The Drought is Over
Caleb Downs scores Ohio State’s first punt return touchdown since 2014.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Playing in the Big Ten, there aren't too many things Ohio State head coach Thad Matta hasn't seen. His opponent Thursday, however, is quite a change of pace.
"It's a unique style both offensively and defensively," Matta said Wednesday of Virginia Commonwealth during his pre-game press conference. The Buckeyes will face the Rams Thursday in Portland in the second round of the NCAA tournament. "There's not a lot of teams that play the way that they play."
Matta, of course, is referring to the Rams' famed style of play known as Havoc. It's a full-court, in-your-face pressure defense that causes mass amounts of turnovers as well as headaches for opposing coaches and players.
"They're a team that likes to pressure a lot," said Ohio State senior point guard Shannon Scott, who will see plenty of Havoc as one of the Buckeyes' main ball handlers. "They're going to want to speed me up, get me going places I don't want to go. I have to remember to stay cautious, not force anything. Just let the game come to me."
That's certainly easier said than done, though. It's hard to simulate VCU's pressure and pace in practice. Luckily for Scott, he's got a running mate in the backcourt by the name of D'Angelo Russell. Perhaps you've heard of him.
Rams coach Shaka Smart is well-aware of what Russell has achieved this season.
"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," Smart said. "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."
Handling the pressure is half the battle against the Rams, though. Ohio State must also defend the 3-point line pretty well if it wants to beat VCU. Nearly 40-percent of the Rams' attempts from the field come from downtown.
It's a huge reason why VCU was able to win four games in four days last week to capture the Atlantic 10 tournament title despite closing the regular-season losing three of its last four.
"They did put on a clinic in the A-10 tournament," Matta said. "They had that one stretch against Davidson, I don't think I've ever seen a team catch fire like that."
VCU's style is certainly something the Buckeyes don't see night in and night out playing in the Big Ten. We'll find out if the change in pace and style is a good thing for Ohio State come Thursday evening.
"We got to try to limit their transition points, get back on defense," Ohio State senior center Amir Williams said. "We watched a lot of film over the past couple days and we see what they're going to do offensively as far as pushing the ball. We have to try to make things uncomfortable for them on the defensive end and keep them out of the paint."
