It’s officially one of the best weeks of the year: the start of the NCAA Tournament.
So, happy Monday!
Here are the 10 thoughts at the forefront of my mind heading into tournament week and coming out of the first week of Ohio State’s spring camp.
What does this March mean for Ohio State?
The stage is set.
No. 7 Ohio State is heading to Pittsburgh to face No. 10 Loyola Chicago in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The records are clear, but the weight is still on the Buckeyes.
Storming in as a two-seed a season ago, hearts set on earning a trip to the Sweet 16 for the first time in Chris Holtmann’s tenure and for the first time since 2013, Ohio State found itself on the other end of a Cinderella story, watching Oral Roberts celebrate, igniting a chant opposing teams would use against the Buckeyes until it got another chance to show what it could do on college basketball’s biggest stage.
The expectations this time around are not as steep. Really, they are not even close to what they were a year ago.
So what’s on the line?
Momentum, for a team that hasn’t seen momentum since its win against then-No. 1 Duke Nov. 30 sparked a five-game win streak. Hope, for a Buckeyes team that grinded to a halt in the last stretch of the regular season, unable to find any semblance of defensive efficiency or offensive firepower outside of the names E.J. Liddell and Malaki Branham.
But it’s a team that really hasn’t shown enough life as of late to constitute a run.
Instead, even with two of the best players in the Big Ten conference, Ohio State’s now looked at as a trendy upset pick, taking on a Loyola Chicago team that’s No. 22 in the country in defensive efficiency and No. 42 in the country in offensive efficiency. It’s a team that made a run to the Sweet 16 last season and a run to the Final Four in 2018.
If there’s a team that Ohio State didn’t want to see in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, it’s Loyola Chicago.
But, then again, anything can happen in March.
So what’s Ohio State’s ceiling in the NCAA Tournament?
Let’s start with the first round matchup with the Ramblers.
Loyola Chicago only gives up 61.7 points per game — 18th best in the country — with opponents shooting 40.9% from the field and 31.4% from 3. The Ramblers also have forced 13.4 turnovers with 6.9 steals per game despite bringing in a plus-3.1 rebound advantage without a player taller than 6-foot-10.
The Ramblers have allowed more than 70 points in a game nine times in 32 games, not allowing more than 58 en-route to the Missouri Valley Conference tournament title.
Offensively, it’s a group that’s pretty evenly distributed, with senior guard Lucas Williamson leading the way with 14 points per game, shooting 45.1% from the field. Braden Norris, who is second on the team with 10.3 points per game, is shooting 43.5% from 3 on 4.7 attempts per contest.
In games against teams ranked better than Ohio State’s No. 32 according to KenPom, the Ramblers have split, losing to No. 10 Auburn by nine in the Battle for Atlantis, while beating No. 21 San Francisco by five.
If the Buckeyes were to get past Loyola Chicago, they would likely have to face a Villanova team with a top-10 offense and a top-30 defense in the country, having lost only three games by 15 points combined since Dec. 21, with a date looming against possibly Tennessee, Colorado State or a third matchup with Michigan in the Sweet 16.
So who needs to shine?
I’ll give you three players.
E.J. Liddell: This one’s clear. As I have said before, where he goes Ohio State goes. But especially with this Loyola Chicago team, he could be a good matchup defensively, using his jumping ability to match a team that’s not very big, but very aggressive defensively.
Malaki Branham: He needs to grow up fast. Facing a defense that’s one of the best units in the country, he needs to continue to be that efficient wing that Ohio State has seen from him ever since his 35-point performance at Nebraska to start 2022.
Kyle Young: This will be a defensive matchup made for the redshirt senior forward. If Young can return to the rotation for Ohio State after suffering a concussion at home against the Cornhuskers, he will be the much better matchup for the smaller and more athletic pieces Drew Valentine has at his disposal than Zed Key or Joey Brunk would.
Here’s some other NCAA Tournament games that caught my eye.
Here are a few other games to watch as the NCAA Tournament ramps up this week.
First Four: Indiana vs. Wyoming — Indiana made a statement in the Big Ten tournament, nearly eliminating Iowa in the semifinal before an iconic buzzer beater by Jordan Bohannon sealed it. The Hoosiers were in a bit of a tailspin late in the year, but have the pieces, including, in my opinion, one of the best players in the Big Ten in Trayce Jackson-Davis, to make a run. Does the momentum continue into Dayton?
Texas vs. Virginia Tech — Classic matchup of one of the best offenses in the country in Virginia Tech vs. one of the best defenses in the country in Texas. Do the Longhorns have the defensive firepower to stop the team that blasted Duke for the ACC tournament title?
Michigan State vs. Davidson — This was a matchup that could have been incredibly bad for Ohio State, facing a Davidson team that is No. 11 in the country in offensive efficiency at 116.8. It was a defense that was able to split its two matchups with VCU: the No. 4 defense in the country. Can Davidson step up against a Michigan State team that silenced Wisconsin guard Johnny Davis?
Duke vs. Gonzaga — This isn’t a given, but that’s one hell of an Elite Eight matchup.
The first week of spring ball is complete. What did we learn from the offense?
Here’s two things that I’m still thinking about.
Ohio State sees Paris Johnson Jr. as a solidified left tackle.
When Ryan Day was asked about Paris Johnson Jr.’s so-called “move” to left tackle, it wasn’t really anything that he seemed to be worried about, commenting that the junior had been a tackle all his life up until this season, getting on the field as a right guard — one of four tackles taking each of the line’s spots surrounding center Luke Wypler in 2021.
But there is something to look at here.
At the college level, Johnson, who was once a five-star tackle, has only played eight snaps on the outside, getting most of his in-game experience on the inside.
Will that transition? Ohio State expects it to. But there’s also something to be said about moving from the inside out, having to face edge rushers like Aidan Hutchinson that career college tackles like Nicholas Petit-Frere struggled mightily with.
If the offense is going to have the balance it wants in the run and pass game, Johnson is going to have to transition and find his home at tackle incredibly quickly.
This is a confident group, one with something to prove.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is still thinking about the Rose Bowl, something he still talks with C.J. Stroud about.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba has adopted the mantra that Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson had with him: if opposing defenses are going to double-team him, they will have to contend with receivers like Harrison, Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming.
But there’s one thing offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said that I can’t get out of my mind.
“Right now, we’re a good stat offense,” he said. “But to be an elite offense, we have to be a little more consistent a little bit more better pad level, a little bit more running through trash at running back, tight ends playing stronger.
“We can be better, and that’s going to be our goal as we build through spring into summer, preseason. Not that we’re going to load it up, because you got maybe the best quarterback going. He got a couple of dudes out there who really can make some plays. But when you can put the physical presence with all that, you have the chance to be something neat.”
And that’s where Stroud, Smith-Njigba and Harrison all think Ohio State’s offense can be: Neat.
What did we learn from the defense?
Installation is already underway.
Jim Knowles has already started the turnaround.
It’s starting slow, he said, starting with the base 4-2-5 defense without any of his wrinkles, such as the Leo position. All of that comes later.
Right now, it’s about developing a defense that’s not thinking come fall, just doing.
“When you watch a guy who doesn’t know what to do, right, he can look lethargic or hesitant,” Knowles said. “I got to get him to that point. That’s the bottom line.”
Kourt Williams II and Ronnie Hickman are going to have fun in this defense.
Zack Carpenter wrote about this earlier in the week, but safeties in Ohio State’s defense should be ecstatic for what’s to come.
Specifically, Kourt Williams II.
“This is a safety-driven defense, it really is. He's been playing a lot at our boundary safety position. We feel like he can get into the run fits there when we want to, we feel that he's a guy who’s a leader. Just off the field, when I watched him in the weight room and work, he's a worker, he's a leader. So I like him. I like him with more depth and vision to be able to see the ball and to control movements in the secondary.”
Knowles sees both Williams and Ronnie Hickman as his “bandits,” those who can line up deep as a safety or drop down and play as more of a linebacker much like the previously named “bullet.”
What it takes is versatility and athleticism, something he sees in both Wlliams and Hickman, two players that really could set the tone for what this defense can do, along with whoever plays that outside linebacker position and the Leo.
Here’s what’s on the checklist for Ohio State’s cornerbacks this offseason.
Just like we did last week with the safeties, here’s three things Ohio State’s cornerbacks room must do this offseason to set up for a successful fall.
Develop rapport with Tim Walton: Whether it’s talking with players or talking with recruits that have been around him, Tim Walton, Ohio State’s new cornerbacks and secondary coach, seems to have this aura of success around him coming from his days working with Jalen Ramsey and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Especially from the younger players, it’s almost a mentality of, ‘I hope it rubs off on me.’ What will be interesting is to see how he works with both Cameron Brown and Denzel Burke, how they get better by working with him and setting the tone for the next class of players he brings in.
Build around Cameron Brown and Denzel Burke: Outside of Burke and Brown, two quality starters that Ohio State would love to turn into the top two defensive backs in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes really don’t have much experience, whether it’s Jakailin Johnson, Jordan Hancock, Jyaire Brown, Ryan Turner or Lejond Cavazos, who playing sparingly last year. Ohio State needs a safety net, one it really doesn’t have. Word around camp is that Johnson and Hancock are the next in line, ready to take the reins from Brown after this season. Experience for both will be huge in 2022.
Start building for 2023: Ohio State got two good defensive backs in the 2022 class in Turner and Brown. However, it struck out on Terrance Brooks and Jaheim Singletary, who both decommitted from the Buckeyes. Ohio State didn’t get that splash in 2023 that it usually does at the cornerback position. Walton needs to secure the splash, whether it’s from AJ Harris in 2023 or elsewhere to make that pipeline continue.
OT: OK Brady
In the back of my mind, I knew this was going to happen.
There was no way Tom Brady was going to sit idly by and watch an NFL season happen without him. I joked on the board that this could become a Selection Sunday tradition, but it comes with a hint of truth. This could be one of those seesaws until he ends up in an owners box or a TV booth somewhere.
And now Tampa Bay’s going to be right back to where every Brady team seems to be: contending for a Super Bowl.
On Harry Miller.
I wanted to share this again because I want to further some thoughts I’ve had on it since he released it.
First of all, it’s one of the most important statements I’ve read in awhile, one that showcases bravery and heroism in ways that are really indescribable, especially at the college level. What breaks my heart is that a student-athlete can go through something like this, especially with the amount of pressure one of this caliber can face each time they take a breath.
But what I can’t shake is how real and relatable it is.
This didn’t come from an Ohio State football player. Harry Miller is a man and he needed help. He is human, not the figurehead we watch on TV that leads your favorite team to a national championship.
He’s human.
I feel that’s something we all need to remember. We are human. We are imperfect. We all need love and we all need help at points too.
“And so I will love more than I can be hated or laughed at, for I know the people who are sneering need the most love that I was looking for. The cost of apathy is life, but the price of life is as small as an act of kindness. I am a life preserved by the kindness that was offered to me by others when I could not produce kindness for myself.”
Let’s be those people. Let's love one another.
I'm so glad he's still here.
Song of the week
There’s no other pick.
Wait, no. I don’t know how that snuck in there. I’ll try again.
We sleep in May.
See you on the board.
So, happy Monday!
Here are the 10 thoughts at the forefront of my mind heading into tournament week and coming out of the first week of Ohio State’s spring camp.
What does this March mean for Ohio State?
The stage is set.
No. 7 Ohio State is heading to Pittsburgh to face No. 10 Loyola Chicago in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The records are clear, but the weight is still on the Buckeyes.
Storming in as a two-seed a season ago, hearts set on earning a trip to the Sweet 16 for the first time in Chris Holtmann’s tenure and for the first time since 2013, Ohio State found itself on the other end of a Cinderella story, watching Oral Roberts celebrate, igniting a chant opposing teams would use against the Buckeyes until it got another chance to show what it could do on college basketball’s biggest stage.
The expectations this time around are not as steep. Really, they are not even close to what they were a year ago.
So what’s on the line?
Momentum, for a team that hasn’t seen momentum since its win against then-No. 1 Duke Nov. 30 sparked a five-game win streak. Hope, for a Buckeyes team that grinded to a halt in the last stretch of the regular season, unable to find any semblance of defensive efficiency or offensive firepower outside of the names E.J. Liddell and Malaki Branham.
But it’s a team that really hasn’t shown enough life as of late to constitute a run.
Instead, even with two of the best players in the Big Ten conference, Ohio State’s now looked at as a trendy upset pick, taking on a Loyola Chicago team that’s No. 22 in the country in defensive efficiency and No. 42 in the country in offensive efficiency. It’s a team that made a run to the Sweet 16 last season and a run to the Final Four in 2018.
If there’s a team that Ohio State didn’t want to see in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, it’s Loyola Chicago.
But, then again, anything can happen in March.
So what’s Ohio State’s ceiling in the NCAA Tournament?
Let’s start with the first round matchup with the Ramblers.
Loyola Chicago only gives up 61.7 points per game — 18th best in the country — with opponents shooting 40.9% from the field and 31.4% from 3. The Ramblers also have forced 13.4 turnovers with 6.9 steals per game despite bringing in a plus-3.1 rebound advantage without a player taller than 6-foot-10.
The Ramblers have allowed more than 70 points in a game nine times in 32 games, not allowing more than 58 en-route to the Missouri Valley Conference tournament title.
Offensively, it’s a group that’s pretty evenly distributed, with senior guard Lucas Williamson leading the way with 14 points per game, shooting 45.1% from the field. Braden Norris, who is second on the team with 10.3 points per game, is shooting 43.5% from 3 on 4.7 attempts per contest.
In games against teams ranked better than Ohio State’s No. 32 according to KenPom, the Ramblers have split, losing to No. 10 Auburn by nine in the Battle for Atlantis, while beating No. 21 San Francisco by five.
If the Buckeyes were to get past Loyola Chicago, they would likely have to face a Villanova team with a top-10 offense and a top-30 defense in the country, having lost only three games by 15 points combined since Dec. 21, with a date looming against possibly Tennessee, Colorado State or a third matchup with Michigan in the Sweet 16.
So who needs to shine?
I’ll give you three players.
E.J. Liddell: This one’s clear. As I have said before, where he goes Ohio State goes. But especially with this Loyola Chicago team, he could be a good matchup defensively, using his jumping ability to match a team that’s not very big, but very aggressive defensively.
Malaki Branham: He needs to grow up fast. Facing a defense that’s one of the best units in the country, he needs to continue to be that efficient wing that Ohio State has seen from him ever since his 35-point performance at Nebraska to start 2022.
Kyle Young: This will be a defensive matchup made for the redshirt senior forward. If Young can return to the rotation for Ohio State after suffering a concussion at home against the Cornhuskers, he will be the much better matchup for the smaller and more athletic pieces Drew Valentine has at his disposal than Zed Key or Joey Brunk would.
Here’s some other NCAA Tournament games that caught my eye.
Here are a few other games to watch as the NCAA Tournament ramps up this week.
First Four: Indiana vs. Wyoming — Indiana made a statement in the Big Ten tournament, nearly eliminating Iowa in the semifinal before an iconic buzzer beater by Jordan Bohannon sealed it. The Hoosiers were in a bit of a tailspin late in the year, but have the pieces, including, in my opinion, one of the best players in the Big Ten in Trayce Jackson-Davis, to make a run. Does the momentum continue into Dayton?
Texas vs. Virginia Tech — Classic matchup of one of the best offenses in the country in Virginia Tech vs. one of the best defenses in the country in Texas. Do the Longhorns have the defensive firepower to stop the team that blasted Duke for the ACC tournament title?
Michigan State vs. Davidson — This was a matchup that could have been incredibly bad for Ohio State, facing a Davidson team that is No. 11 in the country in offensive efficiency at 116.8. It was a defense that was able to split its two matchups with VCU: the No. 4 defense in the country. Can Davidson step up against a Michigan State team that silenced Wisconsin guard Johnny Davis?
Duke vs. Gonzaga — This isn’t a given, but that’s one hell of an Elite Eight matchup.
The first week of spring ball is complete. What did we learn from the offense?
Here’s two things that I’m still thinking about.
Ohio State sees Paris Johnson Jr. as a solidified left tackle.
When Ryan Day was asked about Paris Johnson Jr.’s so-called “move” to left tackle, it wasn’t really anything that he seemed to be worried about, commenting that the junior had been a tackle all his life up until this season, getting on the field as a right guard — one of four tackles taking each of the line’s spots surrounding center Luke Wypler in 2021.
But there is something to look at here.
At the college level, Johnson, who was once a five-star tackle, has only played eight snaps on the outside, getting most of his in-game experience on the inside.
Will that transition? Ohio State expects it to. But there’s also something to be said about moving from the inside out, having to face edge rushers like Aidan Hutchinson that career college tackles like Nicholas Petit-Frere struggled mightily with.
If the offense is going to have the balance it wants in the run and pass game, Johnson is going to have to transition and find his home at tackle incredibly quickly.
This is a confident group, one with something to prove.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is still thinking about the Rose Bowl, something he still talks with C.J. Stroud about.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba has adopted the mantra that Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson had with him: if opposing defenses are going to double-team him, they will have to contend with receivers like Harrison, Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming.
But there’s one thing offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said that I can’t get out of my mind.
“Right now, we’re a good stat offense,” he said. “But to be an elite offense, we have to be a little more consistent a little bit more better pad level, a little bit more running through trash at running back, tight ends playing stronger.
“We can be better, and that’s going to be our goal as we build through spring into summer, preseason. Not that we’re going to load it up, because you got maybe the best quarterback going. He got a couple of dudes out there who really can make some plays. But when you can put the physical presence with all that, you have the chance to be something neat.”
And that’s where Stroud, Smith-Njigba and Harrison all think Ohio State’s offense can be: Neat.
What did we learn from the defense?
Installation is already underway.
Jim Knowles has already started the turnaround.
It’s starting slow, he said, starting with the base 4-2-5 defense without any of his wrinkles, such as the Leo position. All of that comes later.
Right now, it’s about developing a defense that’s not thinking come fall, just doing.
“When you watch a guy who doesn’t know what to do, right, he can look lethargic or hesitant,” Knowles said. “I got to get him to that point. That’s the bottom line.”
Kourt Williams II and Ronnie Hickman are going to have fun in this defense.
Zack Carpenter wrote about this earlier in the week, but safeties in Ohio State’s defense should be ecstatic for what’s to come.
Specifically, Kourt Williams II.
“This is a safety-driven defense, it really is. He's been playing a lot at our boundary safety position. We feel like he can get into the run fits there when we want to, we feel that he's a guy who’s a leader. Just off the field, when I watched him in the weight room and work, he's a worker, he's a leader. So I like him. I like him with more depth and vision to be able to see the ball and to control movements in the secondary.”
Knowles sees both Williams and Ronnie Hickman as his “bandits,” those who can line up deep as a safety or drop down and play as more of a linebacker much like the previously named “bullet.”
What it takes is versatility and athleticism, something he sees in both Wlliams and Hickman, two players that really could set the tone for what this defense can do, along with whoever plays that outside linebacker position and the Leo.
Here’s what’s on the checklist for Ohio State’s cornerbacks this offseason.
Just like we did last week with the safeties, here’s three things Ohio State’s cornerbacks room must do this offseason to set up for a successful fall.
Develop rapport with Tim Walton: Whether it’s talking with players or talking with recruits that have been around him, Tim Walton, Ohio State’s new cornerbacks and secondary coach, seems to have this aura of success around him coming from his days working with Jalen Ramsey and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Especially from the younger players, it’s almost a mentality of, ‘I hope it rubs off on me.’ What will be interesting is to see how he works with both Cameron Brown and Denzel Burke, how they get better by working with him and setting the tone for the next class of players he brings in.
Build around Cameron Brown and Denzel Burke: Outside of Burke and Brown, two quality starters that Ohio State would love to turn into the top two defensive backs in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes really don’t have much experience, whether it’s Jakailin Johnson, Jordan Hancock, Jyaire Brown, Ryan Turner or Lejond Cavazos, who playing sparingly last year. Ohio State needs a safety net, one it really doesn’t have. Word around camp is that Johnson and Hancock are the next in line, ready to take the reins from Brown after this season. Experience for both will be huge in 2022.
Start building for 2023: Ohio State got two good defensive backs in the 2022 class in Turner and Brown. However, it struck out on Terrance Brooks and Jaheim Singletary, who both decommitted from the Buckeyes. Ohio State didn’t get that splash in 2023 that it usually does at the cornerback position. Walton needs to secure the splash, whether it’s from AJ Harris in 2023 or elsewhere to make that pipeline continue.
OT: OK Brady
In the back of my mind, I knew this was going to happen.
There was no way Tom Brady was going to sit idly by and watch an NFL season happen without him. I joked on the board that this could become a Selection Sunday tradition, but it comes with a hint of truth. This could be one of those seesaws until he ends up in an owners box or a TV booth somewhere.
And now Tampa Bay’s going to be right back to where every Brady team seems to be: contending for a Super Bowl.
On Harry Miller.
I wanted to share this again because I want to further some thoughts I’ve had on it since he released it.
First of all, it’s one of the most important statements I’ve read in awhile, one that showcases bravery and heroism in ways that are really indescribable, especially at the college level. What breaks my heart is that a student-athlete can go through something like this, especially with the amount of pressure one of this caliber can face each time they take a breath.
But what I can’t shake is how real and relatable it is.
This didn’t come from an Ohio State football player. Harry Miller is a man and he needed help. He is human, not the figurehead we watch on TV that leads your favorite team to a national championship.
He’s human.
I feel that’s something we all need to remember. We are human. We are imperfect. We all need love and we all need help at points too.
“And so I will love more than I can be hated or laughed at, for I know the people who are sneering need the most love that I was looking for. The cost of apathy is life, but the price of life is as small as an act of kindness. I am a life preserved by the kindness that was offered to me by others when I could not produce kindness for myself.”
Let’s be those people. Let's love one another.
I'm so glad he's still here.
Song of the week
There’s no other pick.
Wait, no. I don’t know how that snuck in there. I’ll try again.
We sleep in May.
See you on the board.
