Shine.... you want some of this?

[BraveFan]

The Buckeyes continued their roll so far in '05-'06 with a 100-plus point performance over PSU last night.... setting the stage for a SHOWDOWN with the Hoosiers Saturday on CBS (HD, baby!). This is fucking OLD-SCHOOL and I love it!!!

Here's my end of the bet:

If OSU wins (yes, that's a big "if"), Shine wears the following sig for the rest of January.

Thad Matta and the Buckeyes officially own the state of Indiana.... just ask Mike Davis, Charlie Weis, Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Walter Offut and, for that matter, anyone affiliated with the Indiana basketball or Notre Dame football programs (Indiana football is not worthy to be mentioned here).

Come up with something for me and the other Bucks in the hoops forum.... and it's on, mothafucka!

[FLW Buckeye]

IN. Lets get it on.

How long on the sig. Nothing near as long as the fugging Texas sig from the CFB board...damned thing felt like a boat anchor.

[L45B]

Count me IN as well.

I would suggest we keep the sig until the second meeting, but unfortunately, this is all the Big Ten schedulers would let us have this season.

[Shine]

I'm in, but would ask that you tweak the sig to exclude any references to ND, a team I prolly hate more than most.

As for the game, I think it'll be a good one but I think the talent edge of IU coupled with the home crowd is enough to overcome the coaching edge tO$U has. The teams are polar opposites with IU being strong inside and their guards being the weak spot, tO$U the exact opposite with really only Dials on the inside. The key for an upset will be can the Buckeyes help down on D and still recover to the shooters. I think they'll do an adequate enough job but just not enough. A team like Illinois will give IU fits though. IU has stepped up their perimeter D recently so the looks for the Bucks won't be as open as they've been getting, which should lead to a lesser FG% and a loss.

That said, I won't be shocked at all if Thad totally outcoaches Davis for the W.

[BraveFan]

I understand. Had a feeling you might not like the ND stuff. I was just trying to cover the entire state of Indiana. How about this... through the month of January:

Now that Thad Matta has arrived, the Buckeyes officially own Indiana basketball.... just ask Mike Davis, Greg Oden, Mike Conley or Walter Offut

For us, it could be something like:

Ohio State has a cute little basketball team, but they're clearly not yet ready to play with the big boys like Indiana.

- - -

I agree with your assessment of the game for the most part. Dials has been very inconsistent this season.... perhaps even taking a step back in his development. We've got a Soph named Terwilliger who has stepped in at the 5, but he's really a versatile 4 trying to do what he can as a big man.... no way he can stop Killingsworth underneath. Vaden and White will also be hard for our guys to contain.

Our guards are some of the best in the country. I think you'll be amazed at the development of Je'Kel Foster. We also exchanged Fuss-Cheatum and Tony Stockman for Ron Lewis and Sylvester Mayes..... which has been a huge upgrade. Both of those guys have gotten better as the season has progressed..... looked unstoppable against PSU last night. Jamar Butler is turning into a flat out stud Big Ten point guard..... wouldn't have ever thought I'd be saying that this time last year.

The other guy you'll be surprised with is JJ Sullinger. He has really looked like a man amongst boys at times.... adding a very accurate jumper to his arsenal. I'm very interested to see what he brings to the table in Bloomington -- obviously, the team's biggest test so far.

Matt Sylvester still sucks, but don't let him get open late in the game if OSU is down by 3 or less.

On a related note, I just confirmed the devastating news that I will not be able to watch the game here in Maryland. I thought it was the only national game.... but apparently, LSU is playing UCONN and somehow that game is supposed to have more interest here. I'm going to listen to it over the internet and hope UCONN blows LSU out so they switch over in the 2nd half (don't think that will happen... LSU is too good). Because it's a CBC game, the Full Court package doesn't carry it. Talk about a kick in the balls....

[Shine]

Do what I did the 5 years I lived in VA and this shit happened, hit up a sports bar. Outcome aside it'll prolly be worth it as I expect a very good game.

The key will probably be how Dials can handle having to guard both Killingsworth and White. Both teams will employ more of a 4 guard look so IU can swap out two legit post men to Dials flying solo. A potential wildcard is Ivan Harris, who hasn't done shit this year or his career really but a guy I still think has a world of talent. Both teams play deep in the backcourt so fatigue shouldn't be an issue, although AJ Ratliff may be dinged up for IU. And of course I worry a great deal about Matta being a real coach and Davis being well, Davis.

[BraveFan]

I thought about the sports bar thing, but then I figured that the local sports bars would have the same problem. I guess I could call around and see which sports bar has an old-school type of satellite.... because I don't think DirectTV with local CBS affiliates will get it done.