me there.

Wait, are you saying Prison Bitch is a MU fan? I thought he was a KU fan.

And I'm not trying to knock McLemore. He is probably the most impressive pro prospect I've seen in the NCAA this season, other than perhaps Nerlens Noel at his best. But Withey means a lot more to this team.

Perhaps I was a bit harsh earlier. This is actually a very good argument. Nice job, Saul. Are you sure you're not a KU hoops fan? :hmmm:

Grad, even. I just grew up in and live in Missouri.

Saul Good is good people.

Usually has pretty good takes. And is pretty unbiased.

We could probably convert him to crimson and blue fairly easily.

I've watched as much KU basketball as anyone on this board. I just enjoy ****ing with Wickedson and Prison Bitch.

I'm sure I'll be in a bar tonight with a table full of friends who went to KU. (Sometimes they like to go to places that don't have pictures on the menus, so they need someone who didn't go to KU to help them order.)

This board converted me away from them. The Hawks were my second favorite team behind Mizzou for my entire life. When realignment happened, KU fans turned into such bitches that I said "**** it".

Most of the KU fans have gotten over their periods, so it's cool. Wickedson is really the only annoying bitch, and KU fans seem to think he's an idiot, too.

Prison Bitch seems like he just likes to talk shit because he enjoys it. I secretly respect that.

You need to get out a little more if a message board has any bearing on who you root or don't root for.

I know KU fans are an arrogant bunch -- for the most part. But, not all of us are that way.

:spock:

I lived in both states at times when I was young and had no family connection to either school. I always pulled for the local teams...KSU to a lesser extent, even.

un|der|stand|a|ble

Did you attend any of these schools?

"We need a payback type attitude going down there." --Bill Self

In Self I trust. It's difficult to beat him once. Twice? I would think he'll make the necessary adjustments, and the team is playing with the right frame of mind, the right bounce to pull it off.

This was always going to be a hard one to win though, so a loss even if we play well will not shock me.

Im sure there were a million but huh uhs in that statement.

I think over the past 16 years, we've been underdogs an average of about 3x/yr. This will be the second time this year, after the +5 spread at Ohio State. A couple books are putting this as a pick em:
http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-...m/date/2-20-13

It's all good Saul. Come on board. There's room for everyone.

Except for Kentucky last year has Self ever lost twice to the same team in one year?

It's crazy Withey doesn't get more National Player of the Year pub. He's as good as anyone out there.

Storm that court Pokes

he would have more pub if he was a better scorer

Slight alterations to the offense and he would. Oh well. Get this one tonight.

They stormed the court Saturday vs OU when they were ranked and the Sooners weren't.

I can't think of any off the top of my head. At least since he's been at KU.

I secretly love when teams storm the court vs KU. It's so cute.

I know :) Will they bring brooms this time?

Every day I'm Rock Chalkalin'

Not since his first year, when they lost to Texas in Austin and then Dallas in the Big 12 tourney.

Seriously? Wtf?

Seth was giving Gottleib flack for it Saturday on the CBS show. Gottleib didn't disagree

Like dean told Roy: "the day they stop storming the court is the day I start to worry"

You can't foul there, Elijah.

Dumb foul by EJ. Sloppy start for both teams.

Nice start for Kevin.

Great start. Nothing falling but winning anyway. Love getting points the hardway.

Baby face Releford.

STFU Bardo.

So Rio is on the sideline.