March On Buckeyes
It is an exciting time for Buckeyes fans as the men’s basketball will play in the big dance. Ohio State finished the regular season with a record of 19 wins and 11 losses. It is the 35th time the Buckeyes have appeared in the NCAA tournament. Ohio State has reached the final four 10 times and has won the national championship only once. It is somewhat surprising that a program flushed with talent has not won more national championships. Let’s dive into this, shall we?
Ohio State heads to their fourth straight NCAA tournament. Ohio State will be playing in the South region as the 7th seed facing the 10th seed Loyola-Chicago Ramblers. Loyola-Chicago has transformed itself into a juggernaut, as it seems every year they make a run in the tournament. Loyola-Chicago is a well-coached team and is talented. Leading the way for the Ramblers is guard Lucas Williamson. Willamson is averaging 14.0 points per game. Loyola-Chicago won the Missouri Valley Conference by defeating Drake. Also, don’t forget the power of Sister Jean.
Ohio State has struggled late in the season and for Chris Holtmann’s squad, Holtmann has failed thus far in the NCAA tournament. Ohio State has reached the second round of the tournament once under Holtmann. Ohio State needs to look at their tape from earlier in the season when they looked like a complete team. This team has veteran leadership mixed in with a few freshmen and sophomores. The offense has leaned heavily upon Junior E.J. Liddell and Freshman Malaki Branham. The offense needs to flow more with much more ball movement and focus more on better defense. In March, the teams who play the best defense are the teams that make a big run. Is this the year Ohio State puts it all together and wins it all?
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