Scarlet and Gray versus The Orange

ohiostate.247sports.com

Just hours away now from the Elite Eight and the Buckeyes participation against the Orangemen of Syracuse.  Truth be told, the jitters are setting in.  Ordinarily, I haven't felt this way about Ohio State basketball.  Generally, the jitters only come with the football team no matter who we play.  However, this year is different.  This is the third consecutive year that the Buckeyes have advanced to at least to the Sweet Sixteen and now are within one game of making it to New Orleans for the Final Four.

Reading the opinions online and in the papers, it is clear that many pundits, analysts and experts if you will, have picked the Buckeyes to advance over Syracuse.   Most note that Ohio State's offense will be too much for the zone of Syracuse.  They all speak of the inside game of Sullinger and the stifling defense of Aaron Craft, the Big Ten's defensive player of the year.  Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, they are not the three-point shooting team of last year.  The Buckeyes will face a Syracuse team that only knows how to play zone defense and the three-point shot can make the difference.

content.usatoday.com

Then again, it did not make a difference for Wisconsin which banged in 14 three-point shots against the Orangemen.  One has to wonder what it takes to beat Syracuse when you are able to shoot the lights out like the Badgers did but still come up short.  The difference for Ohio State in this evening's game will come down to three key factors. 

Ohio State plays great defense.  Arguably the best defense of any college team.  Especially, half-court defense.  Syracuse will face a team that is relentless on the defensive end.  Ohio State does give up some easy baskets and they often can be hurt in the transition game.  However, their aggressive and relentless style of defense, specifically from Craft will cause the Orange some serious trouble. 

Secondly, William Buford, the Buckeyes standout scorer needs to shoot and score for the Buckeyes to effectively beat Syracuse's zone defense.  Buford, who has not scored well in any of his Sweet Sixteen performances over the last two years, needs to have a big night.  He needs to hit three, four or five 3-point shots.  He needs to hit them early.  If Ohio State hits some threes early, it will relax the middle where Sullinger can do some real damage.  The Buckeyes should match up well on the boards and will have some second effort opportunities.

The third area of consideration is the foul line.  Ohio State needs to own the foul line.  They need to make their free throws and they need to keep their key players out of foul trouble.  Both Craft and Sullinger need to stay in the game and not lose valuable minutes sitting on the bench.  The Buckeyes have grown accustomed to playing long periods without Sullinger but losing minutes for Craft would be a significant blow on both ends of the court. 

Two final points that give me pause about this Buckeye team.  When this team gets comfortable, they start launching shots from all over the court without their usual discipline in finding the open man.  They need to stay disciplined in this fashion throughout the game not opening the door for Syracuse to make big runs.  Secondly, they love to relax when they get a 8-12 point lead in a game allowing their opponent to make a solid run at them.   This just happened in their most recent win against the Bearcats of U.C.

If you are anything like me, you're probably happy that the Buckeyes are playing Syracuse, the number one seed in the East.  Gonzaga, Ohio, Norfolk State and others like them have a way of ruining one's tournament.  It's time for the Buckeyes to return to the Final Four.  Tonight is the night!  Buford will light it up, the defense will be great and Sullinger will stay out of foul trouble.  Look for the Scarlet and Gray to be the first team penciled in for the Final Four.