Ohio State basketball in the NCAA Tournament: 5 reasons for optimism

Ohio State’s Jamari Wheeler, right, looks for an opening as Michigan’s DeVante Jones defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, March 6, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Embrace the Unkown

The Big Ten can be an absolute grind. Not only is it a physical, slugfest at times, but teams inside the conference know each other so well, it’s hard to get the looks and offensive sets you like to take advantage of the personnel and matchups. Getting outside of the conference in a setting in which the offense can have a little more success because of the unfamiliarity can often favor the more athletic teams.

Ohio State isn’t as athletic as it was during the That Matta days, but there is still a lot more ability on this team than most squads it’ll run into. OSU should be able to get some better results off of the actions they run because the scouting isn’t quite where it is in the Big Ten with so many teams that have seen sets and schemes for years.

Of course, that goes both ways too, but we often see a more free-flowing game when the Buckeyes get out of the rough and tumble Big Ten and that should benefit E.J. Liddell, Malaki Branham, and company.