Craig Davis
Sunday's Lineup
25 Dime ---- PURDUE
10 Dime ---- KINGS
PURDUE --- As many of you know who have been with me for some time, I’m a huge Ohio State fan. I was born and raised in Ohio and have followed all things Buckeye since about 1982. It’s not often I miss a selection when picking on or against this team, but I’ll admit I stubbed my toe yesterday backing the Bucks as eight-point dogs to Michigan State. OSU used 53% shooting from the field and 9-of-16 shooting from downtown to bury the Spartans in the second half, 82-70. I’ll tell you this much… if these two laced up the shoes tomorrow, Michigan State would likely win by 10 or more. The Bucks just happened to catch fire at the right time and MSU wasn’t hitting anything from beyond the arc.
Folks, I love the Buckeyes, but they just aren’t that good. They’re young and inexperienced and their best defender, David Lighty, has been out since December with a broken foot. OSU was lucky to beat Wisconsin (down 54-47 with about four minutes to go) and very fortunate to clobber Michigan State… but the luck must run out at some point and that’s going to happen today. Position for position, they just aren’t as talented as Purdue. Aside from Evan Turner, OSU just doesn’t have that “go to” player to rely on like Purdue does. If Robbie Hummel isn’t hitting, they Boilers can always rely on E’twaun Moore to pick up the slack. If he’s struggling, Keaton Grant usually steps up. You see, Purdue simply has more quality depth in their starting five and on their bench and they’ll roll the Buckeyes this afternoon in Indy.
It’s been a nice run for the Bucks… good enough to lock them in to the Big Dance, but not enough to win the Big 10 Tournament Championship. Purdue and Ohio State recently played in West Lafayette on February 28 and the Boilers could do no wrong, torching the Bucks 75-50. The other meeting between the two resulted in an overtime win for OSU in Columbus, but Purdue didn’t have Robbie Hummel available in that one. He’ll be healthy this time around and should be too much for Ohio State to handle. For what it’s worth, Ohio State just doesn’t play well on Sundays, covering just once in their last eight games played on Sunday. Purdue cuts down the nets at Conseco Fieldhouse Sunday, winning 72-61 over Ohio State.
BOUGHT,PAID AND CONFIRMED------------- GL GUYS