Ohio State Basketball: What Stands Between the Buckeyes and a Championship?

The Ohio State Buckeyes have had a relatively easy road thus far in the 2011 NCAA tournament. With easy double-digit victories over UTSA and George Mason, the Buckeyes have barely broken out in a sweat thus far, and their impressive first weekend has made them the prohibitive favorites according to many pundits.

Take this past Sunday’s game, for example. Ohio State looked lethargic in the early going, as George Mason jumped out to an early 11-2 lead. That woke up the beast, as the Buckeyes snapped out of it and promptly went on a 50-15 run to close out the first half. For the game, Ohio State shot a staggering 61 percent from the field. All Patriots head coach Jim Larranaga could do was sit back and watch his team get summarily dismantled.

“If they play like they did (Sunday), that makes them a tough out,” Larranaga told BuckeyGrove.com’s Ari Wasserman.

However, the road does get a bit tougher for coach Thad Matta and his squad starting this Friday night, when the Buckeyes take on the Kentucky Wildcats.

For the Wildcats to have any hope of knocking off the Buckeyes, they will need a huge performance from freshman guard Brandon Knight. Thus far, Knight has shown nothing to disappoint a national audience. He lit up West Virginia to the tune of a career-high 30 points, and has proven very efficient from the perimeter (38.6 percent from three-point range).

While Ohio State was impressive from beyond the arc in their 32-point blowout of George Mason, Kentucky has its own set of sharpshooters—Knight, Darius Miller (46.9 percent) and Doron Lamb (44.6 percent). If Terrence Jones and Josh Harrelson can cause enough commotion on the inside to open up the outside lanes, Kentucky could have a decent shot at an upset.

However, Ohio State has weapons galore.

Freshman center Jared Sullinger is showing the basketball world that he is ready for primetime. If both David Lighty and Jon Diebler are capable of hitting threes in similar fashion to last Sunday, Wildcats coach John Calipari may be uttering the same words as George Mason coach Larranaga did after Sunday’s whitewashing.

If Ohio State advances, they will take on the winner of the UNC-Marquette matchup. North Carolina was literally handed a gift last Saturday in their victory over the Washington Huskies. Several questionable calls allowed the Tar Heels to move on to the Sweet 16.

UNC will not survive another game like that, especially against a talented and deep Buckeyes squad.

If the top seeds are able to move on, Ohio State could be looking at Duke and Kansas next weekend. However, Thad Matta has been blessed with a team that combines chemistry, shooting, defense and smart-thinking. That could very well land them at the top of the college basketball heap come April 4.

Getting by the likes of traditional powerhouses Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke and Kansas would be a historic achievement indeed.

For continuing coverage of NCAA basketball, follow Doug on Twitter @Sports_A_Holic.

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