Ohio State basketball: Keys for the Buckeyes to beat Duke
By Jacob Rhymer
The Ohio State basketball team continues their tough non-conference schedule tonight with a trip down to Camron Indoor Stadium for a matchup with the Duke Blue Devils. This is a rematch of last season’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge when the Buckeyes upset, at the time, the #1 ranked team in the country.
Coming into this game, the Buckeyes are riding on a lot of momentum after a successful trip to Maui as they finished fifth in one of the most loaded Maui Invitational fields we have ever seen. Duke on the other hand is coming off their second loss of this young season.
The Blue Devils got walloped by Purdue in the Phil Knight Invitational, losing by 19 points 75-56. With Duke looking to bounce back and avenge the defeat they surrendered to the Buckeyes a season ago, that means this will not be an easy game by any means for Ohio State.
There are three specific keys that the Buckeyes must do in order to pull off the upset over the Duke Blue Devils. If they are able to do these things tonight, they should be walking out of Camron Indoor Stadium with a massive win over the preeminent blue blood.
First, the Buckeyes must keep the Camron Crazies quiet.
1. The Ohio State basketball team must keep the Camron Crazies quiet
The Ohio State basketball team is going into arguably the loudest and most hostile environment in all of college basketball in Camron Indoor Stadium, home of the Camron Crazies. In order for the Buckeyes to come out victorious over the Blue Devils, they will need to silence this rambunctious student section.
The Camron Crazies thrive off exciting plays like dunks, steals, and blocks. I’m not saying to play conservatively, but the Buckeyes need to be smart with their shot selection. Make and take great shots, the three-point shot has to be effective for Ohio State to win this game. Consistently making shots from deep can keep the crowd noise down.
Ohio State also can’t turn the ball over and allow Duke to go in transition. The chaotic plays when everyone is scrambling around in transition gets the crowd excited. It can lead to a dunk or wide-open three on the other side. One big play in Camron Indoor Stadium and the momentum is all on the Blue Devils’ side. If Ohio State can limit their turnovers, the Crazies won’t have much to cheer for.
The second key is the rebounding has to be an important factor for Ohio State tonight against Duke.