Ohio State Basketball: Can Buckeyes upset Houston in the Round of 32?

Ohio State Basketball looks to get another upset in the NCAA Tournament. Can the Buckeyes defeat the three seed Houston Cougars?

Ohio State Basketball notched a 62-59 upset win over Iowa State in the round of 64 Friday night. Kaleb Wesson (21 points, 12 rebounds) and Keyshawn Woods (19 points) came up big offensively for the Buckeyes, who truly won the game with a great defensive effort. The Ohio State “D” was suffocating in the half-court and held the Big 12 conference’s highest scoring offense well below their season average.

Now, with the Sweet 16 one win away, Ohio State will have its’ hands full against a very-talented Houston team. The Cougars (32-3) had one of the more impressive round of 64 wins as they blew past Georgia State with a convincing 84-55 victory. Star guard Corey Davis Jr led the way for the Cougars with 26 points on 7-11 shooting from beyond the arc.

While being ranked in the AP Top 25 most of the season, Houston’s tremendous run has flown under the radar. All three of the Cougars’ losses came to NCAA Tournament teams. They also boast an impressive resume of victories with wins over Cincinnati (twice), LSU, Oregon, UCF, and Temple.

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If Ohio State wants to book their flights to Kansas City for the Sweet 16, it is going to take their best performance of the season. It starts with not allowing Houston’s Corey Davis Jr. to have a big game. While the Buckeyes got the job done defensively against Iowa State, the Cyclones leading scorer Marial Shayok went for a game high 23 points that nearly cost Ohio State the victory. Davis Jr. is another player who is capable of taking over and winning a game himself. The Buckeyes will not have to completely shut him down, but they do have to contain him. If they can hold Davis Jr. around his season average (16.7 ppg), that will go a long way towards pulling off the upset.

Part of the comes with controlling tempo. Both teams are near the top in the country in defensive efficiency (Ohio State 22, Houston 12 according to KenPom). Ohio State is going to want this game to be a slow, grinder with limited possessions. The lower the score the better for the Buckeyes. In fact, in all three of Houston’s losses this season they have been held under 70 points. That should be the minimum goal for the Ohio State defense Sunday night.

When Ohio State made it a half-court game against Iowa State, the Cyclones had a hard-time finding points. However, when the game sped up and the Cyclones were able to get out in transition it showed some of the Buckeyes’ vulnerabilities. It will be critically important that Chris Holtmann’s transition defense improve, because they can not afford to lose Davis Jr or fellow sharpshooter Armoni Brooks. Both of them have made over 100 three pointers this season. Ohio State can ill-afford to let Houston get hot from long-range, because they do not have the same firepower offensively.

A high volume of three-point attempts often means a high volume of long rebounds. Houston ranks in the top 10 nationally in several rebounding statistics. The Cougars pull down over a dozen offensive boards per game. Ohio State can not allow that many second chance opportunities. The Wesson brothers will not be enough on the glass. Houston’s guards rebound very well, so it will be equally important for Ohio State’s back-court to box out and mix it up on the boards as well.

Ohio State has defended well most of the season. The real questions come on the offensive end for the Buckeyes. It does not matter how stout a team is defensively, you still have to out score your opponent to win. Houston is an excellent defensive team themselves, and the Buckeyes are going to have to take advantage of the opportunities they get.

The Buckeyes will need another big effort from Kaleb Wesson. For this to happen he absolutely must stay out of foul trouble. If he can play 30+ minutes in this game, it is almost a foregone conclusion that he will finish with a double-double. Ohio State needs to play an inside-out game, running the offense through their talented center.

Keyshawn Woods has been on fire for Ohio State the last few weeks. Without his 19 points in the round of 64, his team would be watching the rest of the tournament from home. He will need to continue to knock down his open looks from three and be aggressive as a scorer against Houston.

CJ Jackson was stymied by Iowa State. He was held to just 2 points on 1-8 shooting. That will not get it done tonight. The Buckeyes need their senior leader, who has averaged 12.2 points per game throughout the season, to step up when they need him the most. If he can find his stroke, particularly from beyond the arc, it will spread the Houston defense out and give Kaleb Wesson more room to operate in the paint.

Takeaways from Day 3 of the NCAA Tournament. dark. Next

It will take a full, team effort for Ohio State to steal a win in this one and move on to the Sweet 16. If the Buckeyes are able to notch the upset win, they have a date with Kentucky looming next week.

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