The 2nd Round of the NCAA tournament continues today and we will see the Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Iona Gaels. The game is scheduled for a 7:15 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on CBS. Currently the Odds for the game have Ohio State favored by 14 points while the total sits at 145.
Analysis: The Ohio State Buckeyes won the Big Ten Title and finished 26-7 overall and 13-5 in conference play. Ohio State was in the tournament last year and lost to Kansas in the Final Four. Head Coach Thad Matta is 20-10 in 10 appearances in the NCAA tournament. Ohio State has made the tournament for the fifth straight year, and the Buckeyes have won eight straight games leading up to the tournament this year. Deshaun Thomas led the Buckeyes and the Big Ten in scoring with 19.7 points per game, while pulling down 6.2 rebounds per game. There was a stretch early in the Big Ten portion of the Buckeyes' schedule when a slight flaw emerged. Deshaun Thomas was playing great basketball, but getting very little help. While Thomas was the only Ohio State player to score in double figures against Wisconsin, the team as a whole has been more balanced lately - making it a more legitimate threat to win six straight games against quality opponents. Guard Aaron Craft has scored at least 14 points in four of his last seven games. Forward Sam Thompson averaged 11.9 points during the Big Ten tournament and forward LaQuinton Ross hit 6-of-9 3-pointers during that stretch. Still, Ohio State will go only as far as Thomas takes it.
Iona won the MAAC Championship and finished 20-13 overall and 11-7 in conference play. The Gaels won the MAAC tournament last year and were eliminated in the first round of the 2012 NCAA tournament by BYU. After losing six of their last seven heading into March, the Gaels caught fire, winning their next five en route to a second consecutive bid. Iona finished fourth in the regular season but was able to defeat regular-season champ Niagara in the league semifinals. Lamont Jones was name conference player of the year after leading the MAAC in scoring with 23.3 points per game. Jones enters the tournament as its second-leading scorer behind Creighton's Doug McDermott. Jones, like the rest of his team, carries with him a bit of extra motivation following last season's loss. He shot 3-for-14, missed all six of his 3-pointers and finished with six points in the loss to BYU. Jones has plenty of help if he struggles this time around. Junior guard Sean Armand was the top 3-point shooter in the MAAC and averaged 16.6 points, David Laury chipped in 13.1 and three others average at least seven points for the explosive Gaels. Tre Bowman had a game-high 20 points in a win over Manhattan in the MAAC tournament title game.
Pick: Im going to go with the Over in this one. the Gaels love the uptempo game and I feel that Ohio State will run with them. The Buckeyes are not a fast paced team but they are 14th in the nation in offensive efficiency and they do average 69.3 ppg on the year. Now put this efficient offense in an uptempo game vs a team that allows 75.8 ppg and you can expect the Buckeyes to flirt with 80 points in this one. The Gaels offense has been slowed down just a few times this year, but I expect them to really push tempo. It's their only shot at winning. The Buckeyes have played great defense this year, but they have allowed 63.6 ppg on the road and the Gaels have scored 80.7 ppg overall and 75.6 ppg on the road. The Buckeyes should have one of their best offensive showing of the year, while their defense will give up enough points to put his one over the total.
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