Despite his best efforts, Ohio State junior forward Marc Loving could not hide his smile when he sat down for his postgame press conference following the Buckeyes' first win in nearly three weeks last Saturday.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force (6-2) | Schottenstein Center | 8 p.m. | BTN |
"We still have a lot to work on to be able to keep the one-game winning streak alive,” Loving said, smiling.
The phrase "one-game winning streak" sounds crazy, but that's just the kind of season it has been thus far for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes snapped a four-game losing skid with an 89-62 rout of Virginia Military Institute last Saturday. They will attempt to win back-to-back games for just the second time all season Tuesday when they host Air Force at the Schottenstein Center. The matchup with the Falcons is a critical game for Ohio State as it comes right before Saturday's road game at Connecticut.
"We’ve just got to go out and we’ve got to do it again," Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta said Monday. "We’ve got to do it again, play after play after play and I think that’s one of the things we’re trying to get these guys to understand is just the messed up plays, taking plays off here or there, how vital they are especially against a team like Air Force.”
Opponent Breakdown
Air Force is certainly a step up from Ohio State's last opponent, VMI. And, even though it has played a lackluster schedule thus far, the Falcons come to Columbus with an impressive 6-2 record on the season.
Riding a three-game winning streak, Air Force has already proven it can win games in a variety of ways. The Falcons have won a game where each team scored in the 90s, one where each team was in the 60s and they also have an overtime victory on their resume.
"[Air Force is] looking to move you, cut, pass, flare, re-screen, backdoor and all that stuff," Matta said. "By the same token, they can put 90 on the board as they’ve done this year. Defensively, they’ve shown a lot of different defenses just in terms of man, zone, 1-3-1, 3-2, 2-3, matchup so our guys just have to recognize and be ready to go.”
The Falcons bring with them a balanced offensive attack with three players averaging in double figures and a fourth right on the cusp of that mark. Air Force's one-two punch of Trevor Lyons and Hayden Graham leads the way. Lyons, a sophomore guard, is the team's leading scorer at 16.0 points per game. Right behind him, though, is Graham, a 6-foot-5 junior forward who averages 15.9 points per game to go along with 9.0 rebounds.
Zach Kocur is the other double-figure scorer for the Falcons, averaging 10.3 points per game. Zach Moer averages 9.7 points per outing.
Despite its impressive record, Air Force ranks just 216th in KenPom's advanced statistical ratings; the Falcons' 318th-ranked schedule hurts them a bit there. Air Force shoots it at 44 percent from the field, 27.6 percent from behind the 3-point line and 66.3 percent from the free-throw line, while allowing 71.6 points per game.
Buckeye Breakdown
There was a collective sigh of relief from Ohio State after it snapped its four-game losing streak with the win over VMI on Saturday. The Buckeyes had been waiting for what seemed like forever for that one.
Ohio State, which was playing without starting center Daniel Giddens who was sidelined with the flu, got double-doubles from both Marc Loving (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Trevor Thompson (13 points, 10 rebounds). Jae'Sean Tate also had a team-high 19 points while Keita Bates-Diop added 12 for the Buckeyes.
The biggest thing, though, Matta said, was Ohio State cut down on its turnovers. The Buckeyes committed just nine against VMI after averaging nearly 16 per game in the first six games of the year.
"Our turnovers were down, half of our average," Tate said, "but there were still some learning points in there where we had some unforced errors.”
Matta said Giddens should be "good to go" for Tuesday's game against the Falcons so the Buckeyes should be getting back their dominant presence in the paint. Giddens leads the Big Ten and is sixth in the country with 3.3 blocked shots per game.
A win would get Ohio State back to the .500 mark as it heads into Saturday's showdown at UConn — the Buckeyes' first true road game of the season and only one in the nonconference.
“Personally I think we had another level to us [against VMI], but a win is a win," Tate said. "We can’t rest on our laurels, we can’t rest on this win because teams are just going to continue to get better so we just got to go in today, look at Air Force and try to get this win streak going.”
How It Plays Out
If you're an Ohio State fan, you were likely encouraged by the Buckeyes' play over the last couple of games leading up to the VMI win despite not getting any victories. Ohio State was plenty happy to see it culminate with a win over the Keydets.
The hope now, of course, is the young Buckeyes continue to improve each time they take the floor and continue to win as we approach the midway point of the non-conference schedule.
Ohio State has struggled a bit defensively this season against teams that are efficient on offense like Air Force, so the Falcons should be able to put up some points. The Buckeyes should dominate on the interior again, however, and in the end the overall talent level should prove to be too much.
"Coming off of a 25-point win or whatever it was on Saturday, we were able to show our guys a lot of things that we didn’t do as well as we needed to," Matta said. "A lot of it starts with us and getting them to understand that this team is nowhere near playing its best basketball that we’re going to need to. I think deep down they understand that.”
Tim's prediction: Ohio State 79, Air Force 70
