Ohio is one of the best teams in the country this year, even though they have lost to Kansas and Indiana. They have played without Jared Sullinger for a few games already this season. Also, they have beaten some very good teams as well: Duke and Florida. They were everyone's preseason favorite for the B1G conference as soon as Sullinger said he is planning on returning for his sophomore year.
Offensively, Ohio uses Sullinger almost every possession. They are led by a very good distributor in Aaron Craft who is still learning that he needs to score sometimes as well. They have veteran back court leadership from William Buford, likely the OSU scoring leader by the end of the season. The Bucknuts have a ton of big bodies to throw at people: Sullinger, Thomas, and Ravenel. Thad Matta recruits very good players, but I dont think he is a great college basketball coach. He is very good, just not my style. Ohio doesnt really have a clear system with Matta. He recruits highly touted players and then makes them work. I like college coaches who want to achieve a specific thing with their teams and then recruits to fill it. Coaches are able to do this more in football, you need to have clear vision for the program and then go from there. With basketball, if you can get a few good players to come there then you play their style. Ohio runs some set plays, but most of the time they work through Sullinger's post up ability. Craft will enter the ball to the block and let Sullinger feel what to do next. Whether it is a skip pass to Buford or Craft for an open jumper or if he thinks he can take his guy one on one. Also, this team is very athletic so once they get a long rebound or create a turnover they are down the court extremely fast. They are able to score a lot of points in transition. Last year Sullinger gained 20 pounds during the season and got more and more out of game shape, but this year he has kept his conditioning up and has been able to contribute more for Ohio.
Defensively, Ohio likes to play a very aggressive man to man with help defense in the middle. Craft and Buford are two of the best on the ball defenders in the B1G. If they get beat, which they seldom do, Sullinger will slide over to help. They rotate very well, and cause a lot of problems for most teams. Indiana was able to score a lot of points because the game was played at a very high tempo, and Ohio St had more turnovers than usual that IU converted into points. Ohio St is a good rebounding team, but they rely heavily on Thomas and Sullinger. 3 or 4 guys will take off for the offensive end on most shots, leaving just Sullinger and possibly one helper to collect the rebound. They are able to do this because Sullinger is extremely strong and gets great position for the missed shot.
Michigan does not match up extremely well against Ohio mainly because our lack of post presence will allow Sullinger to attack our defense and draw fouls easily. We do not have someone who can consistently deny the post pass, and Ohio will be able to run their offense from Sullinger for most of the game. If Morgan and Smot can stay on the floor, Michigan can hang with the Bucknuts, but we will need to shoot a lot better than we did against Minnesota. Craft vs Burke will be one of my favorite matchups all year. I think they Burke will struggle at times and might have a few careless turnovers, but he will likely still score double digits. Hardaway vs Burford is another very interesting matchup. Both will be forced to play more defense than they are used to, so it could affect their offense. I think Michigan will make it very close at home, and possibly upset the Bucknuts, but will not have enough fire power to win in Columbus.
Ohio is pick to win the conference, but after watching Saturday night's game I dont think they will run away with the regular season crown though. I think they will likely get to 13-15 wins, but have a few teams right behind them for most of the year.
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