tOSU vs. Indiana (Unofficial Game Preview)

[vrbryant]

The #18 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0, 1-0)
vs.
The #15 Indiana Hoosiers (9-2, 1-0)
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Saturday, January 7 - 4:00 p.m.
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INDIANA - Official Site of Indiana Athletics - In a game that will go a long way to solidify the winning team's place in the upper echelon of college hoops, our boys charge into Assembly Hall this Saturday riding a season-opening winning streak the likes of which this program hasn't seen in over a decade. They've won at home, they've won on the road. They've won by a little (see Iowa State, LSU), and they've won by a lot (see Gardner-Webb, Penn State). Thad Matta has somehow hammered this team into the mold of a serious contender, and now even the most casual of fans are taking notice. The advantage to such a phenomenal start, of course, is that you don't believe you can lose. The disadvantage is...well, that you don't believe you can lose. Mike Davis and his revamped Hoosiers will be licking their chops all Saturday morning, knowing full well that knocking off one of the last remaining unbeatens will catapult their program to the brink of the nation's top ten. Fortunately for us, a win in Bloomington will be just as impactful for the Buckeyes. While not quite at the same level of national importance as, say, Illinois vs. Michigan State (those Illini look tough, no?), this game will have a tournament atmosphere--and rightly so. It may sound hyperbolic, but this is probably the most important game in the last five years for Ohio State men's basketball, and I'm willing to bet they know it. Our greatest assets, as I see it, are experience and coaching. It goes without saying that we'll need them both in full force tomorrow afternoon if we're to come away with another 'W'. Here are the fifteenth-ranked Hoosiers, coached by Mike Davis:

#5 - Marco Killingsworth​

Marco Killingsworth needs little introduction. The former Auburn Tiger has had garnered high praise this year, all of it well-deserved. He's in the top five in the conference in scoring (18.8), rebounding (7.7) and field goal percentage (.627). He's big (6-8, 268), yet stunningly athletic, and has proven very difficult to guard. Accoring to IU's website, the guy has just 7% body fat. Seven. Hell, he's even 3 for 9 from behind the arc. Scared yet? You should be. He's taller, stronger and vastly more athletic than PSU's Jamelle Cornley (who gave Terence fits Thursday night), and if you thought Ron Lewis was good at drawing fouls, just wait. But believe it or not, there is some good news. Marco averages more than three personal fouls per contest, fouling out twice in Indiana's first eleven games, and although he does draw a ton of fouls, he is quite poor from the line, shooting just 56.1%. #5 will be seeing a lot of double-teams, so when we foul (yes, 'when' - not 'if'), we will have to foul wisely. It will be absolutely imperative that Dials stay out of foul trouble, as we will need his offense throughout the ball game.

#24 - Robert Vaden​

Sophomore guard-forward Robert Vaden (6-5, 224) is a dangerous player in his own right and a great complement to Killingsworth's inside presence. He sports a fantastic all-around game; Vaden leads the Hoosiers in assists (5.0 apg), steals (17) and minutes (33.6 mpg). He's second in scoring (15.1 ppg), third in rebounding (4.7 rpg), and his percentages (53.8% FG, 51.9% 3PT, 91.7% FT) are stellar. A top fifty prospect out of high school, Robert now has a Big Ten Player of the Week award to his credit. His match-up with J.J. will be very interesting--Sully will have to handle him one-on-one. Coming into Saturday's game, Vaden is ranked fifth in the conference in three point shooting, and with Killingsworth occupying the middle, staying out on a shooter like this is going to be tough.

Vaden isn't the only sharpshooter on this Indiana team--they actually have three of the Big Ten's top six shooters from long range. #22, senior guard Marshall Strickland (6-2, 195) is right behind Vaden on the 3PT% chart with 51.0%. The third scoring option, Strickland is posting 13.1 points in 33.3 minutes per game. Between him and Je'Kel, we should see plenty of solid outside shooting in what will be yet another intriguing match-up. At the point will be Killingsworth's fellow Auburn transfer, #33 Lewis Monroe (6-5, 192). Also a senior, Lewis joined Marco on the trip up north and, like Marco, stepped right into the starting line-up. While not a significant scoring threat, Monroe is a solid lead guard who doesn't make a lot of mistakes. He has started every game, averaged 27.1 minutes, yet has just 19 turnovers all year. Oddly (and I'm not 100% on this), but I think Syl may be assigned to guard Monroe loosely, focusing mainly on coming off him to double Killingsworth. Don't quote me - it's just a theory. At any rate, I'm anxious to see how the match-ups work (outside of the obvious Dials/Marco Sully/Vaden pairings).

The fifth starter is a familiar face, #3, sophomore forward D.J. White (6-9, 242). D.J. entered the year with a bum foot, but has been back for a couple weeks now and started the last two games. His stats aren't anything to write home about just yet, but you can chalk that up to Davis working him back into the program slow and steady. He's still very much the same player, the same great shot blocker that was named Freshman All-Conference a year ago, and while Kill's been getting the press, White is not to be trifled with.

There are a lot of secondary and tertiary contributors, namely #10, junior guard Roderick Wilmont (6-4, 200), #20, sophomore guard A.J. Ratliff (6-2, 183) and #11, junior guard Errek Suhr (5-8, 151). Suhr is 12 of 22 from long distance, Ratliff is still dangerous, and Wilmont was great off the bench (12 points, five boards) in the win over Michigan. There's also #21, frosh center Ben Allen, who is 6'10", 245 pounds and an Aussie to boot. He had some solid outings earlier in the year, but since White's return, he's been averaging just over five minutes a game. So don't blink.

So, I have to say, I'm very much back to where I was before the Iowa State game. I can't seem to wrap my meager basketball IQ around a solution to this Hoosier squad. Road games in the Big Ten are always a challenge, and Assembly Hall is, as we all know, particularly nasty. The fans will be absolutely wild, and if anyone on our team shoots an airball, well - let's just hope that doesn't happen. The biggest issue of the game, in my humble opinion, will be how Marco and TDials operate against each other defensively, and how quickly their fouls pile up. Guard play will have to be solid, and if we could manage to shoot 63.2% from the field again, that wouldn't hurt either. All I can say for sure is that it will be a hard, hard fought game. Frankly, I would give Indiana the edge hands-down if I didn't think Matta could coach his way out of a black hole if he needed to. Look for our seniors (barring seriously poor play) to see a lot of minutes tomorrow, and keep your fingers crossed. This one's a doozy.

Projected starters:

Ohio State

F - Matt Sylvester
F - Terence Dials
G - J.J. Sullinger
G - Je'Kel Foster
G - Jamar Butler

Indiana

F - D.J. White
F - Marco Killingsworth
G - Robert Vaden
G - Marshall Strickland
G - Lewis Monroe


My prediction: OSU 74 - IU 72

Up next, Purdue...