Nerdwestern game prep, B1G Tourney style

As my friend Jordan likes to say, the Madness can be smelt.  We’re now less than a day away (in fact, less than 17 hours) from Ohio State tipping off for their first, and hopefully not last, contest of the 2011 Big Ten Tournament.  This game will launch the Buckeyes into this season’s tournament play, and while the NCAA’s are the real showcase, there is business at hand to attend to in Indianapolis.

With their win over Minnesota earlier today, Northwestern earned themselves a chance to try and knock off not only the #1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament but also the current #1 team in the country.  Ohio State only had Northwestern once on the Big Ten regular season calendar this year, and that game proved to be the most closely contested outing for the Buckeyes, not counting the losses at Wisconsin and Purdue.  Part of the reason the Wildcats gave the Buckeyes trouble was Bill Carmody’s defensive strategy.  Tomorrow we’ll see if this same strategy is employed by Northwestern again, or if Carmody comes out with a modified look in an attempt to slow down the Ohio State offensive attack.

Certainly it’s looking mighty hard these days to do anything to slow down the Buckeyes.  While we usually saw one player step it up in each game throughout the season and carry a significant portion of the scoring load, it has been an “all hands on deck” approach of late.  The primary example of this was the win over the Badgers……let’s just take a moment to reflect and savor that again…..when the team saw individual scoring totals of 27, 22, 18, and 13 among four starters.  With that in mind, let’s consider a few points for tomorrow and the coming days:

• Jon Diebler’s shooting.  We all thought that the “He’s on fire!” feature in NBA Jam was just created for a video game, but apparently it was based in reality. While most have taken to calling #33 “Threebler,” some consideration may be given to “The Inferno” if Jon keeps shooting like he has been.  How long will this pattern continue?  One thing is for sure: Whatever defensive strategy Carmody wants to employ tomorrow had better account for Diebler, because he’s become much more willing to look for his own shot and pull up for a trey as the season has progressed.
• Aaron Craft’s defense.  If Diebler is currently playing the role of The Inferno, then Craft would appropriately be dubbed The Tornado.  Talk about getting aggressive.  Diving for loose balls, bodying up – Craft is playing defense with relish right now, and I doubt there will be any slowing down as the stakes rise in the tournament.  The freshman point’s defensive presence will be especially important against Northwestern, as the Wildcats’ own PG, Michael Thompson, just finished torching the Gophers for a B1G Tournament record 35, including five three’s.  Stars rise in tournament play, and it looks like Thompson brought his A-game to Indy, so Craft has his work cut out for him.
• Dallas Lauderdale, senior leader.  Dallas has seen his minutes decrease over the course of the year with the emergence of Craft and Deshaun Thomas, but Big D’s defense and experience may be needed at a moment’s notice.  The Wildcats typically rely heavily on the three-ball, and Ohio State is likely content to let this play out.  The key will be preventing second chances and not giving up points in the paint.  Enter Lauderdale, who can assert himself down low and play an important role in these aspects of the game.  His minutes may not be any more than usual, but his contribution in the fundamentals like hitting the boards and shutting down drives to the hoop will ensure that Northwestern doesn’t hang around.

Against Minnesota, the Wildcats didn’t really have a great shooting game, only hitting 42% on field goals.  They actually came up on the short end in the rebounding column, but Minnesota shot so poorly (only 37.5%) that Northwestern was able to secure the victory.  What may be more notable is that Northwestern only turned the ball over five times.  Ohio State should seek to use their superior athleticism to up this number through defensive pressure tomorrow.  Going on the offensive early should get Ohio State started on a strong run through the tournament, especially if we’re once again hitting on all cylinders.