Ohio State Basketball and Michigan meet for the first time this season. Here is what the Buckeyes need to do to go on the road to beat their rival.
The Ohio State Basketball team takes to the road this Tuesday, February 4th and head to Ann Arbor to face Big Ten foe and rivals, the Michigan Wolverines. The Buckeyes come in off a big win at home against the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday and a record of 14-7. The Wolverines come off of a big win of their own taking down #25 Rutgers also on Saturday. They come in with a record of 13-8. Here are the things the Ohio State Buckeyes need to do to take home the victory at Michigan.
1 – Win the turnover battle
Turnovers are one of the most important things to control in a game. They are even more important on the road when you want to limit the opponents’ runs and take the home crowd out of the equation. The Buckeyes are averaging 13.5 turnovers per game while the Wolverines average 11.6. This is a rivalry game in a hostile environment so limiting your own turnovers and winning the turnover battle goes a long way in keeping the crowd out of it and having key possessions on both sides of the court. I will always mention turnovers as a key to victory at any time, anywhere.
2 – Keep the ball moving on offense
Ohio State had been struggling offensively as of late. During the first half of the Indiana game, they did a great job on that side of the ball spacing the floor, and moving the ball around until they got the best shot possible. If they can keep that up against Michigan, Ohio State will put themselves in a great position to win the game. Keeping that ball moving helps with nobody talking bad ill-advised shots, not standing around, and it helps with not having one guy just pounding the ball on the ground until they are forced to create a shot for themselves.
Keeping the ball moving keeps everyone in rhythm for when it is their time to shoot. The good spacing that comes with that with keep the Michigan defense running to recover as the Buckeyes pick and replace which will pay dividends in the second half as it can tire the Wolverines out on both sides of the floor.
3 – Defensive Rebounds
The Buckeyes can give themselves a great chance for victory on the road by winning the rebounding battle, most importantly the defensive rebounding battle. If they can do this it can limit second chance possessions and second-chance points. When you are in someone else’s house second chance anything for the home team can create or take back momentum and let the crowd get fired up all over again.
Home crowds feed off of momentum and the team will feed off of the crowd. Keep the Michigan Wolverines to one chance possessions and get back to the offensive side of the ball can keep them out of rhythm offensively also.
The Big Ten has been the hardest conference in the country this season to win on the road. For Ohio State to pull that off in Ann Arbor they need to stick together and control the controllable.
Limit those turnovers and win the turnover battle, don’t be a ball stopper on your own offensive side of the ball by keeping the ball moving to the opening man for the best shot possible, and win the boards specifically by dominating the defensive rebounding to limit second-chance points. All of these things will keep Michigan on their heels and the crowd quiet and in their seats and off their feet.