I'll be honest, I thought this game was tomorrow, hence the late forum set up.  Regardless, we know what's coming.

Johns Hopkins is a national power, a Big Ten lacrosse contender, and has already beaten Ohio State once this year.  As a very short recap, the last game against the Jays saw Ohio State finally start to find its legs on offense.  Nothing crazy, but some better movement, better shooting, and just a solid game offensively that really sparked the latest run from the Buckeyes.

Hopkins, meanwhile, has had a different path since defeating the Buckeyes 13-10 in Maryland.  The Jays dropped a 14-12 decision to Penn State, defeated Michigan in a 10-9 squeaker, then lost again in triple overtime to Maryland to cap off the regular season.  Not going to predict it's an easy W, but the Jays certainly are reeling today.  

The previous Hopkins preview broke down the Jays in depth, so instead of rehashing (not much has changed, offense is good, defense is meh, the Jays are crazy talented), let's take a look at 3 key matchups.

#1: Justin Inacio vs Hunter Moreland.  

This is the beginning and end of the Ohio State effort.  Against Moreland in the loss, Inacio went 19-27, showing the growth that would be a staple of the Buckeyes' 3 game winning streak to make this tournament.  Inacio needs to repeat this performance, and maybe even be better, to really give the Buckeyes a good chance at the W.  Inacio can absolutely do it.  We'll see if that takes OSU a step closer to the NCAA tournament.

#2 OSU D vs Hopkins' attackman

The last preview detailed how deadly the Jays' starting attackman were, and in the loss those 3 players accounted for 7 goals and 3 assists.  Cole Williams especially was a handful for the Buckeye defense, and they'll need to clamp down on him tonight.  And, as always, Shack Stanwick is a monster behind the net.  He had all 3 assists, and he will absolutely be key tonight.

#3 Colin Chell and Jack Jasinski vs Hopkins' D.

These two upperclassmen have been key to the Buckeye resurgence to close out the season.  Combined, these two accounted for a single goal against Johns Hopkins in a fairly close loss.  Chell and Jasinski have filled the scoresheet of late, which is good news.  But they will have to keep it up for the Buckeyes to have a chance.  Hopefully there isn't a reversion to the "All Leclaire, all the time" offense that plagued the team in the middle of the season.  

Bonus: Jackson Reid played well in the last matchup, so if the Buckeyes can get him and Leclaire playing off each other, look out.  The skip passes will be amazing.

Amateur prediction: Buckeyes advance, 11-9.