Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Florida Gators Preview and Pick

Ohio State got off to a great start to this season on November 12th with a 102-61 over the North Carolina A&T Aggies. The rebounding department is where OSU really got its act together and is something that it should be able to take advantage of all season long. Jared Sullinger had 19 points and 14 boards to lead the way. The Aggies only ended up with 17 rebounds for the entire game. The Buckeyes had 55 rebounds as a team. Deshaun Thomas came off of the bench and shot 10-of-16, tallying 24 points and eight rebounds. Dallas Lauderdale had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. He also blocked eight shots. The disappointments were from David Lightly, Jon Diebler, and William Buford. The three were really supposed to be the leaders of the Buckeyes this year, but they only combined for 30 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists. The three only shot 11-of-31 from the field combined. Needless to say, Ohio State is going to need to these men to step up this year as they were supposed to at the start of the campaign to beat the Gators.

Florida slowed down the UNC Wilmington Seahawks and held them to just 48 shots on the day. However, the Seahawks shot 23-of-48 from the floor. In fact, the only reason the Gators escaped their first game of the season even though they were 25 point favorites was because they forced 20 turnovers and won the rebounding battle 31-21. Don’t kid yourself, though. This certainly did not look like a Top 10 team in the country. HC Billy Donovan has to be upset right now, as 15 turnovers against an iffy team from an iffy conference just doesn’t cut it. As always, this team really didn’t have a heck of a lot of depth to showcase. Alex Tyus, Chandler Parsons, and Kenny Boynton were the double digit point scorers in the starting lineup, while Vernon Macklin and Erving Walker both scored nine points. The only man that came off the bench and had a decent game was Erik Murphy, who scored ten points on 4-of-5 shooting. No one else connected on more than one shot off of the bench, and none scored more than three points.

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The Gators have had Ohio State’s number over the years, including winning the National Championship in 2007 84-75. However, this isn’t going to be their day. Ohio State has more depth and is a lot more physical inside, and though the this game is going to be in Gainesville and will have a lot of national attention, the hosts aren’t going to have the horses.