Ohio State is sitting on the proverbial bubble, and it could collapse at any time. In comes a very good Iowa team that gave the Buckeyes all kinds of fits last time on the road. Can the tide turn at home? It needs to if there are any designs of this OSU team making the NCAA Tournament — at least absent of some pretty major upsets down the road.
We’ve already previewed the game earlier. Now we’ve got three keys to Ohio State beating Iowa.
Next … Limit the turnovers
Don’t turn over a new Buckeye leaf
Well yeah. This has kind of been the major Achilles heel for Ohio State. When it turns the ball over with reckless abandon, it has a hard time hanging with really good ball-clubs. When it doesn’t, the mountain isn’t as tough to climb.
The first time around on the road in Iowa City, the Buckeyes gave the ball away a whopping 21 times. That’s 21 extra possessions for a team that doesn’t need the help to score. That can’t happen in this contest, or a bunch of other things will have to go overwhelmingly in favor of Ohio State to somehow pull out a key victory.
Next … Neutralize the outside shot
Clamp down on Jordan Bohannon
Forwards Luke Garza and Tyler Cook create their own mismatch nightmares on the front line, but Bohannon has been unconscious lately with big-game heroics from deep. Ohio State can’t forget about the inside game, but it has to limit the effectiveness of the 6-1, 185 lb. guard by making him drive the basketball rather than spot up for three.
It’ll be tough. He might have the quickest release in the entire league and doesn’t need much room to get his shot off. Someone has to stick in his shorts, and by all means, he can’t be left open for fear of helping out elsewhere. He’s the one guy you have to find on the floor at all times.
Next … Effective in a B1G way
Major contributions from Kaleb Wesson
The younger, yet bigger Wesson continues to struggle against a long strong front court. He had a hard time going against Bruno Fernandez of Maryland, and we saw the issues against Syracuse and Iowa in previous matchups.
Maybe the home crowd helps this time around, but if Ohio State gets any kind of contribution from Wesson in College Park, it might pull that game off. He has to be engaged and effective in this one, bust through the mental block of going against big guys on the block, and go get some much needed scoring.
If not, it could be a long, long night for the scarlet and gray.
