One step forward, two steps back.
Ohio State hopes to avoid that situation Tuesday night.
Despite a two-point loss to Virginia last week, the Buckeyes played well on the road against a top-tier opponent. On Saturday, however, Ohio State did not look all that great in a win over Fairleigh Dickinson.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Atlantic (2-5) | Value City Arena | 7 p.m. | ESPN3 |
With another mid-major opponent in Florida Atlantic on tap Tuesday evening at Value City Arena, the Buckeyes look to take a step in the right direction as opposed to the wrong one as they continue to progress toward the Big Ten season.
“I think they knew we didn’t play as well as we wanted to play in the game [against FDU]," Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said Monday. "We played, obviously, well enough to win the basketball game, but there were certain things that we wanted to do in that game that we didn’t get accomplished for whatever reason."
It's the final warm up for the Buckeyes before back-to-back games against Connecticut and No. 2-ranked UCLA, so it's important Ohio State (7-1) rebounds quickly against the Owls.
“I want to see us have just a little more energy to us," Matta said. "It’s sort of that it factor. What is it? I don’t know, but I know it when I see it. We’ve had it at times. We had it for five minutes of the game the other day.”
Opponent Breakdown
Florida Atlantic enters Tuesday's matchup sporting just a 2-5 record as losers of two-straight games. The Owls' lone win of the season against a Division I opponent was a 78-62 victory over South Florida on Nov. 22.
Ranked just No. 239 in KenPom, Florida Atlantic is another low-level mid-major for Ohio State and the final tune-up for the Buckeyes before they play Connecticut and UCLA in back-to-back games. The Owls are just 239th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency and 247th in defensive efficiency. Florida Atlantic averages 75 points per game and shoots it well from behind the 3-point line as a team, hitting 38.1 percent of its attempts on the season.
The Owls have four players averaging in double figures with junior center Ronald Delph leading the way at 12.1 points per game. Delph, a 7-foot big man in the middle, also averages 9.4 rebounds per game.
Freshman forward Jailyn Ingram (11.1 ppg.), sophomore guard Nick Rutherford (11.0 ppg.) and junior guard Gerdarius Troutman (10.6 ppg.) also average in double figures for Florida Atlantic.
Buckeye Breakdown
Matta didn't exactly get the performance he was hoping for out of his team Saturday. The Buckeyes were fresh off a tough loss at Virginia, and Matta was hoping his group would come out firing on all cylinders against a lowly Fairleigh Dickinson side.
Instead, Ohio State led by just one at halftime as the Buckeyes were sluggish in the opening 20 minutes. Things blossomed to a 17-point lead early in the second half before Ohio State hung on to win by eight, but it was an underwhelming performance overall.
"I just feel like we knew going into the game that we needed to get woken up and we needed to have more pep in our step and have more fire," junior center Trevor Thompson said. "I feel like we have learned because starting off slow and stuff like that, having a one-point lead to a team that shouldn’t be in the game with us, it kind of showed us that we can’t start off halves like that because once we go against good teams we can’t start off like that.
"Our biggest thing was just growing from the first half and coming out strong in the second half.”
It's important to keep in mind Ohio State has not been at full strength for the last five games as it remains without starting forward Keita Bates-Diop, who is still recovering from a high ankle sprain that occurred in the Providence game. Matta said Monday that Bates-Diop is doing more in practice recently, but again put him as a game-time decision for Tuesday's matchup with Florida Atlantic.
It'd be a bonus if the Buckeyes could get one of their best players some minutes prior to those upcoming matchups with the Huskies and Bruins.
"Most importantly, I want to get him healed and I want to get him healthy," Matta said. "Trying to get Keita, if it’s a week, two weeks, three weeks or maybe even a month until he’s back to where he’s 100 percent, that’s a good thing for us. Yeah, I’d love to get him in some games but I don’t want to use a game as a tryout if he’s not capable of playing because the other guys at 100 percent are probably better than him at 80 percent.”
Kam Williams started the last five games in the absence of Bates-Diop, and the redshirt junior guard is averaging 12.8 points per game in those starts. Currently, the Buckeyes have five players averaging in double-figures for the year — including Bates-Diop, who has only played three games this season.
Jae'Sean Tate leads the way averaging 14.0 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Williams (12.6 ppg.), Marc Loving (11.8 ppg.), JaQuan Lyle (10.9 ppg.) and Bates-Diop (10.3 ppg.) round out the Buckeyes' top scorers.
It's been a balanced attack thus far for Ohio State, and it certainly appears this team is built to be that for the entire season.
How It Plays Out
With back-to-back games against UConn and UCLA looming, it's important for Ohio State to play well in its final "tune-up" game. The Buckeyes want to have as much momentum as possible heading into those two matchups.
Florida Atlantic is a team Ohio State should beat by close to 20 points; the talent disparity is that great. KenPom gives the Buckeyes a 97 percent chance to win this game and predicts a 24-point win for the home team.
It'd be a bit surprising to see Ohio State struggle in the first half for a second-straight game against an inferior opponent, so we see the Buckeyes rolling to 8-1 after this one as they prep for a pair of big games in the next week.
Tim's prediction: Ohio State 78, Florida Atlantic 60
