The second the horn sounded as on Ohio State’s 93-69 victory over Washington, the Buckeyes' thoughts immediately turned to Sunday. They weren’t thinking about going to 15-10 or about their NCAA tournament chances.
It could be a spitting contest; Ohio State would fight like crazy to beat that team up north. Dusty May’s team comes to town on Sunday for what could be the first of many battles between him and Jake Diebler.
Ohio State played great against Washington this week. They shot 58.2% from the field and 61.1% from beyond the three-point arc. Bruce Thornton (17), Aaron Bradshaw (12), John Mobley Jr. (21), and Micah Parrish (21) all scored in double digits. Ohio State needed a victory like this 24-point beat down before they play their biggest game of the season.
The key to victory in this rivalry game against the 1st place team in the Big Ten will be crashing the boards. Rebounding will decide the game. Ohio State has only had one game this season where they won the battle of the boards and lost the game. That was their 70-68 loss at Wisconsin on January 14th. The Buckeyes out-rebounded the Badgers 32-31.
In all of their other losses, they were out-rebounded and only weren’t in this one by the thinnest of margins. This has been their Achilles heel, and they’ll need a good game in this aspect to get this important win. The usual things you look for in games this time of year won’t be noticed.
This is the final chance that the Ohio State basketball team will have to beat a ranked team. Michigan is the last currently ranked opponent that the Buckeyes face this season. It would be a really nice resume-boosting win to get before the month of March starts. A win here would likely put the Buckeyes in the NCAA Tournament.
Things like making your case for the NCAA tournament and conference standings are put on the back burner. The Buckeyes 15-10 record won’t matter; neither will Michigan’s 19-5 record. Games like this are remembered, one way or the other. Go, Bucks, beat that Team Up North!