tOSU vs. Florida A&M (Unofficial Game Preview)

[vrbryant]

The #16 Ohio State Buckeyes (14-3, 4-3)
vs.
The Florida A&M Rattlers (10-10, 6-3 MEAC)
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Monday, January 30 - 8:00 p.m.
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FLORIDA A&M - Official Site of Florida A&M Athletics - Okay, so we missed out on a big opportunity to put ourselves atop the Big Ten in the loss to Iowa on Saturday. I won't lie and say I wasn't disappointed with how things went down. However, I - as always - feel compelled to step back and take in the season as a whole. 14-3, and a game off the conference lead. Quality wins over Wisconsin and LSU, and three losses (two on the road) by a total of ten points. We went right back to #19 on the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, and will likely do the same on the AP. If you had told me at the start of the season that this is where we'd be sitting, I would not have voiced a single complaint. The important thing now is to use the next two games to get back on track and charge through the remainder of the month. The Rattlers, unfortunately, are catching us at a bad time. Then again, there really isn't a 'good time' to catch a top 20 team as a member of the MEAC. Our guys will likely be ready for another rout tonight--something to quiet the critics. The two teams that FAMU has faced that are roughly our caliber are Indiana and Florida. They lost both games by 37 points. Not much to be said after that.

#11 - Tony Tate​

The centerpiece of this team is senior guard Tony Tate (5-11, 175). His 16.6 points per game is best on the squad, and - not surprisingly - Tony leads the Rattlers in some other categories too: Minutes played, total shots, steals, assists, turnovers, three pointers made and taken, free throws made and taken, and free throw percentage. My understanding is that he's a transfer from Pittsburgh, which certainly confirms the rumor that he's got some talent. Nevertheless, Butler will be a challenging match-up for Tate.

The rest of the team is dotted with other transfers from bigger schools (Temple, Alabama, NIU), but there's no one here that should give us a serious problem. #32, junior forward-center Rome Sanders (6-8, 240) is high-percentage from the field (.555), and is second on the team in scoring. His frontcourt pal is #21, senior guard-forward Jonathan Kelly (6-6, 200), who leads the team in total rebounds at 5.5 per game. They'll check and be checked by Dials and Sully respectively (most likely, anyway). Should be a good opportunity for Terence to continue his strong play and stay in a groove.

The status of Matt Sylvester's back is still up in the air--could very likely be a game time decision whether he plays or not. Frankly, I'd prefer that he take this - and maybe even the Minnesota game - off. Many people don't seem to recognize it, but a lot of the offense is run through him (inlet passes, high screens, etc.). We will absolutely need him out there and healthy for what will probably be the toughest three game stretch of the season (at Michigan, Illinois, at Wisconsin), and on through into March. It is only because of how confident I am in the coaching staff that I feel comfortable 'looking past' this game. The second or third best team in the MEAC is an unfortunate (for them) mid-season snack for us, and I hope that we take the opportunity to re-calibrate and put some of the pieces back in place.

Projected starters:

Ohio State

F - J.J. Sullinger
C - Terence Dials
G - Ron Lewis
G - Je'Kel Foster
G - Jamar Butler

Florida A&M

F - Jonathan Kelly
C - Rome Sanders
G - Michael Sams
G - Joe Ballard
G - Tony Tate


My prediction: OSU 93 - FAMU 66

Up next, Minnesota...