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You’re Nuts: What does Ohio State have to do to beat Auburn?
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jack Gorman/Getty Images
The Buckeyes will face their toughest test of the season Saturday afternoon in Atlanta.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team (6-3, 1-1) will face its toughest challenge of the season Saturday afternoon — a statement that could cause some uneasiness among fans who watched the Buckeyes fall behind by 33 points at halftime just last week.
The Buckeyes are set to take on the No. 2 Auburn Tigers Saturday afternoon in the Holiday Hoopsgiving event in Atlanta. Bruce Pearl’s Tigers are led by National Player of the Year frontrunner Johni Broome, who is averaging 19.6 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game thus far. Auburn’s only loss of the season came at the hands of Duke at Cameron Indoor earlier this month.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated whether Ohio State’s game against Rutgers was a must-win game. With 60% of the vote, Justin won (he said yes).
Connor- 82
The Buckeyes are facing a top-two team in the nation this weekend. Based on the current trends, Ohio State is not likely to face another top-two team for the remainder of the year. Therefore, this is one of the biggest opportunities the team has to add some eye candy to its NCAA Tournament resume.
Here are our thoughts on the game. Specifically, what does Ohio State absolutely have to do to get out of Atlanta with the upset?
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Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
It might sound counter-productive to foul the other team’s best player over and over, but when that player’s free throw percentage is barely as high as his overall shooting percentage, it could be worth a shot. Johni Broome is shooting 58.3% from the free throw line this season, which is the second-lowest mark of his five-year career. Yet somehow he’s only drawing 4.5 fouls per game, which isn’t even the highest mark on his own team.
Last year against Purdue, Ohio State fouled Zach Edey more than 10 times. Sometimes they fouled him on the shot and sent him to the free throw line, where he finished the game a perfect 8-for-8. More often, however, they fouled Edey on the catch, stopping play before he had a chance to reach up and “drunk” the ball using his vine-like arms.
Yes, the Buckeyes racked up the fouls and yes, Edey wound up having a good — but not great — game. He finished with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and was perfect at the free throw line. He had 13 rebounds and three blocks. Edey took fewer shots against the Buckeyes than he was averaging, because the Buckeyes were getting physical and fouling him before he even had a chance to shoot.
Felix Okpara fouled out. Zed Key picked up four fouls. Jamison Battle picked up four fouls. Even Austin Parks checked in for a few minutes and picked up a foul.
Ohio State won that game, 73-69.
So, while the Buckeyes will need to be strategic with how they deploy their forwards — especially with Aaron Bradshaw’s status up in the air — it would make a lot of sense to use a similar strategy against Broome and the Tigers.
When Auburn tries to feed Broome the ball in the post, rip for the ball. If they blow the whistle, they blow the whistle. When Broome tries to drive to the basket, hack at the ball. If they call a foul, then a 58% free throw shooter heads to the line.
No easy baskets, and no big momentum plays for the team playing much closer to home that will probably own 75% of the fans in the arena. Make Broome beat you at the free throw line, or make him defer to his teammates.
If the National Player of the Year goes 8-for-8 from the line again, tip your cap. Or if you can limit Broome, but everyone else lights it up from three, you tip your cap. But the Buckeyes can’t let Broome get confident or allow him easy looks... and for him, a free throw is not an easy look.
There is one player who has the most experience playing Auburn on this team, and they will need him to have his best game of the season if the Buckeyes want to pull off an upset: South Carolina transfer Meechie Johnson.
The senior guard has been okay so far with the Buckeyes, but he has not been able to catch the wave that he found last year at South Carolina. His three-point shooting is up, but his overall field goal percentage is down, and he is struggling to finish at the basket.
Johnson was All-SEC last season as a Gamecock and had one of his better games against Auburn. He is averaging 9.6 points per game this season, down from 14.1 points per game last season.
Bruce Thornton is one of the top guards in the conference and the country, and many people were excited to see him paired with Johnson. Meechie Johnson’s ability to carry some of the scoring load is a big way to help unlock Thornton and help him reach his full potential.
Johnson has shot the ball well from three-point range, but he can improve his overall scoring ability this season. If the Buckeyes want to upset Auburn, he will have to have an efficient game on offense and make sure the defense cannot key in on Thornton offensively.
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jack Gorman/Getty Images
The Buckeyes will face their toughest test of the season Saturday afternoon in Atlanta.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team (6-3, 1-1) will face its toughest challenge of the season Saturday afternoon — a statement that could cause some uneasiness among fans who watched the Buckeyes fall behind by 33 points at halftime just last week.
The Buckeyes are set to take on the No. 2 Auburn Tigers Saturday afternoon in the Holiday Hoopsgiving event in Atlanta. Bruce Pearl’s Tigers are led by National Player of the Year frontrunner Johni Broome, who is averaging 19.6 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game thus far. Auburn’s only loss of the season came at the hands of Duke at Cameron Indoor earlier this month.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated whether Ohio State’s game against Rutgers was a must-win game. With 60% of the vote, Justin won (he said yes).
After 182 weeks:
Connor- 82
Justin- 77
Other- 18
(There have been five ties)
The Buckeyes are facing a top-two team in the nation this weekend. Based on the current trends, Ohio State is not likely to face another top-two team for the remainder of the year. Therefore, this is one of the biggest opportunities the team has to add some eye candy to its NCAA Tournament resume.
Here are our thoughts on the game. Specifically, what does Ohio State absolutely have to do to get out of Atlanta with the upset?
This week’s question: What does Ohio State have to do to beat Auburn?
Connor: Foul Johni Broome as much as necessary
It might sound counter-productive to foul the other team’s best player over and over, but when that player’s free throw percentage is barely as high as his overall shooting percentage, it could be worth a shot. Johni Broome is shooting 58.3% from the free throw line this season, which is the second-lowest mark of his five-year career. Yet somehow he’s only drawing 4.5 fouls per game, which isn’t even the highest mark on his own team.
Last year against Purdue, Ohio State fouled Zach Edey more than 10 times. Sometimes they fouled him on the shot and sent him to the free throw line, where he finished the game a perfect 8-for-8. More often, however, they fouled Edey on the catch, stopping play before he had a chance to reach up and “drunk” the ball using his vine-like arms.
Yes, the Buckeyes racked up the fouls and yes, Edey wound up having a good — but not great — game. He finished with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and was perfect at the free throw line. He had 13 rebounds and three blocks. Edey took fewer shots against the Buckeyes than he was averaging, because the Buckeyes were getting physical and fouling him before he even had a chance to shoot.
Felix Okpara fouled out. Zed Key picked up four fouls. Jamison Battle picked up four fouls. Even Austin Parks checked in for a few minutes and picked up a foul.
Ohio State won that game, 73-69.
So, while the Buckeyes will need to be strategic with how they deploy their forwards — especially with Aaron Bradshaw’s status up in the air — it would make a lot of sense to use a similar strategy against Broome and the Tigers.
When Auburn tries to feed Broome the ball in the post, rip for the ball. If they blow the whistle, they blow the whistle. When Broome tries to drive to the basket, hack at the ball. If they call a foul, then a 58% free throw shooter heads to the line.
No easy baskets, and no big momentum plays for the team playing much closer to home that will probably own 75% of the fans in the arena. Make Broome beat you at the free throw line, or make him defer to his teammates.
If the National Player of the Year goes 8-for-8 from the line again, tip your cap. Or if you can limit Broome, but everyone else lights it up from three, you tip your cap. But the Buckeyes can’t let Broome get confident or allow him easy looks... and for him, a free throw is not an easy look.
Justin: Meechie Johnson masterclass
There is one player who has the most experience playing Auburn on this team, and they will need him to have his best game of the season if the Buckeyes want to pull off an upset: South Carolina transfer Meechie Johnson.
The senior guard has been okay so far with the Buckeyes, but he has not been able to catch the wave that he found last year at South Carolina. His three-point shooting is up, but his overall field goal percentage is down, and he is struggling to finish at the basket.
Johnson was All-SEC last season as a Gamecock and had one of his better games against Auburn. He is averaging 9.6 points per game this season, down from 14.1 points per game last season.
Bruce Thornton is one of the top guards in the conference and the country, and many people were excited to see him paired with Johnson. Meechie Johnson’s ability to carry some of the scoring load is a big way to help unlock Thornton and help him reach his full potential.
Johnson has shot the ball well from three-point range, but he can improve his overall scoring ability this season. If the Buckeyes want to upset Auburn, he will have to have an efficient game on offense and make sure the defense cannot key in on Thornton offensively.
Continue reading...