The Buckeyes head to the Breslin Center to do battle with another top five team in Michigan State on Tuesday, and this game could be one of the better early season tilts we witness.
MSU comes in with only one home loss, that being to North Carolina a few weeks back. Ohio State is 15-0 after scraping out a tough win on a neutral floor against Notre Dame over a week ago.
The Spartans struggled early on but have looked very impressive as of late. They smothered the likes of Texas, Penn State and Indiana in recent match ups. They come into this one as the 10th best defense in America while the Buckeyes register as the top unit nationally in defensive efficiency.
For MSU, their attack has been quite balanced. Gary Harris, Adreian Payne and Keith Appling are all good scoring options. While OSU doesn’t have the same offensive firepower as the Spartans, they do matchup well here.
Their guards are strong strong out front. They are far and away the best perimeter defense in America, and Appling and Harris will struggle to put up big numbers. OSU also good length and athleticism inside to combat the Spartan’s interior bodies.
The key match-up could be at the power forward position. Branden Dawson is a very gifted athlete who does a lot of positive things for Tom Izzo. He will likely be matched up with LaQuinton Ross, a talented, 6’8 player with tremendous length and good feel around the basket.
Ross has been a monster contribute when the lights shine bright, as he was a catalyst for the Buckeyes during their Elite 8 run a year ago. It will be imperative that he uses his length and skill to manipulate Dawson and whoever else may guard him here as I expect the Buckeye guards to have a difficult time scoring with regularity in this game.
This spread has opened at 4.5/5 on most books. This spread should be more in line with 3.5 or 4 as opposed to where it is, so we’ll see where it ends up. Still, Ohio State hash;t done enough on the road or exhibited the type of offense that would lead me to believe this was a value spot for them.
MSU should be fired up for this game, and playing it at home in the middle of the week is beneficial to them. The Buckeyes have the defensive ability to neutralize them here, but their own lack of scoring and interior depth concerns make this a very even battle.
