Ohio State Basketball: Will Chris Holtmann get revenge vs. North Carolina?
By Willie Lutz
The Ohio State Buckeyes play their toughest opponent of the season today, but their new coach should have the Tarheels’ on alert.
In last season’s NCAA Tournament, North Carolina (who eventually won the National Championship) edged Butler 92-80 in the Sweet 16. The game was narrow, but ultimately Roy Williams coached his squad into the win column, eliminating the Bulldogs. Now, it’ll be about a triumph for the Tarheels or revenge for a certain young Buckeyes’ coach.
Chris Holtmann coached those Butler Bulldogs. Nine months later, he’ll take his Ohio State Buckeyes to neutral grounds in New Orleans, Louisiana to see the very same North Carolina Tarheels. Today represents a shot at revenge for the new Ohio State coach.
North Carolina heads into the matchup off of a disappointing, 79-75 home loss to Wofford on Wednesday evening. As for the Buckeyes, they’re riding five-straight wins, including their 94-65 victory over the Citadel on Tuesday.
Leading the Tarheels’ attack is senior PF Luke Maye, a hero from last year’s tournament. Maye comes into today’s game averaging a double-double, with 19.3 points and 10.6 rebounds.
Much to the suit of Maye, North Carolina ranks fourth in the country in rebounds per game and third in rebounding percentage. This is guaranteed to give the Buckeyes, ranking 114th in rebounds per game and twenty-second in rebounding percentage.
With the rebounding edge likely going to North Carolina, it’ll be up to Ohio State’s scorers to edge the Tarheels.
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Perhaps Keita Bates-Diop, who’s played excellent basketball up to this point, can prove his worth on a national stage. Bates-Diop leads the team with 18.3 points per game and owns an impressive 60.8-effective-shooting-percentage.
Lacking other top-flight scorers, the junior forward needs to find his spots and showcase his offensive abilities. However, Bates-Diop can’t do it alone; it’s a team game after all.
Kaleb Wesson should take today’s game as a great chance to thrive at the college level. The highly touted freshman earned his spot in the starting line-up and continues to make strides. However, making big plays against North Carolina could boost the older Buckeyes to play-up against the top-5 Tarheels.
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Today’s game will be worth watching as a response game from North Carolina and a progress report for the Buckeyes. No matter what, expect Holtmann’s club to leave it all on the court, much like they’ve done against Wisconsin and Michigan.