Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russel has made quite a name for himself this season with a bunch of incredible stat-stuffing performances. The fabulous freshman can elevate his status, particularly in the upcoming NBA Draft, even further if he can carry his Buckeyes team to a deep NCAA tournament run.
The VCU Rams know a thing or two about going deep in the tourney after making the Final Four in 2011. The Rams will be looking to give it another go this year, but first they must unleash “Havoc” on the young Buckeye. Read on for our breakdown of this 7 vs. 10 tournament matchup.
Get caught up with the key Round of 64 games as they come thick and fast on Thursday. Check out our previews of No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 9 Oklahoma St. and No. 8 San Diego St. vs. No. 9 St. John’s.
[sc:MarchMadness ]March Madness No. 7 VCU Rams vs. No. 10 Ohio State Buckeyes Preview
Where: Rose Garden, Portland
When: Thursday, March 19
Line: VCU Rams (+4) vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (-4); total: 137.0 – view all March Madness lines
Betting on the VCU Rams
VCU booked its ticket to the Big Dance by claiming its first ever Atlantic 10 tournament title. Including their regular season finale, the Rams have now recorded five wins in a row, and have covered the spread on the last three. Their last two wins were the most impressive, as they defeated fellow NCAA tournament teams in Davidson (93-73) and Dayton (71-65) in the semis and the final, respectively.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Leading scorer Treveon Graham (16.2 points per game) had a terrific tournament aside from his nine-point, 2-of-11 stinker in the quarterfinal against Richmond. Despite that poor game, Graham still went on to average 17 points and close to 10 rebounds, including 20 and 13 in the final against Dayton, to win tournament MVP.
Graham is built like a tank at 6-6, 220 lbs., and he’ll be quite a load for Ohio State’s slender wings to defend and keep off the boards. The Rams as a team average 12 offensive rebounds per game (24th in the nation), and will look to exploit the Buckeyes’ inability to clean the glass. Ohio State is giving up 11 offensive boards per game this season.
Meanwhile, the Rams have caught fire from three-point range, making 32-of-72 (44 percent) from beyond the arc over their last three games. VCU will definitely get its looks from that distance against an Ohio State defense that is way down in 320th (out of 351 teams) in terms of three-point attempts allowed this year.
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Betting on the Ohio State Buckeyes
Not even terrific freshman D’Angelo Russell could do much to prevent Ohio State from going 1-2 in its last three games, with two losses coming to Wisconsin (72-48) and Michigan State (76-67) – the two eventual Big Ten tournament finalists.
Russell has been absolutely fabulous as the team’s all-around star, with averages of 19 points, five rebounds and five assists per game this season. He’s taken more of a scorer’s mentality this March, though, as he’s averaging 23 points and five rebounds but just 3.4 assists. Senior Shannon Scott has done his best to provide more scoring with 14 points per game in his last four, but no one else has been quite as consistent.
Due to VCU’s lack of an interior presence, Ohio State could also opt to play a smaller lineup with the likes of Sam Thompson, Marc Loving and Jae’Sean Tate and provide more speed and scoring. The trio has accounted for 29 points per game this season.
But the key, as always, for the Buckeyes will be their star man Russell. While the freshman has played like a seasoned veteran at times this season, he’ll be up against an entirely unique defense with VCU patented “Havoc” style, which caused the third-most steals in the nation this year. With the ball primarily in his hands, a lot of responsibility will be on Russell’s shoulders to keep his composure and run the offense effectively amid VCU’s pressure.
Writer’s Prediction
Russell buckles under the pressure as higher-seeded VCU (+4) pulls off the “upset” over Ohio State.
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