No more UMass-Lowell. No more Sacred Heart. No more Campbell.
Tonight, it's officially on.
The Ohio State basketball team has been largely untested through its first five games of the season. The Buckeyes have won every game by double digits and four of their wins have come by at least 17 points.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| at No. 5 Louisville (5-0) | KFC Yum! Center | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN |
But they're not playing the mid-major teams listed above anymore, at least not tonight. What lies ahead for 14th-ranked Ohio State is a road trip to fifth-ranked Louisville as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
"I'm definitely looking forward to the atmosphere," freshman guard D'Angelo Russell said. "I'm more prepared for the game than anything and just being prepared — I started preparing myself (Sunday). Just trying to lead from start to finish and trying to be a positive influence to all the other players around me no matter if it's bad adversity or whatnot, just try and be positive."
The Cardinals, who enter tonight's 9:30 p.m. showdown with an identical 5-0 record, are one of the premiere programs in all of college basketball. They have a Hall of Fame coach and are just two years removed from a national championship.
It will be the ultimate test for a Buckeyes team that really hasn't been challenged yet and a chance for head coach Thad Matta to see where his team — comprised of mostly seniors and freshmen — stands early on this season.
Opponent Breakdown
Anyone familiar with college basketball will tell you it's no secret what Louisville does.
Head coach Rick Pitino's teams will play aggressive, in-your-face, full-court pressure defense in attempts to try and turn opposing teams over as much as possible. The Cardinals are also consistently relentless on the glass and pride themselves on being among the best rebounding teams in the country.
This year is no different.
In fact, Louisville enters tonight's top-15 matchup as the No. 1 rebounding team in the nation, grabbing 48.8 rebounds per game. Headlining that group is All-American big man Montrezl Harrell, who leads the Cardinals in both scoring (17.4 points per game) and rebounding (8.8 per game).
"That's going to be one of the keys. They do a tremendous job of getting on the glass and not only getting putbacks but keeping balls alive, knocking them out and those types of things," Matta said. "They have a very unique team in terms of how they play so that's something that we've got to attempt to do a great job with."
It possesses a huge problem for the Buckeyes, who have switched to a 2-3 zone this season and are allowing opponents to grab nearly 12 offensive rebounds per game. Louisville is third in the country, averaging 17.8 offensive rebounds per game.
It's safe to say this game will likely be won or lost on the glass.
Buckeye Breakdown
While the Cardinals may display the advantage in the front court, Ohio State may have the edge in its backcourt.
Senior point guard Shannon Scott and Russell, a freshman from Louisville, have been one of the top starting duos in all of college basketball through the season's first five games.
Both have the ability to handle the ball to combat the Cardinals' pressure defense and both will have size advantages in their matchups to pass over the top if need be.
"We've played against pressure guards before. They have great players and we know that we're going to really have to be on our 'A' game if we want to win the game and we understand the way they like to play. Once we watch a little bit more film on them and work on that in practice we'll be ready."
After shooting over 60 percent from the field as a team for the first four games, Ohio State finally came back down to Earth in its last game against James Madison.
The Buckeyes are still No. 2 in the country in field-goal percentage at 56.7 and are still hitting nearly 42 percent of their tries from 3-point range. If Scott and Russell are able to get their teammates open looks, Ohio State has proven more than capable of being able to knock them down so far this year.
How It'll Play Out
It's hard to imagine an Ohio State team with four freshmen in its rotation that haven't played on the road yet strolling into an environment Pitino expects to be one of the loudest ever and getting a win.
But the Buckeyes know if they can at least play Louisville even on the glass, take care of the basketball and make their open shots they have a shot to pull the upset.
Ohio State knows it's a long season and a game in early December is essentially meaningless in the grand scheme of things. But after playing five games against teams with inferior talent and size, it will be nice to see how the Buckeyes matchup against one of the best teams in all of college basketball.
"(Tonight) at the conclusion of the game we'll know a little bit more about our team," Matta said. "We'll be a better team coming out of it."
