Ohio State Buckeyes
Record: 23-10, 11-7 Big Ten
Head coach: Thad Matta (10th season)
Season summary: Ohio State entered the year No. 20 in the nation with a lot of hope at challenging Wisconsin in a loaded Big Ten. However—like many teams in the Big Ten this year—the Buckeyes have left much to be desired. Thad Matta’s club opened up the season with two losses to ranked ACC opponents Louisville and North Carolina and has since dropped several Big Ten matchups as well. But the Buckeyes have shown promise, including a thrashing of then-No. 16 Maryland Jan. 29. The offense flows through freshman guard D’Angelo Russell, whose team-high 19.3 points per game is 9.1 points more than the next player. Ohio State is efficient (shooting 48.6 percent from the floor) and defends reasonably well, but if the Buckeyes want to make a run, they’ll need to catch a few breaks.
How they make a run: Russell gets hot and becomes the next in a long line of guards who have single handedly led their team deep into the tournament.
How they falter: Russell is consistently trapped and forced off balance and his teammates are unable to generate enough offense to pick up the slack.
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