Basketball Preview: Sacred Heart at No. 20 Ohio State

By Tim Shoemaker on November 23, 2014 at 2:15 pm
Amir Williams sends it home.
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Make sure you're sitting down before reading the following sentence: At 63.3 percent, Ohio State is No. 1 in the country in field-goal percentage.

Sure, it's only been two games against teams inferior to the 20th-ranked Buckeyes, but for a team that was so offensively challenging a year ago — Ohio State shot 45.0 percent from the floor last season which was fifth in the Big Ten — it's certainly an eye-popping statistic.

WHO WHERE WHEN TV
Sacred Heart (1-1) Schottenstein Center 7 p.m. BTN

A lot of it has to do with the addition of a talented freshman class. Some of it has to do with the improvements from seniors like Sam Thompson and Shannon Scott. But ask head coach Thad Matta what the biggest difference is he's seen offensively in this year's team and his answer is quite simple.

“Shot selection, I think," Matta said. "I think guys are taking shots in a game that they’ve shot a high amount of repetitions of that shot. As crazy as it sounds, we break every single shot down from holding a follow through to not holding a follow through. Guys are looking at their percentages, they’re looking at their shots."

To think Ohio State is capable of keeping up this type of shooting display for any long stretch of time would be a bit naive. In fact, prior to this year, the Buckeyes had not shot over 60 percent in consecutive games since 2009.

It will eventually start to level out, but it's certainly been the hot start Matta was hoping for coming off one of the least-efficient offensive teams he's had in recent seasons.

The Buckeyes have started the year 2-0 and welcome a 1-1 Sacred Heart squad to the Schottenstein Center tonight. They'll look to continue their hot start to the season against the Pioneers.

Opponent Breakdown

While the Buckeyes have shot lights out in their first two games, the Pioneers have done the opposite.

They've shot 47.1 percent from the field through the season's first two games, but just 20.8 percent from 3-point range and 61.5 percent from the free-throw line. Again, these are just numbers through two games, but Matta is hoping they continue tonight. 

"They have not shot the ball well to this point in the season, but I don’t know if I’ve seen a team that’s had more of them going in-and-out," Matta said. "And we’re always a Get Well card for teams that haven’t shot the ball well to come in and make shots."

Sacred Heart has been paced by redshirt senior guard De'Von Barnett and sophomore forward Evan Kelley. Barnett is the team's leading scorer (13.0 ppg.) and rebounder (6.0 rpg.), while Kelley is the only other player averaging double-figure scoring (11.5 ppg.). 

The Pioneers also feature a bit more size than Ohio State's first two opponents. They've got a pair of big guys in the 6-foot-11 Cole Walton and 6-foot-10 Flip Nowicki who will give the Buckeyes' trio of big men some length they've yet to see. Nowicki seems to be the more significant contributor of the two, but is only averaging 3.5 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per contest.

Buckeye Breakdown

Ohio State has been well-balanced through its first two games with at least four double-figure scorers in each win.

Surprisingly, freshman D'Angelo Russell did not score in double-figures after his 16-point performance in the opener. The five-star recruit from Louisville scored just six points in the Buckeyes' 74-63 win over Marquette and had seven turnovers in what was considered a rough outing.

“I feel like I needed that — to play, I wouldn’t say struggle, but play the way I played — just to prepare me for the next game," Russell said. "I wouldn’t say it was a bad thing for me.”

Meanwhile, Ohio State's senior point guard Shannon Scott has been the floor leader many thought he could be, leading the country in assists at 12.5 per game. He's coming off a 14-assist performance against the Golden Eagles, which was one shy of tying Ohio State's single-game record.

The Buckeyes have also got two strong performances from redshirt freshman guard Kam Williams, who actually leads the team in scoring, off the bench. To the surprise of many, Amir Williams also played very well against Marquette with a 12-point, four-rebound performance where he went 6 for 6 from the field.

Ohio State is also still trying to work the kinks out of its 2-3 zone defense. It's different from the in-your-face man-to-man Matta's teams have run in recent seasons, so the transition has been a bit rough for stretches this season. Thirty of Marquette's 63 points came in the paint in the Buckeyes' last game.

“It’s definitely different. It’s kind of a different feel," senior forward Sam Thompson said. "You have to pay attention to the scouting different, you have to pay attention when you’re watching film differently. I don’t know if it’s anything tough. I think the zone’s been real good for us. It allows us to save some energy."

How It'll Play Out

Believe it or not, just two games into the season Ohio State and Sacred Heart already have a common opponent in UMass-Lowell.

The Buckeyes routed the River Hawks by 37 in their season-opener while the Pioneers fell to them by three earlier this week. That should tell you just about everything you need to know about this game.

Ohio State doesn't play another team remotely close to its talent level until Dec. 2 when it travels to Louisville as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, so these next few three games will be nothing but tune-ups for that showdown against the Cardinals.

Expect the Buckeyes to roll easily tonight.

“We’re preparing for Sacred Heart, but there’s still a lot of areas where we feel both offensively and defensively we have to get better at," Matta said. "That’s kind of the focus as we move forward. It's another chance for us to get better."

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