BUCKEYES 101

Exactly how far into the madness can this Ohio State Buckeyes basketball team March? Will the Buckeyes “Big Three” be enough to take them to the Promised Land if they are all on the same page?

When the Ohio State men’s basketball team are at the top of their collective game, and are working together, they are one of the toughest teams in the nation to beat. There have only been a handful of games this season where this teams “Big 3” have all shown up at the same time.

We all know that in today’s basketball world, “Big Three” is a commonly used term, and a strategy use by many teams as a formula to build a team around.

Columbus, Ohio may be a college town with a college basketball team, but it certainly has its own “Big Three”. Jared Sullinger, Deshaun Thomas, and William Buford are as good as a three man tandem in the entire country when they are on their game.

Getting them all on the same page at the same time has proved to be a very challenging task this season for head coach Thad Matta. There have been several instances where two of the three have been having good games and the other not doing so good, but not many games where all three have fed off of each other.

It will be essential that these three will have to be on the same page as the regular season begins to wrap up. Buckeye Nation has been teased with glimpses of what could happen if Sully, Thomas, and Buford all get hot at the same time, but inconsistency has reared its ugly head throughout the season.

All three are averaging 15 point per contest, and will need to keep up that trend to make a run at not only a Big Ten Championship, but if there are hopes of dancing into late march, which there most assuredly are, then these three will have to make a living putting the ball in the hole.

With all of that said, there are a couple more ingredients that must be introduced into the mixture at the right time for the furthered success of this Buckeye machine, starting with the distribution of the basketball.

We all know that Aaron Craft is one of the best on ball defenders in all of college basketball, he also has plus court vision, and that alone sets him apart from other point guards.

The Buckeyes do not need Craft to score 20 points a game, they need him to distribute the ball, sit down on defense, and knock down shots when he is open.

The most important ingredient for this concoction to taste right is its depth. Matta has 10 capable players at his disposal and must use them to be successful going forward. Everyone needs to play, even if it is for only a few minutes, just to get a rest to a starter, it has to be done.

Regardless of age or physical shape, these players can’t handle playing 40 minutes a game for a stretch of 5-10 games in a row. They will need a rest eventually.

People have already started to look past this buckeye team as legitimate Nation title contenders, or even a team that can win the Big Ten. All of Buckeye Nation knows the potential and the talent on this team; it’s all about getting hot at the right time of year. We all know what can happen on the road to the final four if an entire team gets hot.

[email protected]

@The_JDam on Twitter

Justin Damron on Facebook

Tags: Aaron Craft, Buckeyes, Deshaun Thomas, Jared Sullinger, NCAA, Ohio State, Thad Matta, William Buford

Related Videos

Returning Soon!!!!

Related posts

• Ohio State Basketball Team Finds Leadership from Unlikely Source
• Which Ohio State Basketball Player Has the Most to Prove