My rant on being undefeated (and the stress involved)

• rydawg5

  As I listened to the 97.1 the fan dial, I was hearing a common theme (Bruce Hooley, D. Stanley, Rothman, Riccordati)
  
  THEME: We don't root for it, but we want to get the "loss" out of the way.
  
  What kind of retarded logic is this?
  
  Their educated hypothesis "Because it's never done anymore, we should get our loss now, instead of in the tournament"
  
  However, this is retarded crap.
  
  1) An undefeated team, simply is not a stress or a distraction. Thad Matta won't be calling timeouts with players telling him that the team is struggling because of the stresses involved with being undefeated. Sullinger won't be blaming missed bunny shots because of the streak on his mind. I promise.
  
  2) You don't have to get a loss out of the way. The fear is usually that if you skate through the year unscathed that you're team will not be battle tested or that they will be too cocky to take the teams seriously and have a rude awakening in the tournament. This is not the case at all for this team. Every close call game is a dose of what they need, but you don't have to lose. Like the Northwestern game, this shows them that they CAN be beat. That, even NW can't bring them down if they take them lightly. They know how close it was, and all the other close games for that matter. It doesn't matter if you win or lose these close games. What matters is that you were involved in battles and know what it's like for the game to be on the line. A team that has 30pt wins the whole year MIGHT not know how to react to a close game in the tournament. NO WORRIES HERE
  
  3) Anyone who thinks this way has no business being on an undefeated team. No one is succumbing to the pressures of a record. If anything, winners take glory in it and will play with that same energy and passion the whole year to keep it in tact. They know what it takes and will not stop because they are winners. If you think you need to get a loss out of the way, then you are a doosh.
  
  Thanks.
• FatHobbit

  

  I agree. They are #1 and undefeated. I don't expect them to win the national title, but I am rooting for it. For now I'm just enjoying the ride.
• burt07

  Yeah it's terrible logic. It's what everyone said after Illinois lost to OSU in '05, that "they got their loss out of the way now." Well it made no difference, they still lost the championship.
• vball10set

  
• Fly4Fun

  

  Count me in as another that thinks the idea "Winning" is stressful. It's dumb. Undefeated is not stressful... there's nothing better that winning.
  
  Going undefeated is only stressful if you don't think you belong and are the best. As long as these kids continue to work hard and believe they can do it, no problem.
• cbus4life

  Fly4Fun;665000 wrote:Count me in as another that thinks the idea "Winning" is stressful. It's dumb. Undefeated is not stressful... there's nothing better that winning.
  
  Going undefeated is only stressful if you don't think you belong and are the best. As long as these kids continue to work hard and believe they can do it, no problem.

  
  This.
• ttocs14

  

  I like the saying..."winning is contagious...unfortunately so is losing"
• lhslep134

  

  Great thread dude! Completely agree
• sleeper

  

  Yeah, getting a loss out of the way is stupid. I hope they win the whole damn thing, including the regular season.
• mallymal614

  I never liked the "it's better to lose' approach either. They come up with excuses saying that there will be less pressure come tournament time. NEWSFLASH every team in the tournament is 0-0 when the big dance begins and looking to win a championship. You're going to have a target on your back regardless so why not try to make history when doing so.
• believer

  

  If the Buckeyes were 19-4 right now rather than 23-0 we'd still be on here debating whether or not the Buckeyes have what it takes to make the Final 4, etc.
  
  The fact that Ohio State is undefeated is just icing on the cake.
  
  The Big 10 is very balanced this year and it's naive to believe the Buckeyes will go through the gaunlet unscathed. Naturally all the national Ohio State haters at ESPN, etc. will be delighted about how "the Buckeyes just demonstrated the frauds they trully are" but who gives a rat's ass?
  
  Enjoy the ride fellas...this is fun!
• centralbucksfan

  I don't think anyone can give any exact info on how stressful or not it is on a team to go undefeated. Each and every team is different, has a different makeup, chemistry, etc, etc. I have personally been involved with an undefeated team (not this level, but still relative). And it was simply not a distraction at all. Never even talked about. It was about one game at a time, the next game and not looking ahead. The goal wasn't to go undefeated...it was to win the conference and the state title. Luckily, going undefeated ended up being a part of that goal. So much depends on the makeup of the team, as well as the coach. Its obviously a VERY, VERY difficult thing to do since it hasn't been done in 35 years. On top of that, the amount of talent and parody in college basketball even makes it tougher. One off game, and its over. Could happen now, could happen the second game of the NCAA. The difficulty of taking everyones best shot, having that bullseye is not easy...but it can also be a bonus to keep your team focused. Its really all about living in the moment and not getting caught up in all the national media. Again, not an easy thing. But again, it all depends on how your team makeup is IMO.
• rydawg5

  I've personally been involved with going undefeated in Season and in Tournament in Basketball. Also, had a 1 loss team in Baseball, which we won the tournament. In basketball, the close call games were a wake up call. We practiced dramatically harder, but once the ball was tipped off you WORRY ABOUT WINNING THAT GAME. You don't once think about your record. A switch goes off and you are playing a game. You don't care about anything but the game. You don't care about your girlfriend, your record, your school, nothing.... all that matters is going to war.
  
  I don't know how people think it'd be any different. But I suppose some do?
• CinciX12

  

  I always fail to see how this situation wouldn't just build a tremendous amount of confidence. Why worry about things when adversity hits because you know we have gotten it done every other game and you know you can again? That seems more logical to me.
• Mr. 300

  

  The target on your back should only make you want to play better.
• Big Gain

  If Ohio State loses at Wisconsin it won't be about pressure it will be because it's the most difficult place to play in the country.
• mallymal614

  Big Gain;666850 wrote:If Ohio State loses at Wisconsin it won't be about pressure it will be because it's the most difficult place to play in the country.

  
  Ohio State went 15-1 in the Big Ten in 2006/07. Where was their only loss? You guessed it!
• sportchampps

  i dont want my team to know how to lose (the more you lose the more you learn to except it) I went undeafted in soccer in back 2 back years and i cant say i once thought about it until i had lost and realized it was over
• Con_Alma

  It's only as stressful as they let it be. Stress is self imposed.
• cview

  It is stupid logic. You only hear it in college basketball too. I did not hear anyone saying the football loss at Wisconsin was a good thing. The pressure will be there in the NCAAs regardless of what OSU's record is. IF OSU is fortunate enough to go into the NCAAs unblemished, that would mean wins @ Wisconsin and @ Purdue, as well as what should probably be a pretty solid Big Ten tourney. I think the confidence, resiliency, and whatever else might come with that would be more beneficial than the "Oh shit at least we do not have the burden of being undefeated," thing going on.
• ptown_trojans_1

  

  There is a reason only 1 team has finished unbeaten in the last 35 years. It is nearly impossible to do. Statistically, the odds of them finishing the season unbeaten with the title is slim to none.
  I'd rather them lose 1 this month than March or April, because, as they play each game, the odds of them losing get larger and larger. Makes no sense if they finish the regular season unbeaten, and win the B10 tourney, yet lose in the Sweet 16 or Elite 8.
• FatHobbit

  

  ptown_trojans_1;668199 wrote:There is a reason only 1 team has finished unbeaten in the last 35 years. It is nearly impossible to do. Statistically, the odds of them finishing the season unbeaten with the title is slim to none.
  I'd rather them lose 1 this month than March or April, because, as they play each game, the odds of them losing get larger and larger. Makes no sense if they finish the regular season unbeaten, and win the B10 tourney, yet lose in the Sweet 16 or Elite 8.

  
  I agree if they are going to lose 1 game I would prefer it to be in the regular season. But I don't think it will be relevant come March if they lost a game in February. If they lose in March it will be because of who they played, not because they were undefeated in the regular season.
• mallymal614

  ptown_trojans_1;668199 wrote:There is a reason only 1 team has finished unbeaten in the last 35 years. It is nearly impossible to do. Statistically, the odds of them finishing the season unbeaten with the title is slim to none.
  I'd rather them lose 1 this month than March or April, because, as they play each game, the odds of them losing get larger and larger. Makes no sense if they finish the regular season unbeaten, and win the B10 tourney, yet lose in the Sweet 16 or Elite 8.

  
  Let's look at the past decade and see how much better it is to lose late in the season to win a national championship. Here what happened to the teams that lost last/late.
  
  2010 - Kentucky goes down to West Virginia in the elite 8
  2009 - Wake Forest Blown own by Cleveland State in the first round
  2008 - Memphis falls in Championship game
  2007 - Clemson started 17-0 an didn't even make the ncaa tournament
  2006 - Duke loses in Sweet 16
  2005 - Illinois lost championship game
  2004 - St Joe's loses in elite 8.
  2003 - Duke loses in Sweet 16 again
  2002 - Duke Upset by Indiana even though they had just about everyone back from the year before (2001 national champions)
  2001 - Standford another team that went down int he Sweet 16
  2000 - Standford upset in the second round of tournament
  
  As evident in this statistic, the logic of losing late didn't work for these teams. As I stated earlier in this thread, when the NCAA tournament begins every team is 0-0. What happens in the regular season has nothing to do with the big dance. Teams are going to give you their best shot regardless because they want to win a title. Ohio State winning these games helps them experience how to win a pressure game. I'm all for trying to win every game on the schedule.
  
  "You play to win the game" ~Herm Edwards
• ptown_trojans_1

  

  It boils down to this:
  OSU is not finishing the season with the national title unbeaten. No one has done it in 35 years for a reason.
  So, from that, odds are OSU is going to lose at least once.
  From that, is it better that OSU lose to Wisconsin on Saturday or (insert team) in the national title game or Final Four?
  
  I would much rather have a 1-2 loss OSU team hoisting the national title than an unbeaten regular season and B10 tournament OSU team getting bounced in the Final Four or title game.
• mallymal614

  ptown_trojans_1;668229 wrote:It boils down to this:
  OSU is not finishing the season with the national title unbeaten. No one has done it in 35 years for a reason.
  So, from that, odds are OSU is going to lose at least once.
  From that, is it better that OSU lose to Wisconsin on Saturday or (insert team) in the national title game or Final Four?
  
  I would much rather have a 1-2 loss OSU team hoisting the national title than an unbeaten regular season and B10 tournament OSU team getting bounced in the Final Four or title game.

  
  I'm with you that I rather have a 2 loss National Championship team than an undefeated regular season one. I just don't think the Buck should purposely lose or lighten up in a game where they could lose to do so. If they go down before the big dance, then it wasn't mean't to be. As you correctly stated there is a reason it haven't happened the last 35 years. I just want them to continue to play hard and have high standards. I don't think it is ever good for someone's psyche to say it's best to lose.