It's not something Ohio State fans have seen much of in recent years, but it's the reality of the 2015-16 season: The Buckeyes are playing in the NIT.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akron (26-8) | Value City Arena | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
And just three days after Ohio State was bounced from the Big Ten tournament by Michigan State — the Buckeyes' third loss to the Spartans in three weeks — it begins its journey in the NIT, the consolation tournament for those teams not selected to play in the NCAA tournament. Ohio State is a No. 3 seed and hosts sixth-seeded Akron on Tuesday night at Value City Arena.
"As I’ve always said with this group, having an opportunity to continue to play is a good thing," Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta said Monday. "Had a good practice today and I like these guys in the gym. [Tuesday] night is just another opportunity for us to get better.”
A deep NIT run would certainly benefit Ohio State, as this is a team that will return every single player next year. The more experience, the better, Matta says.
Opponent Breakdown
Matta didn't mince his words when speaking about the Zips on Monday evening.
"Quite honestly, I think they should have been in the NCAA tournament," he said. "Not sure how they got a six seed in this tournament."
Akron is 26-8 on the year and was one Buffalo 3-pointer away from punching its ticket to the big dance. After winning the Mid-American Conference title outright, the Zips fell to the Bulls in the championship game of their league tournament, 64-61, on a game-winning triple with just two seconds remaining.
This is certainly no pushover for Ohio State. Akron is as good a mid-major as there is in college basketball.
Leading the way for the Zips is junior Isaiah Johnson, a 6-foot-10 big man who Matta called "unbelievable." Johnson is Akron's leading scorer and rebounder averaging 13.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Antino Jackson (11.9 points per game) and senior forward Reggie McAdams (11.4 points per game) also average in double figures for the Zips.
Akron will let it fly, too. The Zips rank second nationally, averaging 30 3-point attempts per game, making an average of 11.8. Matta compared Akron to the likes of Big Ten foes Northwestern in Michigan in the way which it runs its offense.
“Fifty-two percent of their field goal attempts are 3s and just trying to get our guys to understand that they will pull from anywhere at any time," Matta said. "They run great actions and they’ve got a great balance of inside-out. It’ll be a unique experience for our guys just in terms of how they play.”
Buckeye Breakdown
Things certainly didn't end the way Ohio State hoped in Indianapolis. The Buckeyes were routed by Michigan State in the quarterfinals and thus had their NCAA tournament hopes dashed in pretty crushing fashion.
It was a total dismantling by the Spartans and it was a game in which nothing really went right for Ohio State. None of the Buckeyes' players, outside of maybe freshman point guard A.J. Harris, really played all that well.
There's clear disappointment from Ohio State that it did not make the NCAA tournament, but now it must shift its focus toward this NIT game. The Buckeyes are probably one of the better teams in the field, but will they be motivated to play in something that's not what they're accustomed to?
"We’ve got a great opponent [Tuesday] night in Akron so our focus [Monday] was just sort of let’s get back to the basics here and continue to work the fundamentals as we’ve done really the last month and a half of the season," Matta said. "I think it’s an opportunity to play another basketball game for this team and let’s see how we do.”
The last — and only — time Matta coached in the NIT with the Buckeyes, his team went on to win the title. That was way back in 2008, but even though there were differences in the two teams, Matta said the deep tournament run benefitted his team in the long haul. Ohio State's coach is hoping that is the case again with this group.
“I think that looking back on that those guys kind of got on a roll and really enjoyed the experience we had going through it," Matta said. "That was a great thing for our program back in 2008 when that happened.”
How It Plays Out
Ohio State is the more talented team in this one and if the Buckeyes have completely bought into making an NIT run I think they can win this game comfortably. But nothing has been that simple with Ohio State all season and how it responds will ultimately decide this one.
Defending the 3-point line will obviously be a big key in this one and the Buckeyes have been pretty solid in that department all season as opponents are shooting just 34.1 percent against them from deep on the year — which was fifth in the Big Ten. But there have been a few times when teams got hot against Ohio State and when the perimeter defense was bad, it was really bad.
It may take the Buckeyes a little while to wake up, and once they realize they're in a tough game, they likely turn it on in the second half. Akron keeps it close throughout, but in the end Ohio State pulls it out and advances to play the winner of the Florida-North Florida game.
Tim's prediction: Ohio State 71, Akron 66
