NCAA Basketball Scores 2012: Ohio State Will Exploit Syracuse's Interior in Win

Syracuse's loss of Fab Melo for the 2012 NCAA tournament hasn't had much of an impact en route to the Elite Eight; they've only been out-rebounded once.

Ohio State, however, is going to be the first real test for the Orange inside. Jared Sullinger and the Buckeyes will exploit the inside weakness of the Orange in a victory that will send them to the Final Four.

Melo led the Orange in rebounding with 5.8 per game. Besides his length and size in the 2-3 zone, Melo was the best rebounder on the team. 

This is a team that isn't the best group on the boards to begin with; they are 125th in the country in rebounds per game. That's with Melo.

Syracuse will need to gang rebound against Sullinger and the Buckeyes on Saturday. The Ohio State big man has averaged 9.3 rebounds per game, and the team is 57th in the country.

Advantage Buckeyes.

Rebounding from a zone is extremely difficult. Usually, when playing man-to-man defense, the player can simply turn and box out the man they are guarding. But in a zone, it's difficult to find those players immediately after the shot goes up. This allows an aggressive team to crash the boards to create second-chance opportunities. That leads to three-pointers, put-backs and extra possessions. 

Sullinger, Deshaun Thomas, Williiam Buford and Lenzelle Smith Jr. are all capable of crashing the glass with a high rate of success. Syracuse won't have enough inside to handle the heat. 

Prediction: Ohio State 71, Syracuse 70

I love how Aaron Craft plays the game of basketball. He's consistently giving it 100 percent when he's on the floor, especially defensively, and he is capable of doing things offensively to help his team.

Craft has a huge game, Buford shoots well and Sullinger dominates down low in a Buckeyes victory.