Ohio State Basketball

D’Angelo Russell is not Michael Jordan. Far from it, actually.

The Ohio State freshman is going to need plenty of help in the scoring department this season if the Buckeyes want to accomplish their goals of a Big Ten title and deep NCAA tournament run. The best candidate to offer that support is Marc Loving.

Ohio State was one of the best three defensive teams in the country last season in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings but still managed to lose in its first NCAA tournament game to a historically lesser instate program, Dayton. That’s what happens when the entire team shoots 45 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from behind the three-point line on the season.

The overall inconsistency was maddening, and Loving was a microcosm of the offensive struggles. Sure, he was only a freshman, but he arrived on campus with plenty of hype as a former Mr. Basketball in Ohio. His versatility and smooth shooting stroke were supposed to help the Buckeyes immediately.

Instead, he played about 10 minutes a night and averaged 4.4 points and 1.7 rebounds in that time. He only shot 26 percent from the three-point line and appeared to be physically worn down by season’s end.

That can’t happen this season, especially after LaQuinton Ross left as the de facto stretch forward who can theoretically score from anywhere on the floor. Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith Jr. aren’t around to spearhead the defensive efforts either, so it’s only natural that the defense would fall off somewhat, even if Shannon Scott is still one of the best defenders in the Big Ten.

Bottom line, Loving’s offense has to be better this season because Ohio State’s offense has to be better this season.

So far it has been.

While the offense struggled to kick into high gear in its one game of note against Louisville until it was ultimately too late, Loving was the one player outside of Russell who actually looked like a competent scorer for spurts.

Before fouling out, he hit a couple of threes and helped carry the Buckeyes back into the game alongside Russell. 

Loving also proved that he is capable of carrying the team for stretches, like he did in the first half against Colgate, via Rusty Miller of The Associated Press:

Thad Matta could not have asked for much more improvement from Loving across the offensive board in the early going. He is hitting his shots (nearly 60 percent from the field and 56 percent from three-point range) and aggressively cutting to the rim more often, both with and without the ball. That has meant far fewer contested jumpers and easier opportunities.

The result has been double-digit scoring numbers in six of his seven games this season.

A frightening pattern has developed at times the past couple of years in Columbus ever since the likes of Jared Sullinger, Jon Diebler and David Lighty left. The half-court offense has bogged down to four guys standing around watching one guy try to put up big numbers far too often.

First, it was Deshaun Thomas, which was good enough to get the Buckeyes all the way to the Elite Eight against Wichita State. Then, it was Ross, which was nowhere near good enough to get the Buckeyes to the Elite Eight. In fact, it led to that aforementioned loss to Dayton.

Fans who watched the Buckeyes down the stretch against Louisville would be forgiven if they worried about the same fate for this year’s team with Russell. He tried to put the offense on his back in the final few minutes, and it almost worked.

Had Loving been out there, though, that would not have been the case. The Buckeyes need a reliable second scorer so teams don’t solely focus their defensive strategy on shutting Russell down, and Loving’s shooting will open up the floor for the entire team. It will also give Russell and Scott more penetration lanes.

The Buckeyes are also looking to push the tempo more this season, and Loving’s presence in the lineup helps them do just that and still stay competitive on the glass.

He checks in at 6’7” and at least gives Ohio State more length when battling for boards. He tallied 11 combined rebounds against Louisville and Colgate and has shown more of a willingness to mix it up down low recently than he did in the first few games.

Loving is also more than capable of running the floor and either slashing to the rim or spotting up from deep on the wing with Russell or Scott attacking the middle.

The Buckeyes have to be better on offense, and, for as talented as Russell is, the only way to do that over the course of the entire season is with a team effort. Loving’s ability to slide in as the second scorer will take some of the pressure off Russell and allow the entire offense to get out in transition and convert on cleaner looks. 

If that continues, fans won’t have to worry about losing in the round of 64 again.

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The Ohio State football team dropped in the polls after beating Kent State 66-0 earlier this year, so Urban Meyer’s team would be forgiven if it were a bit jealous of its basketball counterpart’s jump from No. 14 to No. 12 after losing to Louisville.

That’s right, the Buckeyes climbed two spots in the Associated Press Poll released after losing their first game of the year. Given their position at No. 12 and the overall talent on the team, they should be able to make a run at the Top 10 at some point this season.

There are two ways to look at that jump even after a loss.

For one, Ohio State fattened up on a schedule full of cupcakes and lost to the one quality team it has played thus far. In a vacuum, that fact is not encouraging with games against North Carolina and a deep Big Ten on the horizon.

What’s more, the offense looked lost against Louisville—although that is largely a testament to the Cardinals’ dominant defense.

The other way to look at it is that the Buckeyes came back from 19 points down in their first true road game of the season against one of the nation’s best teams and cut the lead to three with about a minute remaining.

The voters were clearly impressed with the Buckeyes’ efforts in the second half of the loss and rewarded them accordingly.

Shannon Scott played one of the worst games of his career at Ohio State against Louisville and finished with three points on 1-of-7 shooting. He also had zero assists. Still, Thad Matta’s bunch almost won the game with virtually nothing from the senior leader, which means the Buckeyes could theoretically beat Louisville with a better performance from Scott.

What’s more, D’Angelo Russell proved to the nation why he is considered a star in the making with 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds. He is the alpha-leader in the Ohio State offense and is dynamic enough to lead his team into the Top 10.

Matta also made sure some of the young guys picked up valuable experience, as Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports pointed out:

That experience will certainly prove beneficial down the stretch of the Big Ten season.

It is hard to truly judge if the Buckeyes deserve to be a Top-10 team this season, given that their six victories have come against UMass Lowell, Marquette, Sacred Heart, Campbell, James Madison and Colgate. Granted, it is better to beat these teams by significant margins than to lose to a squad like the New Jersey Institute of Technology on your home floor, but it is difficult to develop a complete evaluation of a team against vastly inferior competition.

That task won’t get any easier in the next three games either, as Ohio State has contests against High Point, Morehead State and North Carolina A&T on the immediate docket. It is not Ohio State’s fault that Marquette has struggled so much this season, and it has games against North Carolina and Louisville, but the nonconference schedule is lacking, to say the least.

That clash with the Tar Heels on December 20 will be a great measuring stick for where the program is at before Big Ten play.

Ohio State has all the ingredients of a Top-10 team with depth, a potentially explosive offense with key contributors and a lockdown defense. The defense, as it always is under Matta, will be the key to the Buckeyes’ entire campaign. It was critical in the comeback efforts against Louisville because it stifled the Cardinals’ shooting until the final minute.

The Buckeyes are only allowing 57.1 points per game—which is 28th in the country—and they rank 11th in Ken Pomeroy’s pace-adjusted defensive efficiency rankings. Having Amir Williams down low to block shots and wing players like Sam Thompson with athleticism and length to bother perimeter shooting helps, but it is the ball pressure of Scott and Russell that spearheads this defense.

Scott is averaging 2.6 steals per game, and Russell is at 1.9, but there are actually five players on the team averaging at least one steal per night. That type of swarming, pressure defense leads to easy opportunities on the other end.

On offense, Russell is the key as a future NBA player. He took charge in the second half against Louisville and is a threat to score from anywhere on the floor. However, Scott’s distributing (8.1 assists per game) and Marc Loving’s emergence (12.9 points a game) have been critical as well.

It is not just the presence of a few contributors that makes this offense dangerous, though.

Matta has 10 players averaging more than 11 minutes per game, which means he can consistently send guys with fresh legs on the floor who are all capable of finding the basket in different ways. The only real chance at advancing deep into the tournament is with contributions from a number of different sources, and the Buckeyes are deeper than they have been in years under Matta.

It is still far too early to completely judge the rankings, but teams that have been around the Buckeyes in the polls have struggled at times. North Carolina already has two losses and has to play Kentucky on Saturday. San Diego State scored a measly 36 points in a loss to Washington. Miami lost to Green Bay. West Virginia lost to LSU. And Kansas looked like a junior varsity squad against Kentucky (which probably says more about the Wildcats than the Jayhawks).

As long as the losses keep racking up from teams around the Buckeyes in the polls, they will have a stake to a Top-10 ranking. 

The talent is there on both sides of the ball for the Buckeyes to climb in the polls. Now all they have to do is prove it against better competition and deliver in marquee contests against the Tar Heels and the Big Ten.

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It’s not very often that the losing team in a marquee nonconference showdown in college basketball is the one feeling better about itself in the aftermath.

That is exactly what happened after Ohio State’s 64-55 loss to Louisville.

The Cardinals led by as many as 19 points and looked ready to put the game away in the opening half. Ohio State shot an abysmal 23 percent in the opening 20 minutes and simply looked like it didn’t belong. Louisville’s full-court pressure was swarming to the ball and causing major problems, shots weren’t falling and Wayne Blackshear and Montrezl Harrell were enforcing their will on the game.

Then, things started to click for the Buckeyes.

They gradually cut the 19-point deficit to three with about a minute remaining. D’Angelo Russell’s efforts were key to the comeback as Shannon Scott sat next to Thad Matta, but Marc Loving also played very well until he fouled out. It was clear that Loving was Ohio State’s second option throughout the game.

It is a testament to the team as a whole and Matta’s coaching ability that Ohio State battled back like that.

There are plenty of silver linings from the loss that imply the Buckeyes will be fine in the long term, including Loving’s performance, considering how inconsistent he was a season ago. If he can develop into an offensive force, Ohio State will have yet another scoring option who can stretch the defense and battle inside the lane if necessary.

What’s more, this was the Buckeyes’ first road game of the season, and it could not have come at a much more hostile venue. The crowd may have shell-shocked Ohio State’s youngsters in the opening minutes, but it wasn’t a factor in the second half.

Look for Matta to use the entire experience as a learning opportunity. Sam Thompson certainly suggested as much after the game, as reported by Tim Shoemaker of Eleven Warriors:

It’s our first time on the road, a lot of new guys, a lot of new faces that have never put this jersey on. We’ve just got to grow from it. We’ve got to come out more focused, we’ve got to come out with better execution and our minds have to be in the game from the jump. We can’t do the whole deal where we get down 20 and then start fighting. We’ve got to play from the jump. 

Part of that learning experience is giving young players without a lot of time at the collegiate level opportunities to prove themselves. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports noticed that Matta was doing exactly that:

Despite the learning experience, it was discouraging that Shannon Scott played so poorly.

He finished with three points on 1-of-7 shooting, tallied zero assists and sat out for large stretches of the second half as Russell ran the offense. The fact that the Buckeyes still almost won in the midst of their senior leader’s struggles says a lot about the depth and resiliency of the team. Scott will play much better in big atmospheres moving forward because he has been in those situations and games so often.

His teammates will be ready as well.

One under-the-radar player who impressed in Louisville was freshman Jae’Sean Tate. He established his presence in the second half by battling down low and finishing with seven rebounds. He plays much taller than his listed 6’4” height and kept a number of offensive possessions alive simply by hustling to the ball and boxing out his man.

If Ohio State can get scrappy and consistent efforts like that all season from Tate, rebounding won’t be nearly as much of an issue as it was a season ago.

While all of those silver linings should have Buckeyes fans excited for the future, Russell’s play was the best news for the program. Yes, he got off to an incredibly slow start, but he was not intimidated by the venue or the fact that he received plenty of boos from the crowd as a Louisville native who chose to go elsewhere.

In fact, Russell even motioned to the crowd at times and was playing with brash confidence in the final minutes. For stretches, it seemed like it was Russell against Louisville in the second half.

He did force the issue in the first half, and that was part of the reason the team fell behind by so much in the first place. However, he redeemed himself and finished with 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds on the night. He registered all seven of his team’s assists in the official box score.

Russell demonstrated his versatility when he ran the point throughout much of the second half and looked more than comfortable there. Having a second option behind Scott in case the senior struggles or find himself in foul trouble is critical to the overall dynamic of the team. 

Buckeyes fans may have pulled their hair out in the first half of the loss to Louisville, but the team’s willingness to fight and their overall resiliency should have those same fans feeling encouraged about what’s to come.

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If the 2014-15 Ohio State basketball team wants to add a marquee nonconference road victory to its resume, it only has one chance—Tuesday against Louisville.

Clearly, winning at Louisville is not a make-or-break situation for the Buckeyes’ NCAA tournament hopes, but it is critical when you start talking about Ohio State finding itself in a possible top-three seed range on Selection Sunday.

It’s not like Dwyane Wade was still lacing it up for that very pedestrian Marquette team the Buckeyes beat in Columbus, and the showdown with North Carolina is at a neutral site. Beating the Tar Heels would also be a massive win, but true road victories are what really catch the eyes of the selection committee.

What’s more, conference bragging rights will be on the line in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, which could come into play in March if Ohio State is battling with ACC squads for the same seed.

There is a chance that a defensive slugfest will break out Tuesday.

Louisville is the top team in Ken Pomeroy’s pace-adjusted defensive efficiency rankings, largely because Montrezl Harrell is a defensive nightmare for opposing teams. The versatile big guy checks in at 6’8” and is a monster on the boards. And he flies around the court with athleticism and speed that help him cover almost the entire baseline down low.

Bottom line is that Harrell is one of the best players in the entire country, and it will be up to the Buckeyes' trio of Amir Williams, Trey McDonald and Anthony Lee to deal with him down low.

Ohio State also has to worry about Harrell’s offense considering he leads Louisville in scoring with 17.4 points a game and can find the basket from mid-range or down on the low blocks. He may be the best big guy Ohio State faces all season as a future first-round NBA draft pick, which will at least be a great source of experience before physically grueling Big Ten play starts.

Louisville may also be the best rebounding team in the country (it is second in the nation in rebounds per game) because of the trio of Harrell, Chinanu Onuaku and Mangok Mathiang, who are all averaging more than 7.5 rebounds a game.

By contrast, nobody on Ohio State even averages six boards a night, which is critical because who controls the glass will go a long way toward determining the winner.

The Cardinals can get the crowd going with a few easy putbacks, but the Buckeyes can counter by stringing together consecutive defensive stops if they grab the rebounds. Louisville is only shooting 43.7 percent from the field, so there will be misses to grab.

The Buckeyes love to run with Shannon Scott and his 10.4 assists per game leading the way and D’Angelo Russell and Sam Thompson filling the wings, but they need to grab those long rebounds that bounce off the rim if Louisville misses first.

Pushing the tempo would prevent Louisville from setting up its devastating half-court defense and bolster Ohio State’s chances at pulling off the upset.

The Cardinals aren’t the only team that can play effective defense in this game. The Buckeyes are 17th in Pomeroy’s rankings and should be able to contain a Louisville squad that only scored 45 points in its last win against Cleveland State.

Scott, Russell and Thompson will be critical on the perimeter as they try to pressure Chris Jones and Terry Rozier and prevent the guards from setting up Harrell and the big guys in an ideal position to score. 

On the other end, look for Russell to establish his offense from the opening tip. He is a Louisville native and will be ready to show his hometown Cardinals what they missed out on. Ohio State’s associate athletics director for communications, Dan Wallenberg, pointed out just how effective Russell has been in the early going:

Russell is a major reason why the Buckeyes have played so well this season, but that is also largely a factor of a weak schedule. They are yet to leave the friendly confines of Value City Arena, let alone play one of the best teams in the country in their place.

The crowd will be rocking from the start, especially because Louisville is a stranger to the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. These are the type of marquee games that the Cardinals switched to the ACC for, and the crowd will respond accordingly.

The reason the Buckeyes will suffer their first loss of the season is not just the crowd, though. Louisville’s defense is simply suffocating and held its last two opponents to a combined 59 points in 87-26 and 45-33 victories.

It doesn’t really matter if those games were against Savannah State and Cleveland State because it is ridiculous to hold a Division I college basketball team to a measly 26 points. You could put together a group of former high school players who are playing in local recreation leagues and get to 26 points in a 40-minute game against most opponents.

Ohio State will stay close behind a motivated Russell and a strong defense of its own, but the combination of the crowd, the fact that it is the Buckeyes’ first major test and the Louisville defense will ultimately prove too much. 

Prediction: Louisville 62, Ohio State 57

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With 15 minutes remaining in Ohio State’s game against early-season cupcake Sacred Heart, freshman D’Angelo Russell had 30 points. Sacred Heart had 33. 

It’s safe to say that the high-volume scorer was on his game Sunday. He finished with 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field, nine rebounds and five assists in the 106-48 win and was clearly the best scorer on the floor.

The question now is whether the freshman star can carry the load as the Buckeyes’ top scoring option all season.

His pure talent would suggest that he can. It was not just the number of points he scored that really stood out to those watching on Sunday, but the number of ways in which he did it.

For starters, Russell drilled four three-pointers and demonstrated supreme confidence from deep. There was one play in particular when he held the ball in a triple-threat stance, sized up the defender for a few seconds and then simply let it launch over the outstretched hand. As if there was any doubt, it hit nothing but net.

Russell also slashed into the lane off the dribble and mixed in a combination of mid-range floaters and layups where he had to twist his way through multiple defenders in the air.

He doesn’t force the issue either and scores within the flow of the offense. He reached the 30-point mark with 15 minutes remaining in the game, and some freshmen would have tried to force shots and go for some scoring records, especially in a blowout. Instead, Russell continued to play within the game and only scored two more points the rest of the way.

Ben Axelrod of Bleacher Report certainly had some high praise for the guard, while Jeff Rabjohns of Yahoo! Sports believes the rest of the Big Ten should be on notice:

Before getting too excited about the performance against Sacred Heart, it is important to point out that Russell did have an off game against Marquette when he finished with six points on 2-of-5 shooting from the field and seven turnovers.

A glass-half-empty approach would suggest that this was the one power-conference opponent the Buckeyes have played this season, and Russell struggled. A glass-half-full approach would say that he still hit 2-of-3 from three-point range, which helped stretch the defense for Shannon Scott to penetrate and find open teammates.

More importantly, though, it was a learning opportunity for the freshman that will pay dividends once the schedule heats up. Thad Matta suggested as much, via Bill Landis of Cleveland.com, "He's a heck of a basketball player. I think the biggest thing for him, sometimes a freshman may need a game like that." 

It’s better that Russell got the nerves that come with the first marquee game out of the way in November than in Big Ten play, as Brandon Castel of The-Ozone.net implied:

We know Russell is supremely talented and that he already took advantage of a learning opportunity. However, one important factor in his quest to succeed as Ohio State’s top scoring option is the presence of Shannon Scott.

Scott dished out a school-record 16 assists on Sunday and is averaging an astounding 13.7 dimes a game, which is tops in the nation. He posted 14 in that win over Marquette and is the general of the well-oiled machine that is the Ohio State offense.

There are three-point shooters all over the floor, athletes to get out in transition and some depth down low for the first time in years that can finish around the basket, and Scott is finding everyone. From Russell’s perspective, Scott’s passing ability and overall control of the offense allows him to play off the ball and work off screens and back-cuts to get open for shots.

It is a scoring guard’s dream to play with a point guard who is always looking to set up his teammates, and Russell has that opportunity this season.

It will also help Russell as a freshman who is still adopting to the college game that the Buckeyes have some impressive depth this season. Matta could go 10-deep if he wants, and with so many guys who can score (you don’t reach 106 points in a game, regardless of the opponent, if this isn’t the case), Russell won’t have overwhelming pressure on a nightly basis.

While he may be the de facto No. 1 option, there isn’t the type of produce-or-we-lose expectations that someone like Deshaun Thomas faced a couple of years ago in a stagnant offense.

The Buckeyes are first in the nation in field-goal percentage at 60.8 and have nine guys averaging at least six points a game, with four in double-figures. The bottom line is that they can afford an off game from Russell in the scoring department (like the Marquette one) and still win, sometimes even by a big margin.

However, there will be tight, season-defining contests in the Big Ten and in March where the Buckeyes will need a basket on a late possession. Even though he struggled with his perimeter jumper, Aaron Craft was the guy they would turn to in the waning moments last season, and it will be Russell this year. 

With his pure talent, the vast array of ways he can score that he demonstrated on Sunday and Scott setting the table with timely passes, Russell has all the tools to deliver. He certainly looks ready for that responsibility.

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The 2014-15 Ohio State basketball team is only two games into its new season, but it may have a case of no Aaron Craft, no problem if Shannon Scott’s early performances are any indication.

Scott controlled the pace of the entire 74-63 victory over Marquette on Tuesday night and finished with eight points on 4-of-7 shooting, an astounding 14 assists, two rebounds and two steals.

That game was only just the beginning for the senior leader on a team that is loaded with young contributors. It is his fourth year on campus, and he finally looks fully comfortable in his role.

This is his team.

While the 4-of-7 shooting was certainly noteworthy, Scott’s 14 assists are what turned heads. Eleven Warriors pointed out that it has been a two-game pattern already, while Lori Schmidt of 97.1 The Fan passed along the rather amusing reaction from Scott’s teammates when they found out how close he was to a school record:

Scott not only led the way in the victory, but he also caught the eye of the national media along the way. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports gave the Buckeyes point guard some praise, while ESPN commentator Dan Dakich said on the broadcast that Scott is actually one of the toughest guards to defend in the Big Ten this season.

Dakich’s comments may be a bit hyperbolic in the aftermath of an excellent game, but it was crystal-clear that Scott is ready to step into the national spotlight as a senior distributor.

Perhaps the best part of Tuesday’s game for the Buckeyes is that all 10 players who saw action on the court scored. It will be just as much Scott’s job to keep everyone involved in this group that can go 10 deep as head coach Thad Matta’s. Matta will be the one tasked with keeping the legs fresh before the tournament, while Scott will be the one asked to keep everyone happy and involved with his precise passing.

Against Marquette, Kam Williams scored 15 points, Sam Thompson had 10, Marc Loving added 10 and the team as a whole made eight of 15 three-pointers. Amir Williams, who has been inconsistent at best his entire Ohio State career, scored 12 points and made all six of his field-goal attempts.

That’s not even mentioning freshman D’Angelo Russell, who may just be the most talented player on this entire team.

Scott can work with Amir Williams, Anthony Lee and even Trey McDonald on pick-and-rolls or set up athletes like Russell, Sam Thompson, Kam Williams, Loving, Keita Bates-Diop and Jae’Sean Tate in transition as slashers toward the rim or when they are spotting up from downtown.

On the defensive side, Scott spearheads the different zone looks that Matta has utilized in the early going. Ohio State even mixed in some 1-3-1 on Tuesday.

We already know from Scott’s track record playing alongside Craft that he is capable of being a lethal defender. He was an All-Big Ten defender the last two seasons who forced turnovers (two steals a game last year and 1.7 a game in 2012-13) and got out in transition afterward.

There is no reason to expect the defensive results to change in Scott’s senior season.

There are so many young players on this roster that someone needs to take the initiative on the defensive end. It may be less glamorous than scoring, but it has also been the key to victory ever since Matta took over at Ohio State.

As the senior leader and point guard who takes pride in his defense, Scott will do this all season.

We know what Scott is capable of on the defensive side, and we saw a glimpse of his offensive abilities on Tuesday against Marquette. The reason this is so encouraging for Buckeyes fans is that Scott has wasted little time breaking out this season after playing under Craft’s shadow his entire career.

The talent has always been there for Scott since he was a highly touted recruit, but Craft was the one who caught the attention of the fanbase (and opposing fanbases) and commentators across the country. It was for good reason too, considering Craft was the Defensive Player of the Year last season.

Scott undoubtedly learned from playing with Craft for three seasons, but he may actually be the better offensive player. Neither is a deadeye jump-shooter, but Scott is more than willing to distribute and get everyone involved. He is faster in the open court than Craft ever was, which is critical for this year’s team that is loaded with wing players and shooters who are ready to get out in transition.

Perhaps the most encouraging thing of all is that Scott understands this is his team and is embracing his role as a senior leader, which was evident in his preseason comments, via Tim Shoemaker of Eleven Warriors:

It’s not really a different feeling because I’ve had a lot of these guys around me for the last three years so I kind of understand what they like to do on the court, but I understand that I’ve gotta be very aggressive this year. I can’t look to Aaron to help me on the court, I’ve really gotta pick it up and keep going by myself in getting everyone where they need to be. 

If Scott continues to get everyone involved like he did on Tuesday, the Buckeyes will be playing deep into March.

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Ohio State only has three opportunities to build its resume in the nonconference portion of its schedule, and Tuesday represents the easiest chance of the three to impress the NCAA tournament selection committee.

Marquette comes to Columbus for an early Big Ten and Big East showdown in a rematch of last year’s 52-35 Buckeyes win.

Considering Ohio State’s other two marquee nonconference games come away from home against North Carolina and Louisville, it needs to pick up a win in this one. In order to do that, there are a few keys that Thad Matta’s bunch must take care of during the course of the game.

For one, this represents D’Angelo Russell’s first chance to really announce himself to the rest of the college basketball world because few outside of Columbus were probably paying close attention to the opening win against UMass Lowell.

Russell finished with 16 points, six assists, four rebounds, three steals and two made three-pointers, and it was clear from the opening tip that he is the most talented player on the team and the eventual go-to guy on offense. Yes, there are a number of formidable options at Matta’s disposal, but Russell is the one who can create his own shot, spot up off passes or set up teammates for success. 

He caught the eye of ESPN’s Myron Medcalf in the season opener:

Still, Russell is only a freshman and is yet to play against solid college competition. This game will be a barometer for where he is at before Big Ten play or even those out-of-conference clashes with North Carolina and Louisville.

The Buckeyes are going to need his offense if they want to win on Tuesday and start building an impressive resume before Big Ten play starts.

It will also be up to his backcourt mate, Shannon Scott, to continue to distribute like he did in the opener. He dished out 11 assists against UMass Lowell and did exactly what an effective, pass-first point guard who is surrounded by talent should do.

There are options all over the court for this deep Buckeyes squad, and five players finished in double-figure scoring. The team as a whole poured in 92 points, largely because Scott put his teammates in perfect opportunities to score.

The Buckeyes’ best chance at playing offense like that against competition like Marquette is with Scott pushing the tempo and getting everyone involved. He got off to a flying start in the opener, but he has to prove it on Tuesday against a much better opponent.

Elsewhere, rebounding was certainly not a strength for the Buckeyes last season, but they did out-rebound UMass Lowell, 35-24. Between Amir Williams, Trey McDonald and Anthony Lee, Matta has the personnel to outmuscle people on the boards, but this is a particularly important key in this game because Marquette may not be able to counter that effort.

The Golden Eagles were out-rebounded 34-25 against Tennessee-Martin in their season opener. The tallest guy on the roster who got minutes in that game for Marquette is only 6’7”, while the Buckeyes played six different players against UMass Lowell who are listed at 6’7” or taller. If there was ever a game against NCAA tournament-worthy competition that the Buckeyes were going to dominate on the boards, it is this one.

Limiting Marquette’s second opportunities would also help Ohio State get out in transition and spread the scoring around like it did in the opener.

One other important aspect to watch on the defensive side on Tuesday is Ohio State’s ability to prevent one guy from beating them.

The Buckeyes cruised in the opener, but if we want to nitpick, they allowed Jahad Thomas to have his way all game. Thomas finished with 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field (although he did have six turnovers) and certainly looked like he belonged on the floor with the Big Ten competition.

Whether it’s JaJuan Johnson, Juan Anderson or someone else, Ohio State cannot afford to let one guy on Marquette get red-hot early in this game assuming it does come down to the final minutes.

An opponent who is feeling it from the field can often be the difference between a win and a loss in a tightly contested game, so it is important for the Buckeyes to limit the impact that any one Golden Eagles player has on the outcome. The Buckeyes have far more options than Marquette, so they simply have to ensure that one guy doesn’t counter the efforts of multiple scorers.

Ultimately, Ohio State is at home and Marquette lost plenty of talent from a season ago in the form of Davante Gardner, Todd Mayo and Jamil Wilson. Those were the top three Golden Eagles scorers from 2013-14, and they are still searching for consistent replacement options.

Ohio State is the deeper team with more star power and will be playing in front of friendly fans. Look for the Buckeyes to pick up an early resume-padding victory in this one. 

Prediction: Ohio State 81, Marquette 68

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The saying goes that defense wins championships, but that certainly wasn’t the case for the 2013-14 Ohio State basketball team.

The Buckeyes, led by Aaron Craft’s efforts, were one of the most fearsome defensive squads in the country (third in the nation in Ken Pomeroy’s pace-adjusted defensive efficiency rankings) but still lost in their first game of the NCAA tournament because of a lackluster offense.

The cure to that this season will be fairly simple—run.

Thad Matta has the athletes and personnel to unleash a fast-break style of play in every game. D’Angelo Russell, Shannon Scott, Sam Thompson, Kam Williams, Jae’Sean Tate, Marc Loving and Keita Bates-Diop all bring speed, ball-handling skills and shooting to the table, which is perfect for an uptempo team.

Russell and Scott in particular are effective distributors who will lead the attack with Williams, Thompson and the rest filling the lanes on the outside.

Perhaps the literal biggest reason the Buckeyes will be more efficient on the break this season is the presence of Anthony Lee. The Temple transfer checks in at 6’9” and is versatile enough to play power forward or center and athletic enough to get out in transition. He will anchor some fast-break opportunities with outlet passes off rebounds but is also capable of finishing on his own.

Matta could go as many at 10-deep this season if he wants, which means his Buckeyes won’t have to worry as much about conditioning when they run. Fresh legs with regular substitution patterns and a transition style will ideally wear out the opposition by the second half.

Scott suggested as much, via Tim Shoemaker of Eleven Warriors:

"We just really wanna push the ball now. We know a lot of times last year we didn’t push the ball but there were times when we just kind of walked the ball up the court. Kind of stagnant, kind of robotic in how we played, but now we wanna keep going and be in attack mode at all times."

The offense absolutely needs to be better if Ohio State wants to compete for a Big Ten title, and fans should absolutely expect improvement with an uptempo attack.

Of course, there really isn’t any direction to go but up for an offense that was incredibly stagnant for much of the 2013-14 campaign. The ball didn’t rotate, and there was far too much standing around and watching in the half court. For as great as Craft and Scott were on defense, the lack of effective perimeter shooting let defenders sag into the paint and cut off any penetration from ball-handlers and the wings.

The Buckeyes averaged 69.8 points a game, which was 138th in the country. What’s more, they shot a mediocre 45 percent from the field and finished an abysmal 128th in Pomeroy’s pace-adjusted offensive efficiency rankings.

That means the slower pace of play in many Big Ten games was not to blame for the lack of offensive production.

Ohio State also finished 227th nationally in assists per game at 12 and will need better ball movement this season. That should happen naturally when the athletes are running floor.

Considering the Buckeyes’ top three scorers from a year ago (Craft, Lenzelle Smith Jr. and LaQuinton Ross) are all gone and Thompson is the highest returning scorer at 7.9 points a game, there will be plenty of offense by committee in 2013-14. Russell is going to be a potentially dominant scorer who will pace the offense, but if the Buckeyes push the tempo, there could be a different leading scorer almost every night.

That type of balanced attack is difficult to stop.

What’s more, Ohio State has thrived with pressure defense under Matta ever since he began his tenure in Columbus.

Even though Craft is no longer around to spearhead the efforts with his tenacious ball pressure and dogged persistence on the defensive end, Scott, Russell and Thompson will force plenty of turnovers. Instead of simply slowing down after forcing those turnovers, look for the Buckeyes to turn right around and run.

Even if that only leads to three or four additional easy baskets a game, it would boost Ohio State’s scoring and field-goal percentage significantly. Additionally, a couple easy opportunities on the break early in the game will let the shooters see the ball go through the basket and help them get in their shooting zone in the opening minutes.

That will pay dividends in the second half.

The bottom line is Ohio State needs to put up better offensive numbers in 2014-15 if it wants to compete for a Big Ten title against Wisconsin, Michigan State and the rest of the daunting league. Given the personnel and high number of athletes on the wing and perimeter scorers, the best way to do that is by running early and often. 

Get ready for some track meets.

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The 2014-15 Ohio State basketball team will have an easy go of things in the first week of the season with only one game against UMass Lowell on Friday night.

Thad Matta could use his bench for the entire 40 minutes and walk away with the victory, but there is more at stake than just the win for the Buckeyes in the early going of what could be a promising season.

There are still a few things Ohio State has to establish after a 77-37 exhibition victory over Walsh on Sunday. With that in mind, read on to see what fans should watch for in the first week of the season.

D’Angelo Russell

Buckeyes fans have been reading about freshman D’Angelo Russell since the moment their team lost to Dayton in the round of 64 last season. He is the freshman phenom who will supposedly arrive on campus and fix all the offensive problems from 2013-14 in one quick swoop.

He looked the part in the exhibition game against Walsh when he scored a game-high 17 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists. He also drilled four three-pointers and scored 16 points before intermission, establishing himself as a go-to option in the offense.

Matta discussed Russell’s performance, via Tim Shoemaker of Eleven Warriors:

“He’s got a different pace about him. He sees things like a lot of freshman don’t see them, and that’s good. I think that even talking to him during dead balls, the things that he sees out there is really unique for a freshman.”

It was crystal clear during the exhibition game that the offense is going to run through Russell at times this season. He is the best perimeter shooter on the team already, which was an area of concern a season ago, and is more than capable of beating defenders off the dribble and getting to the rim.

Russell is also versatile enough to play point guard or shooting guard and was on the floor for 30 minutes in the exhibition. 

It is ideal that the schedule starts with a layup against UMass Lowell because it will allow the freshmen, including Russell, to pick up some critical college experience before a showdown with Marquette.

Rebounding

Before anyone sounds the alarm bells, it is important to point out that Ohio State outrebounded Walsh 57-31 on Sunday. What’s more, the Buckeyes should be able to control the boards in the opening week against UMass Lowell.

If they don’t, there may be a more serious problem.

The concern was that Ohio State allowed 15 offensive rebounds in the exhibition game, largely because the opposing guards beat the Buckeyes’ big men to the glass when Ohio State was in a 2-3 zone.

Rebounding is sacred in the physically grueling Big Ten, and things are going to get a lot more difficult on the boards during the regular season than they were against Walsh and will be against UMass Lowell. It will be worth watching the big guys in the season opener to see if they figure out how to box out in a zone when they aren’t guarding a specific man. 

If they don’t, Matta may have to end his 2-3 experiment before it even gets off the ground.

Rotation

Perhaps the most encouraging thing about the Buckeyes’ scrimmage against Walsh was the fact that 10 different players were on the court for at least 13 minutes, with Russell and Shannon Scott leading the way with 30 minutes apiece.

That is the type of rotational substitutions that will keep everyone’s legs fresh in the second half of the season and in the Big Ten. It will be interesting to see if Matta keeps that up when the games officially count. If he isn’t willing to go that deep on his bench against UMass Lowell, he probably won’t be willing to do it against Wisconsin and Michigan State.

Fans saw some small-ball lineups in the exhibition game, which is encouraging for those hoping the Buckeyes get out and run this year.

It was certainly intriguing that Amir Williams played the fewest minutes of anyone on the team with 13, but you shouldn’t put too much stock in that number considering it was a blowout and Matta knows what he has in the senior. Still, Anthony Lee is going to eat into those minutes this season if Matta is not fully comfortable with both big guys on the floor at once. 

We should have a better idea if he is or not after the opening week of the season.

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