March is finally upon us.
The brutal months of winter are officially in the rearview mirror and spring is right around the corner. But, perhaps more importantly, March's arrival means one of the greatest events in sports is on the horizon: the NCAA Tournament.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purdue (19-9, 11-4) | Schottenstein Center | 7:30 p.m. | BTN |
Selection Sunday is two weeks from today and Ohio State has plenty of time to improve its resume. The Buckeyes have had an up-and-down season to say the least, looking like one of the country's most dangerous teams when at home and one of the Big Ten's worst on the road.
One of those opportunities for Ohio State to bolster its tournament resume comes this evening when the Buckeyes welcome Purdue to the Schottenstein Center. The Boilermakers, who are also fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives and are just as desperate for a win, won the first meeting between the two teams back on Feb. 4, 60-58, in West Lafayette.
Opponent Breakdown
There isn't a team in the Big Ten playing better basketball right now than the Boilermakers. Purdue has won four-straight games and eight of its last nine to hold its spot in the Big Ten standings where it is currently tied for second with four league losses.
The Boilermakers have been doing it with defense, too. In nine of its last 10 games, Purdue has held its opponents to 67 points or fewer. The Boilermakers allow just 64.4 points per game on the season and allow opponents to shoot just 40 percent from the field.
Purdue's defensive anchor is junior center A.J. Hammons, a front-runner for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year who averages nearly three blocks per game. The Boilermakers also have another 7-footer, Isaac Haas, who can rotate into their lineup.
Against the Buckeyes in the first meeting, Hammons had seven points, seven rebounds and seven blocks. But it was Purdue's Rapheal Davis who was the difference maker with a 20-point, six-rebound performance.
"They’ve got a good blend of young and old and when you have Hammons inside and (Haas)," Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said. "They’ve got a very good balance so I think that makes them dangerous team.”
Buckeye Breakdown
After dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season, Ohio State looked like its normal self again the last time it took the floor in an 81-57 rout of Nebraska.
The Buckeyes put four guys in double figures, led by Jae'Sean Tate's career-high 22 points. D'Angelo Russell left the game with just over 12 minutes to play due to leg cramps and did not return to action. Matta said Saturday that Russell would be good to go tonight against the Boilermakers.
“I think our main focus right now is just getting ready for the postseason and just playing our best basketball now. There’s no more room now just to have an off night.”– Shannon Scott
The Buckeyes won't have graduate senior big man Anthony Lee for the fifth straight game, however, as he continues to be sidelined by a groin strain. The tough task of going up against Hammons and Haas now falls solely on the shoulders of Amir Williams and Trey McDonald inside.
“I just go out there and play the game, just go out and continue to play basketball," Williams said of his matchup with Hammons. "Don’t think too much of it, just go out and play.”
In the first go-round between these two teams, Ohio State was without its second-leading scorer, Marc Loving. Loving has since returned to the Buckeyes' lineup, and he knocked in a pair of 3-pointers in their rout of the Cornhuskers on Thursday. Matta is hopeful that's a sign of Loving getting back into the swing of things after his suspension.
"Seeing Marc bang a couple 3s Thursday night, I am hoping like crazy that he is back and ready to go," Matta said. "His defense was 100 times better Thursday than it was Sunday. Hopefully he is hitting his stride."
How It'll Play Out
For the Buckeyes to get one of those top four spots in the Big Ten Tournament, they'll likely need to win out. With two of their final three games at home and the one road game being against Penn State, that's certainly not an impossible task.
The Boilermakers have a bit of a tougher road, though, with their next two games on the road and all of their final three against teams in the top half of the Big Ten. To say this is an important game in the standings might be an understatement.
In the first meeting, the Buckeyes were completely out of sync offensively as they were held to just 58 points while shooting only 42 percent from the field. Ohio State made four of its 15 attempts from 3-point range, and Russell was just 7 of 18 from the field.
The Buckeyes are a totally different team at home, though. They are 17-1 on the season and have only had one game (a 71-65 loss to Iowa) decided by single digits all year. That could very well be the difference in tonight's game.
"I think our main focus right now is just getting ready for the postseason and just playing our best basketball now," Ohio State senior point guard Shannon Scott said. "There’s no more room now just to have an off night. We know if we have an off night there’s a chance that we might not make the NCAA Tournament so we’ve got to play our best basketball now.”
