Game Day Essentials: Game #20 vs Ohio St

Ohio State Info

Head Coach: Chris Holtmann

Location: Columbus, OH
Conference: B1G
Nickname: Buckeyes

Mascot: Brutus Buckeye

Last time out: Lost to Purdue
Typical Rotation Depth: 8-9
Line: Nebraska by 7

Player to watch: Caleb Wesson

The 6'9" 270# soph is an absolute load in the paint, one of the elite foul drawers in Div 1. This Wesson leads the team in scoring and rebounds but is also foul prone. After playing only 16 minutes vs Purdue before fouling out you could see a less aggressive CW to start this game.  He's not really a shot blocker though he will take 3s and make some of them.

KenPom Helps to break down the lineup

After C. Wesson no other true centers on the team. Efficient 6'8" forward Kyle Young looks to be out with a stress fracture

• Older Wesson brother Andre has been one of the best shooters in conference from both 2 and 3. Not typically an aggressive scorer
• PG Jackson is an excellent outside shooter and also another Buckeye to be concerned about for drawing contact. Has been turnover prone
• Muhammad has struggled with his shot in conference but can get hot from 3.
• Wake Forest grad transfer Woods has struggled with his shot and had a miserable time shooting in conference, came off the bench last game
• 6'3" Fr guard Duane Washington hasn't been a great shooter but has been aggressive when on the floor
• 6'5" 200# So Musa Jallow has seen inconsistent playing time but might be necessary to guard a taller James Palmer at points. Scored in double digits last game while just playing 3 minutes the previous.
• 6'5" 180# 3pt shooting Fr Justin Ahrens and 6'9" 230# Fr post Jaedon LeDee potentially will see minutes

Miles Presser

Miles doesn't seem particularly stiff in this one. Talked about how the focus of practice was to work on rebounding, stress, etc. Mentioned that Brady 'hit a wall' which is why he hasn't really been playing but planning to work him back into the rotation.

The Skinny:

It's possible that Michigan St beat Nebraska twice last week though on a macro level maybe it's just part of a bigger identity issue.  Is this supposed to be a defense first team? It hasn't really been in conference to the point where they couldn't stop a bad Rutgers team from scoring.  Today the motivation should be there and it seems probable both of these struggling teams will come out firing.  Going forward though you have to wonder if this team will continue to yo-yo or if they've actually hit some sort of turning point (for better or worse)

Offensively it's tempting to say share the ball more, not so much James Palmer.  In this game, Palmer driving against a foul prone, non-shot blocking sort of squad seems like what the doctor ordered and this looks like an opportunity for him to put up a lot of points. Attacking Caleb Wesson also needs to be on the list to see how aggressive he'll be in this game. Holtmann doesn't really like to run zone but you could see him throwing some out against the Huskers.

Defensively Nebraska should be prepared for the Buckeyes to run everything through the paint and denying Caleb Wesson will be a top priority. CW is a good enough passer that once he touches the ball something bad is going to happen for the home team.  The Buckeyes haven't really been hunting for offensive boards so this is a battle you should expect a motivated Nebraska team to win.  The Buckeyes are turnover prone so there will be some easy basket opportunities.

Ohio St plays with a lot of effort and aggressiveness which has been a double edged sword for them.  Look for Nebraska to bounce back though.

Prediction: Nebraska 78 - Ohio St 70