Basketball Preview: Campbell at No. 16 Ohio State

By Tim Shoemaker on November 26, 2014 at 12:01 pm
Ohio State takes on Campbell on Wednesday
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At this point, it's difficult to gauge how good this year's Ohio State team is.

Through the first three games of the season, the Buckeyes have been off the charts offensively. They are the only team in the country shooting higher than 60 percent from the field as a team, they're averaging over 90 points per game and are shooting 45 percent from 3-point range. 

WHO WHERE WHEN TV
Campbell (1-2) Schottenstein Center 7 p.m. BTN

But in those three games, Ohio State hasn't really faced an opponent with a similar skill level. In tonight's game against Campbell, it won't either. In fact, that won't happen until next Tuesday when the Buckeyes travel to Louisville for a date with the sixth-ranked Cardinals.

"I think you see every day in college basketball, if you look past or don't take a team serious then it can come back and bite you," Matta said. "Just strictly from the standpoint of, we probably focus more on ourselves than a lot of teams do. ... We've also tried to present it in terms of us and knowing what's coming. Our guys know we have to play better basketball."

So while the matchup with Louisville will have to wait for another week, Ohio State welcomes the Fighting Camels to the Schottenstein Center tonight for some college basketball action on the eve of Thanksgiving.

Opponent Breakdown

Campbell enters the matchup with the 16th-ranked Buckeyes with a 1-2 record. The Camels won their opener against Barber Scotia, but have since dropped two straight to Davidson and Colgate.

Through three games, Campbell leads the Big South in field goal percentage, shooting 47.1 percent on the year. They also dish out nearly 17 assists per game as a team.

Leading the way for Campbell, which is located in North Carolina, is junior center D.J. Mason, who averages 15.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. The Camels also get 14 points and eight rebounds per game from sophomore guard Kyre' Hamer.

Like Ohio State's other three opponents to date, Campbell doesn't have much size. There isn't a player on the roster listed over 6-foot-6.

"We're just taking them one at a time," senior center Trey McDonald said. "We don't wanna look ahead to anyone or past anyone, anything like that. So we're just gonna focus on the next game coming up and we're gonna debrief and look at the things we did well last game and the things we need to improve on and just move forward to the next game."

Buckeye Breakdown

Until that matchup with Louisville, all the Buckeyes can do is play whoever is on their schedule.

Ohio State has played three inferior teams — Marquette was a significant notch above the other two, but likely won't be an NCAA tournament team — but has done exactly what was expected of it in those games: dominate.

The Buckeyes' offensive success has been the biggest surprise of this year's team for the simple fact it's so different from anything Ohio State fans have seen in recent years.

At the head of that offensive attack is point guard Shannon Scott, who is playing the best basketball of his career. Scott, who is coming off a school-record 16-assist performance against Sacred Heart, leads the nation in that category with a 13.7 per-game average. The No. 2 assists man in the country, UCLA's Bryce Alford, averages 9.8 per game. 

"The biggest thing I want to see with Shannon is just his ability to continue to play at this level," Matta said. "I told the team before the shoot around Sunday, I said, 'Shannon hasn't been real good in his career after a good game. I'm anxious to see how he plays tonight.' He answered the call which is awesome."

The Buckeyes are still adjusting to their new zone defense. They've allowed some easy baskets at the rim in the early going, but the main reason behind Matta's switch to the zone — Ohio State's length at every position — is starting to show some results. 

The Buckeyes have forced 56 turnovers on the year through just three games. A product of who they have played, sure, but still forcing 18.7 turnovers per game is a promising sign going forward.

"It was an adjustment at first for a lot of us," McDonald said of the zone. "I think we all just fell in love with it and we just bought in to owning our spots and learning our spots to the best of our abilities and just being the best we can be in our spots."

Ohio State will also welcome back starting center Amir Williams, who Matta said on Tuesday "plans to play."

How It'll Play Out

Like most of Ohio State's games to this point, this one won't be close.

The Buckeyes are coming off a 58-point win over Sacred Heart, playing a team which is currently .500 on their home floor. It has all of the making of another Ohio State blowout.

Expect another outcome where Ohio State has multiple players in double figures as Matta continues to figure out his rotation with the big game against Louisville only six days away.

The Buckeyes haven't had a game yet this year decided by single digits. Don't expect tonight's to change that.

"We did a lot of good things (against Sacred Heart) and we try to get our guys to understand that what we do what we're supposed to do, we're a lot better than when we try to shortcut stuff. That's the biggest thing that we're taking out of there."

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