In a state that attracted 50,000 fans to a high school football game in 2001, Ohio State basketball has long struggled to escape the Buckeye State's religious zeal for football. Particularly in a season in which the school's gridders are headed to the national championship game, the Ohio State basketball team is starving for attention.
But with the football team out of action until January 3rd, head coach Jim O'Brien's squad may be able to steal some attention in America's biggest college town, Columbus, Ohio.
A win over No. 6 Duke in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge would certainly help.
The game, being played in Greensboro, N.C., will be the first meeting between the schools since 1978 when No. 1 Duke was upended in overtime by unranked Ohio State.
The Buckeyes are coming off a disappointing 54-48 loss to No. 4 Alabama, a game in which Ohio State exhibited its formidable defense. The Buckeyes' trademark scrappy play and intense man-to-man pressure frustrated the Crimson Tide all night long. Alabama's shots could not have been more pitiful if they had pepper spray in their eyes--they were a horrific 17 percent from the field in the second half.
"It was kind of an ugly win, but ugly girls get dates, too," Crimson Tide coach Mark Gottfried said. "That's the way we were tonight, but Ohio State had a lot to do with that."
However, that the Buckeyes were still able to lose to Alabama is indicative of the disrepair of Ohio State's struggling offense. The scarlet-and-gray shot a meager 28 percent in the contest, with its best player, senior shooting guard Brent Darby, going 0-for-8 on the night.
"I stunk the gym up," he said. "You can see that in my stats."
Ohio State's shooting woes are partly due to recent injuries to starting point guard Brandon Fuss-Cheatam and junior college transfer Shun Jenkins. Both will sit out the Duke game. The injuries magnify Ohio State's biggest deficiency--depth and ability at the guard position.
The Buckeyes will be starting a guard who is yet to fully recover from two traumatic experiences--back surgery and a bullet wound in the buttocks. The healing Buckeye, Matt Sylvester, is an inexperienced redshirt freshman who has turned the ball over five times in each of Ohio State's first two games. In addition, Darby has played all 80 minutes of the Buckeyes' first two games. If the pace of play is controlled by the Blue Devils, Darby could be in for another woeful and exhausting night.
Conversely, the Blue Devils' backcourt is one of the most talented in the nation. Fresh off a resounding victory against UCLA, Duke will look to punish the Buckeyes by utilizing its athletic--and plentiful--guards, pushing the ball up and down the court in an uptempo game.
This is the antithesis of Ohio State's tedious game plan, which is masterfully structured by O'Brien to capitalize on his player's strongpoints, hustle and defense. O'Brien does not boast a talent-laden roster, but he always maximizes the potential of his athletes. And in a big game against Duke, the Buckeyes will certainly be at their best.
Ohio State should be expected to key in on Redick defensively, who was very impressive with 20 all-purpose points against UCLA--he drained five threes, had a few nifty moves to the basket, and even outmuscled his Bruin counterparts.
"J.J.'s our most mature, consistent freshman," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He shoots better than that in practice."
More than that, Redick is one of the catalysts of Duke's offense.
"When we're on the court, [Redick] is a guy who we have an awareness of," Duhon said. "We know we should get him the ball. He's a momentum shooter for us."
The frontcourt battle should prove more competitive, however, as the Buckeyes tout a 7-foot center in Velimir Radinovic, 6-9 forward Terence Dials, and 6-7 forward Zach Williams. Radinovic and Williams are both upperclassmen, and will look to expose the inexperience of Duke's starting big men, freshmen Shelden Williams and Shavlik Randolph.
But if the UCLA game was any indication, Duke will not have to rely solely on its underclassmen in the paint. Both Sanders and junior Nick Horvath were impressive against the Bruins, and will be pivotal in preventing the Buckeyes' upset bid.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.