The Ohio State Buckeyes
vs.
The Gardner Webb Runnin' Bulldogs
Wednesday, December 28 - 8:00 p.m.
GARDNER WEBB - Official Site of Gardner Webb Athletics - Another good team from a small conference, Gardner Webb enters Value City Arena tonight having won four of their last five, including a solid road victory against Minnesota. Their season opener was a near-miss at UNC, where they played the 'Heels tough and lost on a buzzer-beating three pointer. Case in point, this team (like so many we've faced) is a bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing. Now at #20, the Buckeyes are a huge target; teams will be coming into Columbus, slings loaded, looking to take down a giant. I have no doubt that Matta will have our guys prepared, but the fact remains that we're going to get the Bulldogs' best game. At 8-0, to suggest that we are 'beatable' may be a little strange, but nobody is lying to themselves on this team. The coaches and the players have all admitted to needing improvement in several areas of the game to avoid hard-fought battles against markedly inferior teams, and tonight will be a fine test. The Buckeyes are just as capable of a rout as they are of getting taken to the wire - it will be interesting to see which Ohio State team shows up tonight.vs.
The Gardner Webb Runnin' Bulldogs
Wednesday, December 28 - 8:00 p.m.
For the Bulldogs, the discussion starts in the frontcourt. Standing at center will be #13, senior Simon Conn (6-9, 250). The Melbourne, Australia product (pictured below) has a 7-foot-2 wingspan, according to the Dispatch, and sports a very solid all-around game. Shooting .561 from the field, Conn leads GWU in points (16.1 ppg), rebounds (8.0 rpg), and blocked shots (17). Earlier in the season, the match-up against Dials would have been the story of the game, but as the Buckeye offense has shifted to the perimeter, the defensive presence of guys like Conn has become less of an issue. However, we will need to count on Terence to check the big Aussie one-on-one. Needing help defense will open up the arc for Gardner Webb's shooters, and as we have learned, any team can make things interesting with a few well-timed threes.
#13 - Simon Conn
The fifth starter will likely be #23, freshman guard Ricky McPhee (6-2, 180) - a dangerous shooter and their top three point threat - but we will also see a good amount of #30, senior guard Chris Gash. McPhee leads the Bulldogs in three pointers made and attempted (23 of 48), and is posting a very respectable 10.6 points in just 21.6 minutes per night. He was clutch in the UNC game, and started in the team's last contest versus Western Carolina. Gash is not to be overlooked, shooting .407 from long range and averaging 9.5 points per game.
It's a familiar story. Talented big man leads team, opens up offense for guards to light it up from downtown. Fellow Atlantic Sun Conference member Belmont had a reasonable amount of success against us doing just that. As we rumble on towards the Big Ten schedule, this is just another in a line of small tests for us. We have found ways to win, and will probably do so again tonight. What we need now is to find consistency, and get all the pieces working together.
Projected starters:
Ohio State
F - Matt Sylvester
C - Terence Dials
G - J.J. Sullinger
G - Foster, Je'Kel
G - Jamar Butler
Gardner Webb
F - Brian Bender
C - Simon Conn
G - Tim Jennings
G - Ricky McPhee
G - T.J. McCullough
My prediction: OSU 79 - GWU 65
Up next, LSU...
