Ohio State Basketball: What to Watch for Against Marquette

Ohio State only has three opportunities to build its resume in the nonconference portion of its schedule, and Tuesday represents the easiest chance of the three to impress the NCAA tournament selection committee.

Marquette comes to Columbus for an early Big Ten and Big East showdown in a rematch of last year’s 52-35 Buckeyes win.

Considering Ohio State’s other two marquee nonconference games come away from home against North Carolina and Louisville, it needs to pick up a win in this one. In order to do that, there are a few keys that Thad Matta’s bunch must take care of during the course of the game.

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

For one, this represents D’Angelo Russell’s first chance to really announce himself to the rest of the college basketball world because few outside of Columbus were probably paying close attention to the opening win against UMass Lowell.

Russell finished with 16 points, six assists, four rebounds, three steals and two made three-pointers, and it was clear from the opening tip that he is the most talented player on the team and the eventual go-to guy on offense. Yes, there are a number of formidable options at Matta’s disposal, but Russell is the one who can create his own shot, spot up off passes or set up teammates for success. 

He caught the eye of ESPN’s Myron Medcalf in the season opener:

Still, Russell is only a freshman and is yet to play against solid college competition. This game will be a barometer for where he is at before Big Ten play or even those out-of-conference clashes with North Carolina and Louisville.

The Buckeyes are going to need his offense if they want to win on Tuesday and start building an impressive resume before Big Ten play starts.

It will also be up to his backcourt mate, Shannon Scott, to continue to distribute like he did in the opener. He dished out 11 assists against UMass Lowell and did exactly what an effective, pass-first point guard who is surrounded by talent should do.

There are options all over the court for this deep Buckeyes squad, and five players finished in double-figure scoring. The team as a whole poured in 92 points, largely because Scott put his teammates in perfect opportunities to score.

The Buckeyes’ best chance at playing offense like that against competition like Marquette is with Scott pushing the tempo and getting everyone involved. He got off to a flying start in the opener, but he has to prove it on Tuesday against a much better opponent.

Elsewhere, rebounding was certainly not a strength for the Buckeyes last season, but they did out-rebound UMass Lowell, 35-24. Between Amir Williams, Trey McDonald and Anthony Lee, Matta has the personnel to outmuscle people on the boards, but this is a particularly important key in this game because Marquette may not be able to counter that effort.

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

The Golden Eagles were out-rebounded 34-25 against Tennessee-Martin in their season opener. The tallest guy on the roster who got minutes in that game for Marquette is only 6’7”, while the Buckeyes played six different players against UMass Lowell who are listed at 6’7” or taller. If there was ever a game against NCAA tournament-worthy competition that the Buckeyes were going to dominate on the boards, it is this one.

Limiting Marquette’s second opportunities would also help Ohio State get out in transition and spread the scoring around like it did in the opener.

One other important aspect to watch on the defensive side on Tuesday is Ohio State’s ability to prevent one guy from beating them.

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

The Buckeyes cruised in the opener, but if we want to nitpick, they allowed Jahad Thomas to have his way all game. Thomas finished with 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field (although he did have six turnovers) and certainly looked like he belonged on the floor with the Big Ten competition.

Whether it’s JaJuan Johnson, Juan Anderson or someone else, Ohio State cannot afford to let one guy on Marquette get red-hot early in this game assuming it does come down to the final minutes.

An opponent who is feeling it from the field can often be the difference between a win and a loss in a tightly contested game, so it is important for the Buckeyes to limit the impact that any one Golden Eagles player has on the outcome. The Buckeyes have far more options than Marquette, so they simply have to ensure that one guy doesn’t counter the efforts of multiple scorers.

Ultimately, Ohio State is at home and Marquette lost plenty of talent from a season ago in the form of Davante Gardner, Todd Mayo and Jamil Wilson. Those were the top three Golden Eagles scorers from 2013-14, and they are still searching for consistent replacement options.

Ohio State is the deeper team with more star power and will be playing in front of friendly fans. Look for the Buckeyes to pick up an early resume-padding victory in this one. 

Prediction: Ohio State 81, Marquette 68

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