On the heals of Thursday night visit to the World’s Most Famous Arena (a.k.a. The Dump) to John Beilein, Jim Carty’s favorite candidate for the Michigan gig, beat Clemson, Hoopraker sets its sights on the final weekend of the men’s college basketball season. Back in December, Hoopraker identified the Florida game as a barometer for the Buckeyes, one which unfortunately dumped cold rain on the young turks from Columbus. Now, on the last day of March, Ohio State faces a more imperative benchmark in John Thompson III and the Georgetown Hoyas, the best combination of talent and discipline they will have faced all season. For Ohio State, the dominoes are set up beautifully for redemption in the Georgia Dome.
The Opportunity
Through the machinations of bracket czar Gary Walters, Ohio State has been afforded the opportunity to exorcise the nightmares of last year’s second round debacle to Georgetown. Not only that, the basketball Buckeyes may have a crack at double redemption, provided they beat the Hoyas: the humiliation of the blowout on National TV in Gainesville earlier this season as well as Jim Tressel’s pounding at the hands of Chris Leak and Urban Meyer. In December, Hoopraker pointed to the Florida game as a barometer for the Buckeyes, one which fell rapidly. Now, on the last day of March, Ohio State will be gravely tested once again by John Thompson III and the Hoyas, the most disciplined team they will face all season.
Bring Their A Game
Columbus continues puts its head in the sand and attribute last year’s blowout NCAA loss to Georgetown as a physical mismatch. The loss to Georgetown was excused by the Columbus enablers because the Hoyas were too big to be beaten by number 2 seed Ohio State. Contrary to this Franklin County conventional wisdom, last year’s loss was the product of the talented coaching of Thompson III, who assembled a disciplined basketball team that exposed Ohio State’s impatience on offense. While Thad Matta has refused to show his team game film of last year’s blowout, he surely has watched the film. It demonstrates the ability of structured offense and solid team defense to disrupt, frustrate and ultimately beat a collection of free wheeling sharpshooters. If Ohio State wants to win, it’ll need to have learned important lessons from last year’s loss.
In order to beat Georgetown, which is among the best defensive teams in the Country, Ohio State needs a forty minute effort. They need to find the elusive inside-outside offensive balance that briefly surfaced during the Big Ten Tournament only to fade in in mid-March. They will need to hit the boards with passion. They will need to be patient and execute. And they will need to defend, and contain, Jeff Green, a 6′9″ matchup problem waiting to happen. Georgetown’s offense runs through Green, as he moves the ball with deft skill for someone his size. An actively employed Matta zone will be a start but Georgetown is coached well enough to find the creases and cracks.
In addition to defending Green, Greg Oden will be called upon to contribute significant minutes, points and rebounds. For Oden, this may be his bellwether game. If you count Wisconsin’s Greg Steimsma, Oden has played against one legitimate seven footer all season. In fact, Saturday may be the first time Oden will ever look up to a player at the opening tip. How he handles it, from staying out of foul trouble to establishing post position may well determine the outcome.
Ohio State possesses the talent on the court to beat Georgetown with two excellent guards, a clutch group of senior shooters and an All-American center in man-child Oden. They’re quick with their hands and feet and they’re resilient. Against Georgetown, they’ll also need to be disciplined.
Carolina Foreshadowing
Although Carolina is deeper in the frontcourt than Ohio State, surely somewhere in his hotel suite, amidst the Juicy Fruit wrappers and empty Starbuck cups, Thad Matta was paying attention to the Tarheels collapse against the Hoyas because the similarities between the Tarheels and Ohio State can’t be denied. Throughout the Tournament, it seemed clear Carolina was the class of the field, defending and running, blending talent on the perimeter with a powerful inside game.
But against a Princeton offense, the same one many empty suits chastise Bill Carmody for employing at Northwestern, Carolina was beaten. The beneficiary of an 11 point lead late in the game, the Tarheels provided Georgetown with the opportunity to win by continuing to take ill-advised three pointers early in the clock. They ignored their horse Hansborough until it was too late. The game slipped away because the Carolina lacked patience and offensive discipline. Pulling the reigns on a points per possession-deluded team proved impossible under the bright lights of the Elite Eight. For Big Ten fans, hopefully this scenario doesn’t recur in Atlanta.
Success or Unsuccess
Perhaps the product of some latent childhood fear of being last in line at the bus stop, some in the Columbus have prematurely labeled the season an unqualified success. They argue the Buckeyes have made it to the Final Four, they’ve won lots of games and they’re Best in Show in a Big Ten Conference that possesses just two elite teams. Granted, they’re winning the games they should. In the Tourney, they stole one from Xavier, they beat an incompetently coached Tennessee team (Bruce Pearl squandered a 20 point lead in six minutes) and an overrated, soft, and confused Memphis team.
The Hoyas are the best team the Buckeyes will have played since Florida. Still, if the Buckeyes lose, it’s a major disappointment. They’re left with the same ending as last season but ultimately a little worse. But if they beat Georgetown, well then, that would be something to proud of indeed.
