Ohio State Basketball: What to Watch for in 1st Week of Buckeyes' 2014-15 Season

The 2014-15 Ohio State basketball team will have an easy go of things in the first week of the season with only one game against UMass Lowell on Friday night.

Thad Matta could use his bench for the entire 40 minutes and walk away with the victory, but there is more at stake than just the win for the Buckeyes in the early going of what could be a promising season.

There are still a few things Ohio State has to establish after a 77-37 exhibition victory over Walsh on Sunday. With that in mind, read on to see what fans should watch for in the first week of the season.

D’Angelo Russell

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

Buckeyes fans have been reading about freshman D’Angelo Russell since the moment their team lost to Dayton in the round of 64 last season. He is the freshman phenom who will supposedly arrive on campus and fix all the offensive problems from 2013-14 in one quick swoop.

He looked the part in the exhibition game against Walsh when he scored a game-high 17 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists. He also drilled four three-pointers and scored 16 points before intermission, establishing himself as a go-to option in the offense.

Matta discussed Russell’s performance, via Tim Shoemaker of Eleven Warriors:

“He’s got a different pace about him. He sees things like a lot of freshman don’t see them, and that’s good. I think that even talking to him during dead balls, the things that he sees out there is really unique for a freshman.”

It was crystal clear during the exhibition game that the offense is going to run through Russell at times this season. He is the best perimeter shooter on the team already, which was an area of concern a season ago, and is more than capable of beating defenders off the dribble and getting to the rim.

Russell is also versatile enough to play point guard or shooting guard and was on the floor for 30 minutes in the exhibition. 

It is ideal that the schedule starts with a layup against UMass Lowell because it will allow the freshmen, including Russell, to pick up some critical college experience before a showdown with Marquette.

Rebounding

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Before anyone sounds the alarm bells, it is important to point out that Ohio State outrebounded Walsh 57-31 on Sunday. What’s more, the Buckeyes should be able to control the boards in the opening week against UMass Lowell.

If they don’t, there may be a more serious problem.

The concern was that Ohio State allowed 15 offensive rebounds in the exhibition game, largely because the opposing guards beat the Buckeyes’ big men to the glass when Ohio State was in a 2-3 zone.

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

Rebounding is sacred in the physically grueling Big Ten, and things are going to get a lot more difficult on the boards during the regular season than they were against Walsh and will be against UMass Lowell. It will be worth watching the big guys in the season opener to see if they figure out how to box out in a zone when they aren’t guarding a specific man. 

If they don’t, Matta may have to end his 2-3 experiment before it even gets off the ground.

Rotation

Matthew Holst/Getty Images

Perhaps the most encouraging thing about the Buckeyes’ scrimmage against Walsh was the fact that 10 different players were on the court for at least 13 minutes, with Russell and Shannon Scott leading the way with 30 minutes apiece.

That is the type of rotational substitutions that will keep everyone’s legs fresh in the second half of the season and in the Big Ten. It will be interesting to see if Matta keeps that up when the games officially count. If he isn’t willing to go that deep on his bench against UMass Lowell, he probably won’t be willing to do it against Wisconsin and Michigan State.

Fans saw some small-ball lineups in the exhibition game, which is encouraging for those hoping the Buckeyes get out and run this year.

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

It was certainly intriguing that Amir Williams played the fewest minutes of anyone on the team with 13, but you shouldn’t put too much stock in that number considering it was a blowout and Matta knows what he has in the senior. Still, Anthony Lee is going to eat into those minutes this season if Matta is not fully comfortable with both big guys on the floor at once. 

We should have a better idea if he is or not after the opening week of the season.

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