Archives for March 2013

The Buckeyes will be hoping that Sam Thompson can repeat his dominant performance on Friday against the Cyclones.

The Buckeyes and Cyclones are as different as they come. Ohio State plays a defensive style of basketball, whereas Iowa State prefers to run up and down the court while taking every three-point shot they can. But both cruised to victory in the second round. Whoever wins, that will most likely not be the case in the third round of the Tournament. Without further ado, here are some matchups to watch and points of interest for today’s game, set to tip-off on CBS at 12:15.

Buckeyes offense vs. Cyclones defense:

Ohio State does not usually play an up-tempo, high-scoring type of game. But the Buckeyes showed on Friday that they can play that style of basketball and win. In an impressive 95-70 victory over Iona, the Bucks put on a show on offense. Junior forward Deshaun Thomas led the charge as usual, racking up 24 points. But the player who stole the show was Sam Thompson. The sophomore forward notched 20 points on the night, including a trio of alley-oops. If Thompson continues his stellar play, opponents ought to be afraid of him.

In looking at the box score from Friday’s game, Thomas and Thompson were nearly perfect from the charity stripe, hitting 13 of 14 attempts from the line. Junior point guard Aaron Craft didn’t put up too many points, but he dished out seven assists. Junior guard Lenzelle Smith (12 points) and senior forward Evan Ravenel (12 points) provided some secondary scoring, which will be key if the Buckeyes expect to beat the Cyclones, a team with a high-flying offensive attack.

As a whole, the offense clicked perfectly. Through the first eight minutes of Friday’s first round game, the Buckeyes were shooting 60% and had a 24-8 lead. Though the Gaels made things interesting towards the end of the first with a 12-3 run, Ohio State ousted Iona’s chances early in the second. The Gaels had no answer for Ohio State’s high-powered attack that featured a combination of treys, post plays and fast breaks.

Iowa State will have a tough time solving OSU’s offense on Sunday. Not known for defense, the Cyclones allow an average of 70.9 points per game. Barring a poor shooting outing, Ohio State should be able surpass that mark. The Cyclones have to hope that the Buckeyes have an off-day, because few teams can beat Ohio State when all cylinders are clicking on offense for the Bucks. CBS Color Analyst Clark Kellog accurately explained OSU’s current situation, “Everyone is embracing their roles and playing at a very good level.”

Cyclones offense vs. Buckeyes defense:

Iowa State is a dangerous team. As shown by the squad’s 76-58 drubbing of Notre Dame on Friday, the Cyclones can light it up from behind the arc. Iowa State nailed 9 of 21 shots from threeland on the night. The Cyclones have relied upon treys all season, as the team leads the nation in both three-pointers attempted and made. Notre Dame’s big forwards were forced to step outside to defend ISU’s three point shooters, such as guards Korie Lucious, Tyrus McGee and Chris Babb. One the Fighting Irish were pulled out of the post, forward Georges Niang snuck in down low and gashed them for easy points. The Iowa State big man notched 19 points on the night, converting on 9 of his 13 attempts. As a team, the Cyclones shot at nearly a 70% clip in the second half. It’s hard to beat a team shooting that well. As noted by Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey, “They’re very, very hard to guard. They’re really good. And with Niang in the middle kind of wheeling and all those guys spreading you out, they’re kind of a nightmare matchup. And they’re men. They’re really men.”

Ohio State will be better suited to face Iowa State’s efficient offense than Notre Dame, as the Buckeyes boast one of the best perimeter defenses in college basketball. As pointed out by Associated Press writer Joe Kay, “The Buckeyes have been very good at shutting down the perimeter during their nine-game winning streak that includes the Big Ten tournament title.” OSU also has Craft, one of the best defensive players in years to wear the Scarlet and Gray. He recorded six steals on Friday, though it seemed like more. Craft’s defensive intensity will pose a significant problem for ISU. If the Cyclones aren’t able to find any breathing room behind the arc, they are in trouble. Though the team averages 79.8 points per outing, Iowa State can be eliminated easily three-pointers aren’t falling.

Prediction: Though Iowa State could make the game close should its shooters find space from behind the arc, Ohio State has a very stingy defense. The Buckeyes have also been hot offensively, a deadly combination for the Cyclones. Though the Bucks will walk away with the victory, in this writer’s opinion, Iowa State will hang around and keep OSU fans nervous for much of the game.

Score: Buckeyes- 77 Cyclones- 69

What do you think about the game? Let us know in the comments section below!

Information from ESPN.com, the Associated Press, and Eleven Warriors was used in this article. 

Tip: Friday, March 22, 7:15 pm Court: Dayton, OH.

Watch it on: CBS  Announcers: Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Tracy Wolfson

Winner will play: No. 7 Notre Dame/ No. 10 Iowa St.

Spread: Buckeyes -13

Record: 26-7 Conference record: 13-5 Neutral court: 5-0

Leaders: Points: D. Thomas (19.5)

Rebounds: Thomas (6.2)

Assists: A. Craft (4.6)

Record: 20-13 Conference record: 11-7 Neutral court: 4-3

Leaders: Points: L. Jones (23)

Rebounds: D. Laury (10.4)

Assists: Jones (3.5)

Matchups:

Buckeyes offense vs. Gaels defense

As I talked about in the first preview, the Buckeyes should have their way with Iona’s defense. Accoring to KenPom, Iona has a defensive  efficiency rating of 105.5, good for 255th in the country and the worst out of all of the teams who made the NCAA tournament. They have let up 80+ points 11 times this season and seem to focus more on their offense rather than their defense. The Gaels also do not defend the 3-ball well at all, ranking 304th (ESPN insider) in the country. Opponents hit a three pointer almost four out of every ten possessions down the court! Not only are they poor on the ball but they are a poor defensive rebounding team. Iona is ranked 258th in the country in defensive rebounding percentage, only getting the defensive rebound 67.8 percent of the time. This could be the game where Amir Williams is a rebounding/ offensive factor inside the paint. The Gaels normally play a man to man defense but could switch to a 2-3 zone if they are getting beat man to man. The Buckeyes need to dictate the pace in this game and get Thomas going early. Having Aaron Craft as the floor general helps, as he usually does a pretty good job of slowing the game down and controlling the pace of the offense.

Gaels offense vs. Buckeyes defense

The Gael’s offense is averaging 80.7 points per game which is second best in the nation. They are also very efficient for a team that pushes the tempo, KenPom has their offensive efficiency at 113.4, ranked 20th best in the country. They have the two guards (Jones and Sean Armond) that score the basketball and do not turn the ball over. Their turnover percentage is 16.6, which is 16th best in the nation. For a team that plays at such a high tempo, it is very surprising that they do not turn the ball over often. The only way the Gaels can defeat the Buckeyes is if they dictate the pace of the game and get the Buckeyes to join in on a track meet. They want to push the ball down the court but I think Craft and Shannon Scott can disrupt their magnificent guard play. The knock on Jones is that he can force up bad shots but he can also take a game over if he gets hot. He brings swagger and has a clutch gene where he wants the ball in his hands at the end of the game. One thing about the Gaels though is that they do not lack confidence.

Prediction: 

Excellent on-ball, back court pressure by the Buckeyes’ defense will be Iona’s offensive kryptonite.

Buckeyes 79

Gaels 65

What is your prediction on this match-up? Let us know in the comments below!

After winning the B1G tournament, the Buckeyes earned the number 2 seed in the west region and they will take on the 15 seed Iona Gaels (20-13, 11-7 MAAC) of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Iona is 1-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and are ranked 101st in the RPI. Offense is Iona’s strength as they average 80.7 points per game, good for second in the nation. Their defense is their Achilles heal and the Gaels win and lose a lot of high scoring games. They did not play the toughest out of conference schedule but they did defeat a down Wake Forest team and the Georgia Bulldogs. The MAAC is not a tough conference and the Gaels finished tied for fourth place with a 11-7 record. They had to win the MAAC tournament to advance to the big dance and they did so by defeating Canisius, number one seed Niagra and then Manhattan in the championship.

Lamont “Momo” Jones averages 23 points per game for the Gaels

They are led by Lamont “Momo” Jones, the transfer from the University of Arizona who along with Derrick Williams led the Wildcats to the Elite 8 in 2011. Momo is the definition of a pure scoring guard, averaging 23 points per game which is second best in the nation. He is lightning quick off the dribble and is not afraid of contact in the lane. If the game happens to be close, Momo will take the final shot. Iona runs a three guard lineup, with Jones, Sean Armand and Tavon Sledge. Armand averages 16.6 points per game and is the Gaels second leading scorer. As a team they lack size and 6-8, 240 lb sophomore David Laury anchors the middle, averaging 13 points and 10 rebounds per game. He may be undersized but he is a hard working big man that gets the majority of the rebounds and has the ability to score down on the post or hit outside jumpers. Laury had a great MAAC tournament as he dropped 20 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in their upset win over Niagra. Off the bench the Gaels have two guards, Tre Bowman and AJ English who can also score.

Iona plays at a very high pace on offense and they want to dictate the pace of the game. They play man to man defense (which doesn’t really work) and the Gaels win by outscoring their opponent, not by playing solid defense. They have a multitude of players who can score and score at will. Surprisingly, the Gaels do not turn the ball over much for a team that plays at such a high tempo.

So, that is Iona in a nutshell and we will have a game breakdown before the two teams tip off.