The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary » Brandon Paul

Counting Down the Top Ten Players in B1G Hoops

Tim Shoemaker — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 13:14:42 +0000

People like lists.

Whether they agree with them or not, people still enjoy reading lists.

Basketball is the ultimate team sport. But, at the same time, it is one that can be taken over by a single player. There have been some incredible individual performances over the past couple of seasons in the Big Ten and this year should bring more of the same.

The 2012-2013 season seems to have the Big Ten as strong as it’s ever been. Three teams (Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan) are all ranked in the top five in preseason polls.

On those great teams obviously are some outstanding players. So here are my top ten players in the Big Ten conference for this upcoming season.

10. Brandon Paul (SG, Illinois)
Those unforgettable individual performances from last season I mentioned earlier in this column? Yeah, Brandon Paul had one of those when he lit up … [Read More]

tBBC B1G Basketball Roundtable – Part Two

WVaBuckeye — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 17:46:28 +0000

With basketball season rapidly approaching and a lot of information to digest from around the conference, I thought it was high time we hear from bloggers representing them. We finish off the series in roundtables with our last seven today! We hope you enjoy the feature and give us plenty of feedback, and be sure to check out Part One.

Introducing our comrades from around the B1G we start off with Rick Reese of the Iowa Blog Black Heart Gold Pants; Brian Rosenthal, Lincoln Journal Star writer and Husker Extra writer; Penn State writer for StateCollege.com Ben Jones; Philip Rossman-Reich writer for Lake the Posts ; Jonathan Foster, writer for From the Barn, one of my favorite B1G blogs.

I honestly had issues trying to round up bloggers for TTUN and for the Fighting Illini, and have the only Michigan fan I like helping out in Giuliano, (So Fla Wolverine to … [Read More]

Pregame Glance II: Illinois

Joe Dexter — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:01:02 +0000

Game Number two of the season series between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Illinois Fighting Ilini rolls on tomorrow night on ESPN/ESPN3 at 7 PM ET. The Buckeyes look to put two losses in their last three games behind them.

Meanwhile, the struggling Illini look to a repeat performance from Brandon Paul the last time these two teams met. After a in depth look at Bruce Weber’s fighting Illini earlier in the year, It’s time to get you updated on what’s happening lately.

: Can Brandon Paul Do It Again?

It’s Ugly in Urbana:

For Buckeye fans squirming in their seats the last few weeks, remember that at this point of the year, Illinois fans have become accustomed to long, drawn out losing streaks at the end of the season.

Head coach Bruce Weber is yet again on the hot seat, after his squad has lost 8 of the last … [Read More]

Buckeye Basketball Breakdown: Hot Hands

Eric — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:00:47 +0000

Many of you probably could have guessed, had you know that a Basketball Breakdown was pending, that this would be the topic of choice for this week. For those that couldn’t, you probably didn’t see the incredible 43 point display that Illinois guard Brandon Paul put on the Buckeyes on Tuesday night. You don’t necessarily want to watch the highlights – it’s pretty gory.

Let me start out from the get-go by saying that scoring 40+ points in a game is an incredible feat. Much applause to Mr. Paul for pulling it off, particularly against the #5 team in the country (at the time). There’s a reason the Buckeyes are ranked so high, and solid defense is one of them. Scoring that many points against a sound defensive team makes it just all the more impressive.

But how can it happen? How can such a sound defensive team allow a … [Read More]

Brandon Paul Carries Illinois to Victory in 79-74 Thriller

Joe Dexter — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 04:23:27 +0000

It was the Brandon Paul Show in Urbana-Champaign on Tuesday night. Shot after bone crushing shot. Open Look, double teamed — it didn’t matter. 43 Points later, the Fighting Illini flashed their talent and fought down to the wire, as they were the better team when the game mattered. After dominating the second half, the Orange and Blue earned their first win in the last six tries with a 79-74 upset of #5 Ohio State.

Tonight was a battle of mismatches, pinpoint three point shooting, and runs throughout.

It started with five turnovers early for the Illini, as Ohio State took a 10-4 lead off one of those early giveaways on an Aaron Craft layup. Defensively, it looked like the Buckeyes had the advantage in the paint. Starting 4 guards, Illinois went straight to the block early to Meyers Leonard early and he impressed. After scoring four straight points, including … [Read More]

Ohio State defeats tough Illinois 73-68

Eric — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:21:03 +0000

The Buckeyes and Illini collided in Urbana-Champaign in one of the toughest matchups the Buckeyes had faced all season. The Buckeyes demonstrated that they may be the real deal, coming back from eight down in the second half to beat the Illini 73-68 away from the friendly confines of Value City Arena. The Bucks rode Jared Sullinger’s 27 points and 16 rebounds to the tough fought win, his ninth double double for the season.

Illinois started out of the gate fast and strong. The Illini began with a tough man defense and did not commit to the double team of Sullinger except when Jared possessed the ball below the basket. The strategy allowed the Illini to be aggressive in all other phases of defense and open up a quick lead by forcing turnovers. The Bucks didn’t stay down long, though, finding second chance points in the paint and a long … [Read More]