Pregame Glance: Virginia Military Institute

The Buckeyes are playing three games in rapid succession this week in preparation for the grind of the NCAA tournament. Tomorrow’s game with VMI is the second of those three. Let’s take a look.

VMI as a school has a proud military tradition going back to 1839. General “Stonewall” Jackson (then a Major) was hired as a faculty member in 1851 teaching “Natural and Experimental Philosophy”. The school has produced a wealth of notable alumni that includes Nobel Prize winners, key Military Leaders, and more than a few important civilian figures.

As a basketball program, the Keydet’s most successful teams were in 1976 and 1977 when they just missed making the NCAA final four (’76), and followed that up with a 4-loss season and run to the Sweet 16. Since then, VMI has been a “nuisance” program – a team that can get up and pull an upset now and again, but never quite manages to put it all together to make the NCAA.

The program is also famous for having one of the fastest paced teams around. It is surprising to see VMI not score in the triple figures during a game. As a matter of comparison, VMI is averaging 87.9 points per game with a 3-1 record, while OSU is averaging 77.1 points per game. VMI has also scored 103 and 101 in two of their victories, but as low as 65 in a loss to Air Force a week ago. The thing that kills the Keydets is defense, as they allow opponents to score 82.1 points per game. Compare that to Ohio State’s 59.7 (granted against relatively weaker competition) and you get an idea of the difference. VMI will often shoot you out of the gym, but they’ll let you give it right back and some.

The Keydets look to three players in particular for the majority of their scoring. Starting senior guard Keith Gabriel (6-4, 185) has had a hot hand this year, already scoring 77 points through 4 games. He’s a dangerous 47.3% shooter from the floor but only hits 1/3 of the three pointers he takes. He takes plenty of three pointers considering his 20 attempts (only 7 makes) in the last two games, and doesn’t often attack the paint.

Filling in for VMI’s paint production is starting junior forward Stan Okoye (6-5, 205). Okoye is the second leading scorer on the team with 65 points for the season to date. Okoye is not afraid to pull up a jumper from outside, hitting 3-3 against Alice Lloyd College (yes, that’s real). His game is more of an inside attack, and he tends to struggle if he starts to shoot from beyond the arc too frequently. He’s also a big rebounder for the team despite his size, often leading the team in rebounds.

The Buckeye’s biggest concern right now has to be in the three-point game. Ohio State has done a reasonable job defending the three, allowing their opponents to shoot only 33% from the field, a low and unremarkable shooting percentage. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes have responded by hitting only 26.2% of their own three pointers – a spectacularly atrocious number. They need to start shooting better from long range to keep teams from collapsing down on Sullinger and preventing him from getting the ball like we saw in the first half against North Florida. If a better team plays that game, the Buckeyes will struggle badly.

The game will be played on November 23rd (Wednesday) at 7:00 pm EST in Value City Arena. You’ll be able to see the game on the Big Ten Network.