Ohio State rebounded from its first loss the season with a win over Colgate, but maybe not quite in the way it wanted to.
Against a one-win Raiders team, the Buckeyes struggled in the first half on the offensive end. The end result was a 20-point win for 12th-ranked Ohio State, but it certainly didn't feel like a quality performance.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Point (6-2) | Schottenstein Center | 7 p.m. | ESPNU |
"I feel like we can definitely be playing better as a team," senior center Amir Williams said Tuesday. "We’ve got a couple guys who are just trying to get themselves together still on the offensive end and on the defensive end."
The Buckeyes will have another opportunity tonight to regain the momentum they had prior to the nine-point loss to Louisville last Tuesday when they host High Point at the Schottenstein Center.
Opponent Breakdown
High Point isn't like a lot of the other teams the Buckeyes have hosted in the non-conference. The Panthers are a legitimate threat to win the Big South and make the NCAA tournament.
High Point enters tonight's game with a 6-2 record on the year. Its only losses came at Richmond (by 12 points) and at Clemson (by three). It comes to Columbus having won back-to-back games.
The Panthers are led by 6-foot-8 combo forward John Brown, who enters tonight's game averaging 19.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He's High Point's tallest player, but does a multitude of different things for a team which has two additional double-figure scorers in guards Brian Richardson (11.1 ppg.) and Devante Wallace (10.9 ppg.).
"They've got a great player," Matta said. "My man's getting 20-plus every time he takes the floor and we're not going to hold him scoreless, but can we do a good job on him?"
High Point does struggle to shoot the ball from 3-point range, though, shooting just 31.3 percent as a team on the season. That's something that could play heavily in favor of the Buckeyes and their 2-3 zone defense.
But even with the shooting woes, Matta is still convinced tonight's matchup will be a solid test for his team — calling High Point the second-best team Ohio State has played this season behind Louisville.
"We knew that going in," Matta said. "I view this team as a team you could see in March in the NCAA tournament winning their conference. I think our guys know that — they respect the fact that we've got a battle."
Buckeye Breakdown
After starting off the season at an absurd rate on the offensive end, the Buckeyes have come back down to earth in their last three games and it has shown, especially in the Louisville loss where they scored just 18 first-half points.
But perhaps what's been the most interesting development of late with Ohio State is Matta's decision to go with a relatively young lineup with three freshmen on the floor down the stretch in tight games.
Senior point guard Shannon Scott sat the final eight minutes in the Buckeyes' furious comeback at Louisville and Scott and senior Sam Thompson sat on the bench Saturday against Colgate as the game remained close the majority of the way before Ohio State eventually pulled away with about five minutes left.
“In practice, we keep showing Coach that we can play those ending minutes but at the end of the game I just think that was our night," freshman Jae'Sean Tate said Tuesday. "It wasn’t about who’s younger, who’s older. Freshman or senior, it’s just five guys who wanted to play and wanted to finish the game.”
The playing time of the upperclassmen in certainly something to keep an eye on going forward because if Ohio State wants to make any type of run in March it's going to need its senior leaders, Scott and Thompson, to be on the floor at crucial moments.
How It'll Play Out
High Point certainly isn't a team full of scrubs. In fact, it has very capable players and, like Matta said, has a realistic shot to make the NCAA tournament this season.
But with that said, Ohio State has a significant advantage in nearly every level of this game and should be able to earn a comfortable victory.
The Buckeyes may struggle during the first half and the game will likely be relatively close come halftime, but fully expect Ohio State to pull away in the game's final 20 minutes.
"The thing I like about this team is if you don't want to bring it to practice one day you're going to look really bad," Matta said. "Let's face it, we were trying to beat Colgate on Saturday and beat High Point (tonight), but we're ultimately trying to become a better basketball team every time we take the floor. It's not early, but it's still relatively early in the season so from our perspective, the more we can get guys into the flow I think the better we'll be in the end."
