Ohio State is set to hit the road tonight, even if that means only traveling to downtown Columbus.
The Buckeyes (8-1) will take on North Carolina A&T at Nationwide Arena at 7 p.m. Ohio State, which is a host school for the second and third rounds of the NCAA tournament, is required to play at least one regular-season game at the site which the tournament games will be played.
"You're in Columbus, but you're not in the Schottenstein Center," Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said Tuesday. "It does have more of a home court feel in terms of the fans. But we're getting ready to go on a stretch where we're going to different venues and hopefully this helps us because you're not in your locker room, that sort of thing."
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina A&T (1-10) | Nationwide Arena | 7 p.m. | BTN |
It will be Ohio State's final tune-up game before it heads to Chicago this weekend to take on No. 24 North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic.
After losing its first game of the season to Louisville, Ohio State has won three straight and is coming off an 87-71 win over Morehead State on Saturday. Despite the 16-point win, however, the Buckeyes weren't pleased with how they played.
North Carolina A&T (1-10) has struggled all season. Losers of their last 10 games, the Aggies' only win of the season came in their opener against Greensboro College.
Opponent Breakdown
It hasn't been pretty thus far for North Carolina A&T, a program which is usually near the top of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Aggies have made the NCAA tournament 10 times in school history with the last time coming in 2013.
The Aggies, who are coming off a 37-point loss to Old Dominion their last time out, only have one player averaging in double figures: junior forward Bruce Beckford at 14.5 points per game. Beckford also averages 8.5 rebounds per contest, so it's clear he is A&T's best player.
The Aggies struggle to put the ball in the basket. North Carolina A&T ranks 341st nationally in scoring (there are 351 Division I teams) at just 56.6 points per game. The Aggies rank 299th nationally in field-goal percentage (39.5) and shoot a dismal 23.8 percent from 3-point range.
Buckeye Breakdown
Ohio State was in the process of running Morehead State out of the gym in its last game, but then the second half happened.
The Buckeyes held a 19-point lead at halftime against the Eagles, but were outscored by three in the second half after Morehead State forced 14 turnovers in the game's final 20 minutes as it was able to hang around, though it never actually threatened Ohio State.
"We were sloppy, we weren’t as sharp as we needed to be really on both ends," Matta said following the game. "We did some things that lead one to believe we weren’t as tuned in as we needed to be.”
The good news for the 12th-ranked Buckeyes, though, is they've got one more shot to clean up some of those mistakes before they travel to take on North Carolina on Saturday at the United Center in Chicago.
The Buckeyes did have four players reach double figures their last time out, which seems to be becoming part of the norm. On the year, Ohio State has three guys averaging double figures (D'Angelo Russell, Marc Loving and Sam Thompson), but also has three more (Shannon Scott, Kam Williams and Amir Williams) averaging at least eight points per game. Scott is also fourth nationally in assists per game with 7.6.
"Everybody has their own role on this team," Scott said. "Everyone has their own role and sticks to it now."
How It'll Play Out
Like most of Ohio State's non-conference games this season, this won't be much of a contest.
All eight wins so far this year for the Buckeyes have come by double digits and the results of this one should be somewhat similar to the rest. But if there's one thing the Big Ten has taught us already this season, no game is ever given.
All Ohio State has to do is avoid looking ahead to Saturday's matchup with the Tar Heels and it should coast to an easy win. For now, that seems to be the focus.
"Right now, we've got to focus on N.C. A&T," Scott said. "We know if we can't beat N.C. A&T, we can't beat North Carolina so we've got to find a way to focus on this game and just get ready for that then we'll take on North Carolina after that."
