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Ohio State Basketball: Keys to a big victory over Michigan

By Shayne Nissen

COLUMBUS, OHIO - FEBRUARY 01: CJ Walker #13 of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts during the first half of their game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Value City Arena on February 01, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OHIO - FEBRUARY 01: CJ Walker #13 of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts during the first half of their game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Value City Arena on February 01, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /
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EVANSTON, ILLINOIS – JANUARY 26: Pete Nance #22 of the Northwestern Wildcats drives against Kaleb Wesson #34 of the Ohio State Buckeyes at Welsh-Ryan Arena on January 26, 2020 in Evanston, Illinois. Ohio State defeated Northwestern 71-59. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS – JANUARY 26: Pete Nance #22 of the Northwestern Wildcats drives against Kaleb Wesson #34 of the Ohio State Buckeyes at Welsh-Ryan Arena on January 26, 2020 in Evanston, Illinois. Ohio State defeated Northwestern 71-59. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Be physical on the inside

One thing that has been lost with Kaleb Wesson losing weight in the offseason is his ability to be physical down low in the post. While his mobility and quickness have gone up, his ability to keep traditional post players off the block has suffered.

Michigan’s leading scorer is John Teske, a 7’1 senior center averaging just under 14 points a game and eight rebounds for the Wolverines this season. While he will spread the floor a bit, averaging about four threes per contest, he isn’t very efficient from long-range, only shooting 27 percent from distance.

He gets a lot of his points down low, and if the Buckeyes aren’t careful, he could be in store for a big game tonight.

Wesson has to be more physical with Teske than he has been all season if he wants to keep him out of post position. But more than likely, Ohio State will have to utilize the forces of Kyle Young and others to double down on him.

If the Buckeyes can give Teske a rough time in the paint tonight, they will be on their way to victory for the third-straight time in the Big Ten.

Buckeyes could have consecutive Rookies of the Year. dark. Next

Ohio State and Michigan will face off in Ann Arbor tonight at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN 2, as both teams look to keep their good fortunes over the last week going.

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