Ohio State vs. Tennessee

Sweet 16 Preview

The Ohio State Buckeyes shook off a slow start and took care of Georgia Tech to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.  Ohio State’s defense was the key as they limited Tech big men Gani Lawal and Derrick Flavors to eleven and ten points respectively.  On offense, Jon Diebler caught fire in the 2^nd half ending the contest with 20 points.  Evan Turner bounced back from a disappointing first game with 24 points, 9 boards and 9 helpers.  Versatile forward David Lighty chipped 18 points and was key to the victory  with his post defense.

Next up for the Buckeyes on Friday night is a familiar tournament foe in the Tennessee Volunteers.  The Buckeyes defeated Tennessee in the 2007 NCAA Sweet Sixteen 85-84 after trailing by 20 points in the 1^st half.  This game could potentially be a thriller as well with intriguing individual match-ups.   

 The Vols narrowly escaped San Diego State in the 1^st round and dominated Cinderella Ohio with their length and athleticism.  In the 83-68 victory over the Bobcats the Vols were led by the versatile duo of JP Prince and Scotty Hopson (son of former Buckeye great Dennis Hopson).  Prince scored 18 points and Hopson chipped in 17pts.  During the regular season UT was led by Hopson at 12.5 PPG followed by Wayne Chisum who scored 12.3 PPG and 7.2 RPG. 

Prediction:

Despite the departure of stud forward Tyler Smith, the Vols have managed to play very well as JP Prince has become an intricate part of the team’s success.  Tennessee offers athleticism and unlike most teams will be willing to get out and run with the wings of the Buckeyes.  Scotty Hopson is a smooth scorer while Wayne Chisum can play on the perimeter and underneath the basket.  The key for Ohio State will be to limit easy baskets and force the Vols into a slower pace.  Behind Evan Turner, Ohio State is much more efficient in half courts sets than the helter skelter style of Tennessee. 

Match-ups:

Brian Williams vs. Dallas Lauderdale- Advantage Ohio State: Lauderdale will limit Williams with his long arms and will control the glass.  Dallas knows his role and is very good at it.  The key will be him staying out of foul trouble.

Wayne Chisum vs. David Lighty- Advantage Ohio State: On paper the advantage goes to Chisum with his length and ability to score in a variety of manners.  However, the ultra tough Lighty is used to giving up height but is a great athlete who is incredibly strong.  Lighty will limit Chisum on the offensive end and attack him with his penetration.

Bobby Maze vs. Jon Diebler- Advantage Ohio State: Diebler is simply a much better player than Maze.  Given the athleticism and size of Ohio State, the Vols will be forced to place Maze on Diebler.  Diebler will give space to the penetration game of Turner and if Tennessee collapses he will rain a barrage of 3’s.

Scotty Hopson vs. William Buford- Advantage Tennessee: Hopson is a tremendous scorer who will have his hands full with the mid range game of Buford.  Hopson will get his points and get the better of Buford who struggled in the 2^nd round.

JP Prince vs. Evan Turner- Advantage Ohio State: Bruce Pearl will likely put Prince on Turner in an attempt to slow down the best player in the nation.  Prince is long and athletic but will not be able to prevent Turner from getting to the rim and setting up his teammates.   Look for Turner to have a tremendous game and get Prince in foul trouble.

Bench: Tennessee has a better bench but does it matter?  The bench is one of the most overrated facets of the game.  If Ohio State used their bench extensively with little results then UT would have an advantage.  The fact is four of the five Buckeye starters will likely play close to forty minutes. 

Score: It may not be pretty but the Buckeyes will advance to the Regional Final with a 77-66 victory.

Stemavo Rheulus, Senior Writer

The 2010 NCAA Tournament

A User’s Guide to the Midwest Region.
Predicting the NCAA Tournament is the most difficult sport to prognosticate.  The upsets are there but it’s almost impossible to select the correct games.  The 2010 tourney may be even more difficult as parity has infiltrated college basketball.  However, in the Midwest Region the higher seeds should dominate.  Get ready to view the greatest spectacle in sports.  The following is a guide for your office pools:

Favorites: There are three teams that could win the Midwest region- Kansas, Ohio State, Georgetown.  Kansas leads the Midwest region and are the likely favorites to cut the nets down in St. Louis on their way to Indy.  Despite being slated as the #1 overall seed Kansas is in the toughest region.  The Jayhawks will have their hands full in the 2nd round against the winner of UNLV/Northern Iowa.  The Panthers of Northern Iowa are 28-4 in the tough Missouri Valley Conference.  The #2 seed Ohio State Buckeyes are on a roll and are led by the best player in the nation in Evan Turner.  # 3 Georgetown is extremely talented with versatile big man Greg Monroe.  If they come to play they could make a trip to the Final Four.

Possible Upsets: The UNLV/Northern Iowa is an 8 vs. 9 toss up but not a real upset either way.  #10 Georgia Tech behind Derrick Favors will give # 7 Oklahoma State fits.  This should be a back and forth tilt with the Pokes getting the victory behind stud SG James Anderson.  For the Midwest bracket go with the chalk in the 1st round except for #11 San Diego State over #6 Tennessee.  The Aztecs are very talented with four scorers in double figures including fabulous freshmen Kawhi Leonard.
Prediction: The Jayhawks will be challenged in the Sweet 16 by Maryland but will survive.  Ohio State will go down to the wire in the 2nd round against Oklahoma State and prevail with Evan Turner making plays down the stretch.  In the Sweet 16 OSU will get past a tough G-Town team and face Kansas in the regional finals.  In what will be a very entertaining game, Kansas’ size and the point guard play of Sherron Collins will be the difference sending Kansas to the Final Four.

For many people across the nation, this is the most thrilling couple of weeks in sports. The 2010 NCAA Tournament will tip-off tonight with the play-in game between Arkansas Pin Bluff and Winthrop, and on Thursday the Tournament will come to the forefront of American sports coverage with the 1st round games beginning at noon Eastern Time. The state of Ohio is well-represented once again this year with the Big Ten Champion Ohio State Buckeyes, the Mid-American Conference Champion Ohio Bobcats and the Xavier Musketeers all participating in the Big Dance in 2010. DFN Sports is once again on top of the NCAA Tournament with coverage of each game and all 65 teams including Ohio State, Ohio and Xavier. Check out the links to all 3 of these schools’ NCAA Tournament preview capsule below for more.

> 2010 Ohio Bobcats NCAA Tournament preview

> 2010 Ohio State Buckeyes NCAA Tournament preview

> 2010 Xavier Musketeers NCAA Tournament preview

Ohio State Basketball Season Review and Big Ten Tournament Preview

 The Ohio State Buckeyes ended the season as the #1 seed in the 2010 Big Ten Tournament.  The #5 Buckeyes stumbled early in the Big Ten season but when All-American Evan Turner was back at full strength, the team flourished.  Ohio State stood at 14-6 after blowing a big lead at West Virginia.  They rebounded and finished the season 10-1 with their only loss coming to Purdue 60-57.

The Buckeyes head into the post season led by Evan Turner who should sweep all major Player of the Year awards including the Naismith and Wooden trophies.  Turner finished the regular season averaging 19.5 PPG, 9.4 RPG and 5.8 APG.  He is a phenomenal player who can win games for the Buckeyes down the stretch.  Sophomore William Buford, 14.3 PPG, drastically improved as the season progressed.  His silky smooth mid range jumpers are a thing of beauty and he is also a very good athlete in the open court.  The glue of the team is RS junior David Lighty.  Lighty, who played in the 2007 National Championship game, is a defensive stopper who can guard four positions and can score in the open court as he averaged 12.4 PPG.  Sharpshooter Jon Diebler had a very good season averaging 12.6 PPG which included 41.9% from beyond the arc.  The team lacks an inside presence on offense but junior center Dallas Lauderdale patrols the paint on the defense end.  His long arms and good timing make it difficult for opposing centers.  The bench is shallow with only Kyle Madsen, PJ Hill and Jeremie Simmons seeing any real playing time.

The team’s biggest weakness could show up in the Big Ten tournament and certainly in a week on the big stage of the NCAA tournament.  Head Coach Thad Matta’s critics point out that he rarely develops a strong bench as was evident in several blow out wins when the starters remained in the game.  If the team can stay out of foul trouble and avoid fatigue they can cut down the nets in Indianapolis, twice.

Big Ten Tournament:

Opening Round: The tournament tips off on March 11th with Iowa facing Michigan.  The winner will move on to face Ohio State on March 12th at noon.  The second game will tip 30 minutes later as Northwestern faces undermanned Indiana.  The night cap features Tubby Smith’s Golden Gophers of Minnesota against Penn State.    Michigan, Northwestern and Minnesota will advance to the quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals (March 12th): Ohio State will face an athletic and dangerous Michigan team that gave them problems in both contests this season including a 73-64 loss in Ann Arbor.  In what will be a close game, the Buckeyes will prevail and advance to the semifinals.  Wisconsin and Illinois will tip off 30 minutes after in what will be the best game of the quarterfinals.  The Illini could need a win to enter the NCAA tournament.  The teams split the two games in the regular season with each winning on the road.  In what will be a very physical game, the Badgers will advance to face Ohio State on Saturday.  Purdue will battle Northwestern in what will also be a very heated contest.  The Boilermakers are still adjusting to life without Robbie Hummel.  Even without Hummel they will advance to the semifinals.  The Spartans of Michigan State will battle Minnesota in what should be a close game.  The Golden Gophers still believe they should be in the NCAA tournament and a win over Michigan State could propel them into the dance.  The last time they met was a thriller in Minnesota as the Spartans escaped with a 65-64 victory.  It’s difficult to pick against Tom Izzo in the tournament but Minnesota is very hungry.  In what will be a classic, Sparty escapes with a narrow victory.

Semifinals (March 13th): Ohio State will battle a tough Wisconsin team at 1:40 on Saturday.  The Badgers and Buckeyes split the regular season with each team winning on their home court.  This will be a grueling contest but the athleticism of Ohio State will be the difference.  The Big Ten’s best player, Evan Turner, will have a monster game as the Buckeyes advance to the title game on Sunday.  Michigan State vs. Purdue will follow in an evenly matched contest.  Even without Hummel Purdue is still a very good team and will give Michigan State all they want.  Michigan State defeated Purdue on February 28th in the Boilermakers first game after Hummel’s injury.  Purdue will be inspired in front of the home state faithful but the absence of Hummel will be the deciding factor down the stretch.  Michigan State advances to face Ohio State for the title.

Big Ten Championship (3:30 ET March 14th): The Buckeyes defeated the Spartans in East Lansing 74-67 on February 21st.  In that game four Ohio State starters played all 40 minutes with each scoring in double figures.  Turner and Buford recorded double-doubles in the contest.  Michigan State star guard Kalin Lucas was held in check with only 9 points but he did record 8 assists.  The title game will be back and forth and very close.  Turner will once again be the difference as Ohio State wins the title 77-73.

Projected NCAA Seeding for the NCAA Tournament:
Ohio State:         2
Michigan State:  3
Purdue:              4
Wisconsin:         5
Illinois:               9

Stemavo Rheulus, Senior Writer