Not a typo: 22 points in a loss
Posted: Saturday, November 29, 2008 10:05 PM
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Big Ten
It’s fairly common to score less than 40 points in a loss. Scoring less than 30, not so much. Yet it’s already been done three times this season.
At this rate, we may see a team score less than 20.
This started when Washington State hammered Mississippi Valley State, 76-25, on Nov. 15. The Delta Devils made just 17 percent of their field-goal attempts and had just four players score against the Cougars. Then again, this result wasn’t a surprise considering the Cougars hammered MVSU 71-26 last season.
Last week, San Francisco coasted by the San Francisco Academy of Art, 74-23. Then again, the game was just the second ever for the Academy of Art, which expects to become an official D-II school next year. The Dons wanted to ensure new coach Rex Walters won his debut.
But then there’s Ohio State’s 59-22 win against Samford.
MVSU is 0-8 and working on a 25-loss season. The Dons got to pummel a D-II hopeful. The Buckeyes beat a team that returning three starters from a team that won 14 games in 2007-08. The Bulldogs aren’t an NCAA caliber team, but they’re not a pushover, either.
Except on Saturday. Samford scored just 22 points on 61 possessions, good for .3607 points per possession. The Bulldogs hit 18.8 percent of their field-goal attempts (20.83 eFG%) and just 2-of-18 threes. Throw in 18 turnovers and a rebound margin of 20, and it’s going to be one for the record books.
Ohio State coach Thad Matta wins for understatement of the day.
"Defensively, I thought we gave good effort," Matta told the Columbus Dispatch. "We knew coming in we would have to defend against easy lay-ups and the three-point line. Our primary focus was to take away the three, and I thought we did a good job of that for the most part."
No kidding. Samford had more shots blocked in the first half (four) than made baskets (three). Ouch. That’s how it goes when a Princeton offense doesn’t work.
Only three teams have scored fewer points in a game since 1986 (including Saint Louis’ 20-point debacle last season). The question now: Who's next for offensive futility? (With any luck, it won't be on TV...)
