Don't get Chris Holtmann wrong. He's happy with No. 23 Ohio State's 4-0 start. He understands how difficult it can be to go on the road and beat both Cincinnati and Creighton.
But, as the coach of a relatively young, relatively inexperienced team, he's cautious to heap too much praise on his group. Holtmann wants to see development just as much as he wants to continue to see the victories.
"The biggest thing we want to continue to challenge our guys with is let's make sure winning doesn't get in the way of progress and growth," Holtmann said after Sunday's win against South Carolina State. "And I think that our guys understand that you can win and still not play quite like we need to play, and sometimes you can lose and that gets clouded because maybe you play better than what you did when you won. So, we're trying to make sure winning doesn't get in the way of progress and growth. I think that's important for a young team in a new season."
| Who | Where | When | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samford (5-0) | Schottenstein Center | 7 p.m. | BTN Plus |
Ohio State didn't have to deal with that balance last season. The Buckeyes lost three of four games to Gonzaga, Butler and Clemson in November. This year, there's a decent chance they won't lose a game until at least December.
So, Holtmann said he emphasized the need to continue building the habits of how he wants the team to play on a consistent basis at halftime of Sunday's game.
"Can we continue to reinforce the habits of how we want to play possession by possession," Holtmann said. "I think that's the only way you consistently get better is your team embraces that and more guys understand what they have to do on each possession to play a certain way. We want to have a great commitment on both ends every possession."
Ohio State will have a chance to both continue to build winning habits, and to continue to extend its winning streak to begin the season when it takes on Samford, a fellow unbeaten team, at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Schottenstein Center.
Opponent Preview
Samford didn't enter the season with high expectations, whatsoever. After going 10-22 last season, the Bulldogs were picked to finish eighth in the 10-team Southern Conference by both coaches and media. Three of the top four scorers on last year's team graduated and the fourth transferred to Arizona.
To begin the season, though, Samford has rattled off five wins, already reaching half as many wins as it had the entire season last year. It's the first time the team has won five games in a row to start the season since 1997-98.
The Bulldogs' opponents – North Alabama, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Miles College and Cleveland State, the team that Ohio State will face on Friday – haven't come close to the Buckeyes' level, but Samford has won every game by at least nine points.
Samford utilizes a balanced offense, with four players who average at least 11 points per game. Ruben Guerrero, a transfer from South Florida, will test Ohio State's interior defense. He's a massive center, standing 7-foot, 240 pounds, and leads the team with 17 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. He shoots an efficient 66 percent from the field. It will be imperative for Kaleb Wesson to not only avoid foul trouble, but to go at Guerrero – who has picked up four fouls in Samford past two games – and get early fouls on the big man who the offense runs through.
Josh Sharkey, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound point guard, averages 7.8 assists per game, but also has 4.4 turnovers per game. Ohio State must keep someone on Brandon Austin when he spots up from distance, since he has hit 15-of-33 3-pointers in the first five games. Samford has shot 40.6 percent from beyond the arc, making 7.8 triples per game.
Ohio State Preview
Ohio State doesn't have a single player averaging more than 12.8 points per game, but that hasn't been a huge problem for the team that has puts up 82.8 points per game. For a group that added so many key players this offseason and needed multiple roles players to become important cogs on this season's team, it's impressive how well players have found their roles so quickly.
Still, Holtmann wasn't pleased with how often his team coughed up the ball against South Carolina State. It's an area of concern that cropped up during the exhibition, but one that didn't bother Ohio State in the first three games of the season.
"We moved the ball and shared the ball really well at times," Holtmann said after Sunday's win. "We are still turning it over too much, and I thought we were inconsistent with our defensive approach, mindset, details, all of that. So, we've got to be better in those areas, and we definitely need to be better on taking care of the ball, and we need to get better quickly because we have a team coming in in two days here that's very, very capable. They're off to a great start."
Sunday's win against South Carolina State kicked off a two-week, five game home stretch that will include matchups with Syracuse and Minnesota, which will kick off Big Ten play.
Games back in Columbus offer the Buckeyes a chance to get back in front of a home crowd after facing Cincinnati and Creighton on the road early this season.
"I feel like we've got to keep coming out and just keep producing," Wesson said. "It's nice coming home. Your fans (are) rowdy. I feel like more fans came even though it wasn't that good of a game. But just seeing your fans, being home, being able to see the people you love, is great."
How It Plays Out
Samford, the No. 268-ranked team by KenPom, is a 23 1/2-point underdog to Ohio State, the 29th-ranked team per KenPom. Despite the low ranking, the Bulldogs will be a much tougher matchup for the Buckeyes than South Carolina State and could give them trouble if Kaleb Wesson gets in foul trouble and Kyle Young has trouble with Guerrero.
Ohio State should move to 5-0, but don't be too surprised if Samford hangs around longer than many people expect. The Bulldogs are off to an impressive start, and Tuesday's game is their first chance to take down a team from a major conference.
Prediction: Ohio State 83, Samford 65
