The Drought is Over
Caleb Downs scores Ohio State’s first punt return touchdown since 2014.
After a year littered with inconsistencies, Ohio State still has one final opportunity to right the ship and somewhat salvage its season. The NCAA tournament is finally upon us.
"We’re ecstatic and we’re excited," Buckeyes senior forward Sam Thompson said Sunday upon learning Ohio State would face VCU in its opening game today. "This is the best time of the year. This is what we came to Ohio State to do is play in the NCAA tournament and have a chance to compete in the month of March."
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| VCU (26-9, 12-6 A10) | Moda Center (Portland, Ore.) | 4:40 ET | TNT |
The Buckeyes are the No. 10 seed in the West Region. The Rams drew the No. 7 seed. The winner likely gets a matchup with second-seeded Arizona in Portland on Saturday.
It's one of the more intriguing second-round matchups in the entire NCAA tournament field as the Rams bring their Havoc defense to the table to go head-to-head with one of the top guards in the country, Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell.
The Buckeyes have been up-and-down all season. Now would be an inopportune time to have one of their letdowns.
Opponent Breakdown
VCU makes it no secret what it wants to do to other teams: press, trap and create chaos on the defensive end. Havoc, if you will.
As a result, the Rams are one of the most entertaining teams in the country to watch. They force 16.2 turnovers per game, good for 10th in the nation. Most of those turnovers forced come via the steal, where VCU ranks third in the country at 9.7 per game.
"Obviously you know the reputation of the pressing and the trapping and shooting a ton of 3s," Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said.
The Rams have been playing without their defensive anchor, though, for the last six weeks. Briante Weber, the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, was lost for the season Jan. 31 against Richmond after suffering a torn ACL and MCL. VCU's Havoc simply hasn't been the same without Weber in the lineup.
Still, the Rams have a plethora of other athletes they throw out there to make it difficult on opposing teams. However, they don't start anybody taller than 6-foot-8 and the lone bench guy they have with any sort of size is just 6-foot-7.
Treveon Graham leads the way for the Rams as their leading scorer at 16.3 points per game. Graham, one of those athletic 6-foot-6 wings, is also the team's leading rebounder with seven per contest. Melvin Johnson, a 6-foot-3 guard, scores it at 12.3 points per game. Guard JeQuan Lewis and forward Mo Alie-Cox are the only two other guys who average better than seven points per game.
But when playing VCU, you also have to worry about the 3-point shot. Despite not shooting a great percentage as a team (34.2), the Rams don't shy away from letting it fly from deep. VCU averages 23.7 3-point attempts per game and makes an average of just over eight of those. Nearly 40 percent of the Rams' field-goal attempts come from behind the 3-point line.
Buckeye Breakdown
For Ohio State, it might be time for D'Angelo Russell to grab the reins full-time and tell everyone else to get out of the way.
The Buckeyes have been plagued by inconsistency all season long and in Chicago at the Big Ten tournament, that showed again. Ohio State played well and won an up-and-down game against Minnesota in the opening round, but then was manhandled in a quarterfinals loss to Michigan State.
One more loss would end the Buckeyes' season, so it may be time for Russell, Ohio State's star freshman guard, to take over more than he ever has.
"Russell is as dynamic as a guard as there is in college basketball. He's obviously going to be a phenomenal player at the next level," VCU coach Shaka Smart said Wednesday. "But for right now, he's one of the best in all of college basketball, not just at scoring, but at making plays for his teammates and the way he does it so efficiently."
Russell was good, not great, in the Big Ten tournament. He averaged 21 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, but he shot just 14 of 32 from the field and made only 6 for 18 from behind the 3-point line. Russell also committed eight turnovers in the pair of games.
He'll need to be better if the Buckeyes want to knock off VCU, but his teammates have to give him some help, too. Freshman forward Jae'Sean Tate averaged just six points and 5.5 rebounds per game in Chicago and sophomore forward Marc Loving only scored three against the Spartans after finally looking like himself again following a 12-point performance against Minnesota.
"As of right now, we can't worry about what's happened the past couple days," Ohio State point guard Shannon Scott said. "We've got to worry about VCU."
How It'll Play Out
This game will come down to two things as if often does with VCU: Can Ohio State take care of the basketball and can it limit the Rams from the 3-point line? If the answer to both of those questions is yes, the Buckeyes should find a way to advance to the next round.
The problem is, VCU's style is so difficult to prepare for in practice. It's hard to actually gauge what playing against that style is like until you actually get out on the floor and experience it firsthand. That's why the first 10 minutes or so are so crucial for Ohio State. If the Buckeyes can show they can handle the pressure early on, they should be fine. If Ohio State comes out and turns the ball over frequently early in the ballgame, things could get out of hand.
All things considered, this game seems to be pretty even on paper: both teams have distinct advantages. As it often does in the NCAA tournament, the team which makes the fewest amount of mistakes will come out on top.
"We just want to play our best basketball," Thompson said. "We all feel like we've sort of been given new life. Everybody is 0-0 and it's a one-game season and we're excited about it."
