Read the arguments from Bleacher Fan and Loyal Homer about which NCAA men’s basketball teams they believe are sleepers in conference.
In anticipation of this weekend’s Ohio State-Michigan matchup on the gridiron (and potentially Wolverine coach Rich Rodriguez’s final game as the head coach in Ann Arbor), and the recent kick off of the college basketball season, it is the right time to address a fact the entire college basketball world will soon understand – Ohio State can hoop it up with the best of them.
Currently ranked 16th in the nation, the Buckeyes are facing the sixth ranked North Carolina Tar Heels this Thursday night. The importance of a seemingly pointless “preseason” tournament game is not overhyped by pointing out the importance of this early season matchup, especially for the improved and resurgent Ohio State Buckeyes.
Two seasons ago head coach Thad Matta welcomed several new recruits to the hardwood in Columbus. Injuries, high expectations, and underperformance has plagued the core of the class that remains in scarlet and gray – guard Jon Diebler, swing man David Lighty, and forward Evan Turner.
Diebler was expected to be a tremendous three point threat, but has not shot the ball with enough consistency to warrant special focus from opposing defenses. David Lighty suffered a foot injury last December that effectively ended his season and stunted his growth as a contributor this season. Evan Turner has been an outstanding player, but lacked the consistency necessary from his teammates to explore his full potential.
The maturity that appeared to be lacking in Columbus in the last two seasons is now evolving. While the sample size is small, Dielber is off to a blistering start this season shooting nearly 60 percent from long range and over 14 points per game. Lighty is contributing all over the court with 11 points and two steals per game. Turner is off to the most impressive start of perhaps any individual player in the country having recorded a triple double in the first game of the season against Alcorn State. Turner is averaging 19 points per game, 17 rebounds (including nearly 13 a game just on the defensive end), seven assists, two blocks, and a steal. Once young and needing to learn and grow, Ohio State now has some NCAA tournament experience and a couple of years of “the grind” complete. In short, Ohio State has a rarity among college basketball programs in the modern age – mature players who are coming into their own.
Ohio State has another enviable trait – balance. Sure center B.J. Mullens departed to the NBA draft after just one season, but Ohio State has replaced the big men in the rotation with a more mature Dallas Lauderdale and seven-footer Zisis Sarikopoulos. The attention a seven footer receives in college basketball is a big help to improved shooting sniper Diebler who may have to rely less on creating his own space to hit a jumper and simply catching and shooting or knocking down open threes off of double teams in the post… or double teams that result from an extra emphasis on Turner. The complementary skills and styles of Ohio State present matchup problems for opposing defenses – even an improved Michigan State and the famous Tom Izzo enforced toughness.
Let’s face facts – to win big in college basketball a team must be able to shoot the three point shot well. After shooting the ball fairly well from beyond the three point line last season, the Buckeyes showed tremendous capacity for growth. Diebler knocked in nearly 42 percent of his long distance attempts while Evan Turner was at 44 percent in the 2008-2009 season. The Buckeyes only had two other players on last season’s roster record enough three point attempts to qualify for a comparative statistic. In short, Ohio State has a great ability to spread the floor this season and knock down open threes.
Teams that begin a season sleeping in a conference require a signature win to gain national notoriety. Ohio State plays #6 North Carolina Thursday, and a win guarantees no Big Ten team will lack preparation before facing the Buckeyes. While second ranked Michigan State is widely believed to be the class of the conference, the Buckeyes are currently enjoying relative conference anonymity with Michigan ranked a spot ahead at 15 and Purdue loftily placed at number seven. Ohio State has the opportunity to apply growing maturity, improved balance, and above average three point shooting to lull conference opponents to sleep before making a late run at the conference title.
