Ohio State survived to see another day of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, but the road to further advancement is getting a lot more difficult this afternoon.
No opponent the Buckeyes have faced this season has ranked higher in the AP Final Poll than Villanova (No. 6), who is second in the Southern Region and has the advantage to end Ohio State’s run in the second round. , where Chris Holtmann has yet to escape as head coach of the Buckeyes.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | a television |
|---|---|---|---|
Villanova (27-7, 16-4 MVK) | PPG Paint Arena | 14:40 | CBS |
The Big East champions have won 11 of their last 12 games, including four wins against ranked opponents, and carried the momentum of a 20-point victory over No. 15 seed Delaware on Sunday at 2:40 p.m. against Ohio State. According to KenPom, the Wildcats are the ninth-best offense in the nation and are led by two-time Big Ten Player of the Year Collin Gillespie.
The Buckeyes halted their recent slump with a 54-41 win over Loyola, who was chosen by many to break the baseline, in the first round of Friday’s tournament during a game in which Ohio State showed its best defense. season. It may take more of the same to get to the Sweet 16, combined with improved offensive efforts, but the Buckeyes are far from incapable of delivering that kind of performance.
“All this time we knew we were a dangerous team, we just had to get it all back,” Ohio state guard Eugene Brown said Saturday. “We just feel like we need to prove something to everyone who has discounted us, everyone who continues to discount us. It would mean a lot to us.”
Holtmann takes on longtime mentor Jay Wright, a former Big East member from his Butler days, as the Buckeyes and Wildcats compete for a chance to move to San Antonio.
What to look out for
High octane crime
In addition to being ranked in the top 10 offenses in the nation by KenPom’s Adjusted Performance Score, Villanova is also the highest-scoring 3-point shooting team left in the NCAA Tournament with 9.4 points per game, which puts the Wildcats in 22nd. place among the best in the country. In Villanova, four players average at least 10 points per game, with two (Gillespie and Justin Moore) scoring over 15 points. Holtmann is particularly focused on how Villanova uses his defenders downstairs as head coach Bakaj believes his team’s lack of size in the backcourt could create defensive problems.
“Gillespie is also a force guard, very physical. I think it’s a concern,” Holtmann said. “We are small and we are also small in some of these places. Malaki (Branham) is not short, but thin. He is 18 years old. So this is very worrisome. It’s just that, because they’re posting their guards. They put up their top five, but they put up their guards. Their top post players, along with their top five, are their first and their second, so yeah, that’s a concern.”
Can Holtmann break through?
Sunday marks the third time Holtmann has taken the Buckeyes to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but he never broke that barrier. Holtmann had already competed in the Sweet 16, doing so with Butler in 2016-17 before losing to North Carolina to fill a vacant position at Ohio State the following offseason. Holtmann’s first Buckeyes team beat South Dakota State before losing to Gonzaga for a 5th-place Round of 16 in 2018. The following year, Caleb Wesson and the 11th-seeded Buckeyes knocked out 6th in Iowa State before moving on to Houston.
Ohio State lost in the first round a season ago, but a surprise advance to the third round of the tournament this season could silence Holtmann’s critics, who were buoyed by his failures in late February and early March.
Is the improved Buckeye D sustainable?
Ohio State’s defensive turnaround, which was assembled in just eight days, was nothing short of stunning on Friday, as the Buckeyes climbed from 131st in the defensive group in the nation, holding Loyola to just 41 points at 26.8 percent. hits. a game. But can Ohio maintain that level of defensive intensity? It will most likely be needed to slow down one of the most effective offenses in the country, especially when it comes to stopping Wildcat’s outstanding backcourt play.
“I feel like we’re going to have to (show similar defensive play) if we want to win,” Branham said. “If we just stay connected like we did in the last game, I feel like we’ll be in good shape.”
Three important buckets
E. J. Liddell
Liddell started off slow offensively on Friday and finished with just 16 points, low by his standards, but still enough to secure a low-scoring win. Liddell dealt half his damage on the free throw line, knocking down 8 of 10 shots while committing seven fouls that day. The All-American third team also broke 10 boards and blocked three shots during the Buckeyes’ impressive defensive run across the board, and Liddell will once again be in the spotlight against the Wildcats on Sunday.
“This is a professional. I show our guys the movie like everyone says this guy is a pro, that guy is a pro,” Wright said. “This is a professional. He’s also a shot blocker and a top rebounder. So this is a basketball player. He’s just a basketball player. He will be a handful.”
Malachi Branham
The matchup between Branham and Loyola quarterback Lucas Williamson was to be an important one, and the freshman had the upper hand on both sides of the court. Branham finished with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and his plus/minus 18 lead all Ohio State players. Branham will again be pivotal for the Buckeyes against Villanova as the Wildcats rely heavily on defensive play and are likely to drop All-Big East second-team defenseman Justin Moore on the freshman wing.
Jamari Wheeler
The wily Ohio State veteran point guard will pull off a tough defensive task against Gillespie, who the Buckeyes must keep under control if they hope to get a chance to make it to the second round. Wheeler hit just 1-of-4 in his NCAA Tournament debut against Loyola, scoring four points with just one assist to finish plus/minus seven in Buckeye’s 13-point win. But he was instrumental in organizing Ohio’s huge defensive effort, and he may have to do something similar against Gillespie and Company.
Three important wild cats
Player | Position | Height | Weight | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
COLLIN GILLESPIE | gram | 6-3 | 195 | 15.9 points, 3.9 rebounds |
JUSTIN MOORE | gram | 6-4 | 210 | 15 points, 5 rebounds |
BRANDON SLATER | F | 6-7 | 220 | 8.9 points, 3.7 rebounds |
JERMAINE SAMUELS | F | 6-7 | 230 | 10.5 points, 6.3 rebounds |
ERIK DIXON | F | 6-8 | 255 | 9.2 points, 6.3 rebounds |
Colleen Gillespie
The aforementioned Gillespie iron did not work by chance. A utility bench on Villanova’s 2017-18 national championship-winning team, Gillespie has started every game he has appeared in since then for the Wildcats, amassing 121 starts in his five-year college career. Gillespie leads Villanova, averaging 15.9 points per game, a career high for a Pennsylvania native. He also makes 3.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
In addition to a five-point game against Connecticut in the Big East semi-finals, Gillespie has scored at least 11 points in six of his last seven games. He hit four of his nine 3-pointers against Delaware and is hitting 42.3% of his 3s this season.
Justin Moore
When it comes to Villanova’s starting quarterback, there’s hardly a drop in performance as Wildcat third-year Justin Moore is averaging second on the team at 15.2 points per game this season. Moore shot 40.8% from the field and 35.3% from the three-point line and is not afraid to score, leading the team with an average of 12.8 shots per night. Moore is also averaging five rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, and the junior led all Wildcats with 21 points against Delaware in Villanova’s first-round win.
Jermain Samuels
Like Gillespie, Wildcat 5th-year forward Jermaine Samuels played for Jay Wright, the NCAA champion Villanova in 2018, and now the 6-foot-7 frontcourt is a key contributor to a team with similar aspirations. With an average of 10.5 points per game, Samuels is third on the Wildcat list in scoring and his 6.3 rebounds are the best on the team. Samuels’ contribution to scoring can often be feast or famine, but he scored 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting and also lost nine boards against Delaware.
How does this happen
Line: Villanova -4.5, O/C: 131.5
With Kyle Young and Zed Key active, the Buckeyes have a depth and versatility that could give Villanova trouble if a few Ohio State players not named E.J. Liddell and Malachi Branham step in to raise scarlet and grey. But Villanova’s guards, namely Gillespie and Moore, will cause a lot of trouble defending the Ohio State Perimeter all day long. Factor in that Villanova is on a six-game winning streak and it’s hard to pick against the Wildcats, though Ohio State won’t make it easy for them.
Forecast: Villanova 74, Ohio 69