• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

(10) tOSU vs. (7) VCU, Thurs 3/19 @ 4:40p ET, TNT

My preference for Matta game plan,
Take advantage of fresh legs with lots of rotation, and beat the scrambling, running team at their game.
This team has quickness and will enjoy a fast paced tempo.
Hoping coach cuts them loose.
 
Upvote 0
Really really don't know how to call this game. Hoping for some life, but previous indicators don't give me much optimism. Would not be surprised if the attacking style wears on a team with limited ball-handling skills (save for D'Angelo who will be hounded, and Scott who can be wild and may fall into VCU's trap of getting him too fast).

But...I like Matta and I like a team that can maybe re-group this week and decide they want to play to their potential- whatever that potential is.
 
Upvote 0
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/march-madness-crib-notes-for-thursdays-games/

March Madness Crib Notes For Thursday’s Games

IN DEPTH

VCU vs. Ohio State

Player to watch: D’Angelo Russell, Ohio State

VCU earned a well-deserved reputation over the past decade as the ultimate “giant killers,” culminating with a surprise Final Four berth in 2011. And it still does many of the things that successful underdogs specialize in: shooting a lot of threes and forcing a ton of turnovers, particularly via the steal. Anything that creates more variance gives the underdog a better chance of pulling an upset.

The trouble with VCU, though, is that it isn’t an underdog anymore; it is the establishment. VCU ranked as high as 14th in the Associated Press poll this season, and, even as a No. 7 seed, the customary expectation is at least a first-round win. The hunters have become the hunted — a status that doesn’t necessarily suit such a high-variance style.

Then again, according to our power ratings, VCU’s opening tilt against Ohio State is going to be an uphill battle for the Rams. The Buckeyes were badly underseeded at No. 10 in the West; as a comparison, our ratings have them ranked 18th … in the entire country. They’re one of only 12 schools to rank among the top 40 of Ken Pomeroy’s ratings on both offense and defense. And their freshman guard D’Angelo Russell was one of the most valuable players in the country this season, a backcourt dynamo for whom VCU has no counterpart without the injured Briante Weber in the lineup.

Cont'd ...
 
Upvote 0
VCU's rise has been a nice story but I'm a bit tired of hearing about "havoc" and would love to take them down a notch today. Come on, Buckeyes!
 
Upvote 0
Back
Top