The Buckeyes know the path to a repeat as the Big Ten's regular season champions will have to include a basket full of road wins. Protecting the home turf is fine, but everyone has learned that the conference crown ultimately goes to a group of road warriors.
Heading into a recent showdown in Lincoln against a Nebraska team that had just stunned ranked Indiana, Ohio State would have its road toughness put to the test. The Buckeyes entered that game with just two wins in five previous road games this season, and just one win in three Big Ten road contests.
In last season's Big Ten championship run, the Buckeyes had gone 7-2 in Big Ten road games, and dominated at home with a 9-0 conference mark. To match that 16-2 record in Big Ten play this time around, the Buckeyes have to win out in conference games.
Ohio State might have taken a significant step towards repeating that kind of performance with a 79-45 dismantling of Nebraska in the most recent road trip. It was not lost on the Buckeyes that the critical road win allowed them to move into a first-place tie in the Big Ten with Michigan and Michigan State.
The Buckeyes play four of their next five Big Ten games in Columbus, but a critical road trip to Madison to face Wisconsin is sandwiched in between those comfy home dates. Madison was the site of one of the two Big Ten road losses for the Buckeyes last season.
Ohio State coach Thad Matta, who fields one of the youngest teams in the conference with just one senior and one junior who is in his first year playing for the Buckeyes, likes what he is seeing from the Buckeyes as they near the midway point in the Big Ten season.
"I see this team growing inch by inch, week by week," Matta said. "We've got to continue to hammer them."
The road is where this Ohio State team will build its confidence, and its reputation. With five Big Ten road games yet to play -- including trips to face current conference co-leaders Michigan and Michigan State -- the Buckeyes have the formula on what they need to repeat as Big Ten champs. The road is the place to get that done.
NOTES, QUOTES
Buford continues assault on record book
--Senior G William Buford, as quiet a senior leader as this program has seen in some time, is making a silent assault on the Ohio State record books. Buford has made 118 starts at Ohio State, fifth all-time, and has been part of 102 Ohio State wins, eighth most in OSU history. Buford scored a team best 15 points for the Buckeyes in the recent win at Nebraska, moving his career total to 1,728 points and putting him eighth all-time at Ohio State and just 28 points short of seventh place.
--Sophomore PG Aaron Craft continues to provide the defensive spark for the Buckeyes, while also serving as the set-up man for the offensive sets. Craft had a pair of steals in the recent win at Nebraska and has 121 just halfway through his second season in Columbus.
--G Lenzelle Smith Jr. exploded for 28 points when the Buckeyes entertained Indiana recently, and led Ohio State to what looked like an easy 80-63 win over the then seventh-ranked Hoosiers. Smith was averaging about five points per game before he hit 10-of-12 shots from the field against Indiana, including 4-of-5 3-pointers.
BY THE NUMBERS: 400 -- When his team visited Nebraska for a recent Big Ten game, Ohio State coach Thad Matta worked his 400th game as a head coach. Matta is 309-91 over 12 years as a head coach, with eight seasons at Ohio State, one at Butler and three at Xavier.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "The biggest thing to tell us if we are connected is if we are talking on defense. We understand that we are in the game and focused and we have five guys on the floor. When everyone is moving and talking that feels good." -- Ohio State sophomore PG Aaron Craft on the defensive key for the Buckeyes
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
THIS WEEK'S GAMES:
--vs. Penn State, Jan. 25
KEY MATCHUPS: The Buckeyes go into the meeting with the Nittany Lions focused on not letting Penn State junior G Tim Frazier beat them. Frazier, one of the fastest and quickest players in the Big Ten, is likely the responsibility of Ohio State PG Aaron Craft, the Buckeyes' best defender. The Buckeyes expect senior G William Buford to hound Penn State senior G Cammeron Woodyard, who is a consistent scorer and a threat outside the three-point arc.
--vs. Michigan, Jan. 28
KEY MATCHUPS: The Buckeyes collide with the rival Wolverines for the first of their two meetings this season, and encounter a Michigan team that is charged and energized by PG Trey Burke. Ohio State sends its sophomore PG Aaron Craft out to try and slow Burke, who leads Michigan in scoring. Michigan sophomore G Tim Hardaway Jr. has been mired in an extended shooting slump, but Ohio State's senior G William Buford will work to see that Hardaway doesn't get well against the Buckeyes. Inside, Ohio State's All-American F Jared Sullinger squares off with Michigan sophomore F Jordan Morgan.
FUTURES MARKET: The Buckeyes are bringing along freshman F LaQuinton Ross, who was cleared to play in December and saw his first game action on Dec. 22. Ross, one of the highest rated recruits in the country last year, attended classes at Ohio State and worked out with his teammates over the summer, but had to wait until the NCAA cleared him academically. He is expected to add another dimension to the Buckeyes, with his length and outside shooting touch.
PLAYER NOTES
--G William Buford finished the first eight games of the Big Ten schedule 383 points away from being Ohio State's all-time career scoring leader. Buford needs to average about 17 points per game and have the Buckeyes advance to the Big Ten Tournament final and the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament to pass current career scoring leader Dennis Hopson, who has 2,096 points.
--F Evan Ravenel was pressed into service for substantial minutes in the road game at Nebraska due to the foul trouble that plagued All-American F Jared Sullinger. Ravenel responded with seven points and four rebounds in the Ohio State rout.
--F Sam Thompson, a freshman from Chicago, had three blocked shots in the recent Ohio State road win at Nebraska.
