Podcast – @Bucknuts247 Beat Writer @SteveHelwagen on Kenny & JT Show / @OhioStateFB

This is the Kenny and JT Show on News Top 14-80, W-H-V-C.

Yeah, the book guys should still be dancing, but they're not JT.

They are a one in done and 8-9 matchup, down 15 and a half.

Come all the way back, take a 5-point lead, 20-point turn around.

But down the stretch, they could not get it done and they are a one in done.

And to talk all about it is the man who covers the book guys at Bucknuts.com.

He's on this show on a regular basis.

We love having him. Steve Hellwagon joining us. Steve, let's start with the first half.

What happened in that first half where it looked like the book guys weren't ready to play today against TCU?

Yeah, I think that TCU to start the game used their girth, which we had kind of talked about how they were not necessarily a tall team, but a physical and a strong team.

They had three power forward to basically in the starting lineup.

All of them in the 6-7-2-32-40 range.

And those guys really took advantage of some things and were able to get down close to the basket and score.

You know, Ohio State had problems with that.

And then as they took the pain away, those guys in particular, Xavier Edmonds and Micah Robinson, they stepped out and started hitting three.

And you're just sitting there scratching your head like, you know, how can you stop this team?

And then at the other end, the physicality was really impacting Ohio State.

They could even hardly run an offense.

And, you know, they got it close at the end of the half, but then the final four minutes, no field goals, no points, got out scored 11 and nothing to end the half.

And suddenly, they're down 15 and a terrible hole at half time.

And, you know, to their credit, you know, as you said, they did come back, mounted a big comeback and got back in the game, but not enough to finish it off, obviously.

Steve, as I watched that game and I was thinking about what I wanted to ask you, I thought I would come up with, it was really the tale of three seasons.

It was Lausy, they were on the bubble, and now they've busted.

But more I think of it, the more I think about this team, I think, wait a minute, if they were Lausy at the beginning of the season.

And they played kind of poorly today.

My question to you is, was the moment too big for Jake Debler?

You know, I think there's a lot of people out there wondering that because the final play, obviously, they weren't able to get Thornton in any kind of position to get a good look at the basket.

I mean, you have four seconds left, that's almost an eternity.

So, you've got to find something better than that to get somebody, a clean look at the basket, whatever it might be.

I thought, for them to inbound the ball to Tilly, and then he ended off back to Thornton, the inbounder, interesting, although it frees Thornton that, you know, no one's gardening when he's out of bounds, obviously.

You know, freed him up to come get the ball, but that just seemed like a lot of wasted time.

I think you, like, remember the old Evan Turner shot?

Nope, they inbounded the ball to Evan Turner, you know, and he caught it.

Now Michigan played into their hands that day, 16 years ago, or whatever that was by not guarding Turner deep in the back court.

He got a free run going forward and was able to get into the front court and let the ball go and make the shot.

But Thornton, there were two defenders in his neighborhood, and they kind of harassed him a little bit.

And not sure if he was supposed to then make another pass up the court to somebody else, but it didn't come together, it didn't work out.

They lost the game, 66, 64.

A lot of reasons they lose this game, as I said, I mean, you know, you can't get bullied like that in the first half in an NCAA tournament game.

And that comes back to roster construction. You just didn't have, you know, they had three of those guys, Ohio State didn't have any.

So it's kind of like, you know, this game was won when Jamie Dixon brought in three of those guys with strength and physicality that really just took the ball to the basket against Ohio State.

Jamie Dixon's not a Hall of Fame coach, but he's been around. So coaching advantage definitely went towards Jamie Dixon because I thought Steve that the buckais did not look prepared for the trap that TCU put on, especially, you know, Thornton in the first half.

And I thought they were horrible boxing out the first half gave up a lot of offensive rebounds. And to me, I'm going to put a lot of that on coaching, not being ready for that and having to wait till half time to make the adjustments.

Yeah, I think that first half they did everything they could to take through Thornton out of the game. And he wasn't able to overcome it, you know, where he ordinarily just into the lane and can make some shots.

He just was not able to get into any kind of a rhythm in this game ended up three of nine, which is very uncharacteristic, only 10 points for a guy that was averaging 20 points a game.

I mean, you know, if you didn't care who won this game, it was an exciting game going back and forth at the end. And, you know, I think for Ohio State fans, you know, it was great to see their team get off the mat and come back and, you know, and make a game out of it.

I mean, very promising to see by them, you know, making game changing type plays and this kind of thing during that comeback and royal and mobility, but, you know, again, you got to be able to finish it off and, you know,

TCU to their credit, their last possession, they held it for almost the full shot clock. And then punch, you've just been ripping them apart, put it down on the block to Edmund.

Somebody said that Edmund was in the lane for about seven seconds between, between when he entered the lane and when he scored.

So, you know, if you're going to let somebody stand in the middle of the lane, like Zach Eadie used to do for Purdue, then, you know, it's kind of a hard thing to defend.

But, that's, you know, them's the breaks that's life in the big city. This is the NCAA tournament.

That's right. We really appreciate you joining us. We know you're real busy. We start thinking about the offseason, Steve Helwagon with Bucknuts.com.

My question to you is, you're only losing, basically, Tilly and Thornton off this team. They're the two seniors that you're really going to talk about.

How do you go about keeping, do you keep a royal, do you have to renegotiate, basically, with Moby and you mentioned Biden.

He's only a freshman as well. I mean, are these guys that you want to, you know, put the team center, a team around, or is it, you know, a matter of, how do we keep these guys?

Yeah, I think there's upside for all of them. I think, you know, royal now has this three years of experience.

You know, it was a bit of a stretch for him to go from playing power forward to small forward. You know, he didn't have meetings at the kind of great year that he wanted to have.

Moby led the big 10 to 3 point shooting 41%. You've got to keep him for his third year and Biden, you know, by the end of the year, he looked like a really good player.

So I think with so much upside. So I think you find a way to keep those three guys in particular.

You know, anybody else, you know, is replaceable essentially. So, you know, if the price is too high, you just, you know, go get somebody out of the bargain bin and, you know, do that.

But you've got to go get a lead guard. There's no doubt about it to replace Thornton.

And you've got Josh Ogyunwana, who was on the bench, Baylor transfer out all season with a knee injury.

He'll probably be the starting center next year, but you might need a big man to head against him, you know, being healthy the whole season.

So they got some needs. They'll get into the portal. They're bringing in Anthony Thompson, the McDonald's, all American to play on the wing and another guy, Alex Smith.

There'll be another body inside 610 yet. So, you know, I think that you just fill in the spots as needed, depending on who's coming, who's going.

Get your price tag on the guy, not their price tag, and those are roster the best way you can.

Steve Hellwagon, our guest from Bucknotts.com, breaking down Ohio State's lost 6664 to TCU today.

And Steve, not only the buck guys lose by two, Wisconsin in a 512 matchup. They get upset by one.

And what is it about the big 10, and once they get into the tournament, and they haven't won a national championship in so long, Steve, do they beat the crap out of each other and wear each other out?

And by the tournament time, they have nothing left?

You know, I think that might be a very good point that, you know, you think about, they're the only, well, I guess the ACC is also doing coast to coast travel now with those California teams.

But, you know, the travel, you know, and everything, you know, you're, you're jamming all these games into a tight window.

And, yeah, I just think it gets to be a bit much, I think, for these guys, and they get a little bit wrong out.

But, you know, I can't, there's no one reason why different things, different years, but it is a grind, I think, for these teams to go through this.

But, it's a physicality of the play and the travel and everything else that goes with it. It's a little bit difficult, but, you know, they've got Michigan and Illinois and Purdue.

I think they've got a chance to get deep in this tournament, and we'll see if one of them can, can make a run to the final four.

Steve, we know you're busy, you got to run, we appreciate the time today covering March Madness, the Buckeyes on 14, bow out in the first round today.

We'll be looking tonight and tomorrow on Bucknuts.com, reading the story, looking for all the interviews and everything.

Thanks so much for joining us, we appreciate it.

All right, guys, take care.