Eleven Warriors

Can Swatterdale repeat his numbers?

#6 Ohio State 14-4, 28-7 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

March 21, 2010 2:20 PM ET - CBS —— Bradley Center Milwaukee, WI

Georgia Tech 7-9, 23-12 ACC Roster | Schedule

A week ago, we thought the Midwest Region was the Beast of the tournament, but after the first 3 days of play, it has become the region that has blown up brackets across the land.

Ohio State overcame a tough game from Evan Turner to take down UCSB 68-51 in the first round, while Georgia Tech took down Oklahoma St. 64-59. The Jackets slipped into the Dance by making a run in the ACC tourney, after they finished tied for 7th with a sub .500 record of 7-9 in the conference.

Georgia Tech has an RPI of 27 and have played the 10th toughest schedule. They are a little on the younger side, playing 4 freshmen and a sophomore amongst their top 8. They are 5-9 against the RPI top 50, but 4-3 against top 25 teams this year, including wins over Duke and Maryland.

Opponent

The Yellow Jackets lost 6 of their last 9 regular season games, but have won 4 of 5 since, giving up just 60.4 points per contest. G. Tech comes in scoring 73 points a game, on 46.1 shooting overall and 36.9 percent from deep. They do have a tendency to get sloppy, averaging 16.3 TO's a game, but counter that by forcing 15 from their opponents. On the season, GT gave up 65.4 points a game and held teams to 38 percent shooting, which is good for 5th in the country.

Georgia Tech has some height across the front, lead by the 6'10" freshman Derrick Favors and 6'9" junior Lawai, who both average over 8 boards a contest. 6'8" senior Zach Peacock will come off the bench, playing about 20 minutes, registering 8.6 points and 4 boards a game. Maurice Miller and Brian Oliver, both guards will also see over 15 minutes, combining for 11 points a game.

In their opening round game, the Jackets connected on 24 of 25 FT attempts, while Oklahoma State made 9 of 13. They only shot 10 threeballs in their 44 FG attempts, but allowed the Cowboys to shoot 50 percent from the field. They dominated the glass, 32-17 and were able to snag 10 offensive caroms, but only had 1 block.

Buckeye Breakdown:

OSU has to hold their own on the interior today if they are going to extend their season. They outrebounded the Gauchos 38-35, but gave up 12 O-boards, which lead to 10 more shot attempts by UCSB. The Jackets will pound it inside and it's imperative that Dallas Lauderdale stays out of foul trouble, especially after his stellar game in the first round, setting career highs in boards (12) and blocks (8). He'll be anxious to repeat the performance, but he has to control his energy early, to ensure there isn't a quick foul.

Evan Turner was clearly frustrated with the amount of contact Friday night and he can expect more of the same today, but I think he'll be bale to handle it better and bounce back from his tough opener. Hopefully Diebler is getting more of the same medicine he got during the week, his 7 of 11 triples were huge and he has now made 12 of his last 23 shots from the arc.

I don't know if we will see any zone from Thad today, trying to guard against foul trouble and taking his chances with GT beating them from outside. OSU plays such great man defense, but the Jackets don't shoot well or much from deep. I also think the Buckeyes can force G. Tech to go small by getting out on the breaks and constantly taking the rock to the hole.

I think the Bucks come out ready to play for this one, knowing both Georgetown and Kansas have been knocked out of their region. I also know OSU has better scorers, but the teams that have given them trouble this year are taller in the front court. Also, if the refs call some ticky-tack BS, it could influence the outcome, but I think the Bucks make enough key stops on defense and pull off a 66-60 win, marching into the Sweet Sixteen to face off against Tennessee.

Etc

• The Bucks are 10-3 all-time against Georgia Tech.
• OSU is 26-0 this season when leading with 5:00 left.