Pre-Game Glance – Rhode Island

The #4 Buckeyes are playing in the Naismith HOF Tip-off this weekend at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. Coming off a fresh beating of Albany University, they square-off against a Rhode Island team that is 0-2 and facing an uphill climb in the Atlantic Ten this season. The Buckeyes spread the wealth very well in the first “official” game, after the cancellation of the Carrier Classic against Marquette, and took care of Albany relatively easy. Amazingly, the Great Danes followed that loss two days later with a 63-62 upset win at Washington on Tuesday evening. That tells us they may have been a better test than originally thought. Lets take a look at Rhode Island.

This is the first ever meeting between the Buckeyes and the Rams. The game will be played in the Schott and will feature a Buckeye squad wanting to send a message.

Ohio State Buckeyes (1-0;0-0)

Coaches

Thad Matta – Head Coach Dave Dickerson – Associate Head Coach Jeff Boals – Assistant Coach Chris Jent – Assistant Coach David Egelhoff – Director of Basketball Operations Vince O’Brien – Athletic trainer Greg Paulus – Video Coordinator Dave Richardson – Assoc. Strength and Conditioning Coach

Rhode Island Rams (0-2;0-0)

The Buckeyes finally got started last Saturday and played with excellent teamwork amongst the stars of the team. Aaron Craft led all scorers with 20 points, a new career high for him, and he out assisted Albany 7 to 6 by himself. DeShaun Thomas added 19 points, Lenzelle Smith Jr. contributed 18 on a hot shooting night (8/11), and Laquinton Ross added 10. The big men contributed no points on the night,which could be a very serious area of concern. They also only combined for 6 of the teams total 32 rebounds which is a stat that Albany tied the Buckeyes in.

New Rhode Island head coach Dan Hurley’s biggest concern after just two games is who to look at for scoring. They were held in the 50’s in their first two games against Norfolk State and Virginia Tech. Several players transferred after the coaching change, but several new faces are filling the void. Hurley has brought in his brother Bobby as an assitant in hopes of building some shooters to build around. Overall, they’ve only had three players score in double figures combined for the first two games. Malesevic and Malone had 26 and 13 respectively against Norfolk, and Xavier Munford had 24 against Virginia Tech. If they want to be successful they will have to find other ways of scoring. Munford looks like the real deal and he’s a new incoming junior JUCO transfer who should add depth and added scoring to the team. Keep your eyes on him, and expect big things.

All the Buckeyes really need to do is, first, let Craft and Smith take over in the front court defensively and, second, give Ravenal and Williams some consistent work underneath and get their confidence up. As for URI, they will need to figure out more ways to score for sure, but at least put the ball in the right players’ hands and figure out where the good chemistry is.

The Buckeyes still have some other questions answered but have a good opportunity to set a tone and give some of those other players a chance to show what they can do. The key will be to get a good look at Scott and Craft on the floor together and see if it really turns Ross loose on the edge. With two guards that can shoot the three or drive to the basket, Ross and Thomas should see plenty of opportunities to shoot the rock.

The game between the Buckeyes and Rams will tip at 5:00 PM EST on Saturday, November 17th. You’ll be able to see that game on ESPN3. The winner of the Washington-Seton Hall game await the winner on Sunday in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off.