Staff Picks: Gonzaga

BOISE, Idaho - The Buckeyes are on to the next one and Gonzaga is at least a more familiar foe than South Dakota State was. That familiarity is not necessarily a good thing as the Zags routed the Buckeyes 86-59 in their first meeting of the season as part of the PK80.

A lot has changed since that meeting in November, the Buckeyes 'came into their own' and reeled off 15 conference wins in the Big Ten Tournament and knocked off some highly ranked foes with Michigan State and Purdue. Gonzaga on the other hand ripped through its conference schedule but did not always look like a world beater on the way.

None of the history will matter on Saturday when these two teams play with a ticket to Los Angeles and the Sweet Sixteen on the line. How do we see this game playing out? Can the Buckeyes even the series and get one over on Mark Few and the Bulldogs? We make our picks.

This team is hard to get a read on. When you think the odds are stacked against them, they seem to rise up and find away, except for the times that they don't. When Ohio State and Gonzaga played the first time, back at the PK80, no Ohio State fan was running around calling for an Ohio State win. It was still within the first month (of games) of Chris Holtmann's first season with the Buckeyes with a roster that underachieved last season (and the one before that).

Ohio State managed to hang around for most of the first half, and then it was over. Gonzaga showed why they were a national runner-up the year before and nearly beat the Buckeyes by 30.

Fast forward to this game. Ohio State is 3-3 in its last six games, but Penn State is not walking through that door, neither is Michigan (but the two teams are in the same region, that could happen provided both teams win). There have been some ups and downs with this team. But it also appears the rest from a long layoff did the trick and gave Ohio State its legs back.

Neither team really dropped the hammer on their first round foe. Ohio State likely would rather be playing UNC-Greensboro just as Gonzaga would probably prefer South Dakota State, even with a 20-something point win in their pocket over Ohio State.

So what happens in this game? The Buckeyes will look much better than they did the first time around but Gonzaga has also had time to get better and many of their first-year players are no longer playing like that. Ohio State will keep it close but the depth and size of the Zags will be too much. Ohio State's tournament run will end but this first year under Holrmann will be remembered for a long time as a team that exceeded all expectations. Gonzaga 72 Ohio State 66

As we all saw on Friday night, anything can happen in this tournament. However, even with redemption on their minds, the Buckeyes will face a similar story to when they faced the Bulldogs the first time.

If you look at the first matchup between Ohio State and Gonzaga, nearly everything favored the Bulldogs. The Buckeyes were stifled offensively, making only 34.5 percent of shots from the floor, connecting on 30 percent of attempts from deep. Ohio State forward Keita Bates-Diop had, arguably his worst game of the season, recording seven points and making two of seven from the field. Defensively, Ohio State allowed Gonzaga to make 58.5 percent of their attempts from the floor and 48 percent of shots from deep. Also, the Bulldogs outrebounded the Buckeyes by four in the 27-point loss.

Yes, this Ohio State team has improved dramatically since November 23rd. However, even looking back to the win over South Dakota State on Thursday, there are some things that will not favor the Buckeyes. First of all, Bates-Diop, showing signs of life in the first half, struggled mightily in the second, making one of six attempts from the field. With that, players other than Kam Williams and C.J. Jackson made one basket on 15 shot attempts in the second half. This was the same lack of consistency that Ohio State had in its loss to Gonzaga, making only one three pointer in 10 attempts in the second half after making five of 10 attempts from deep in the first.

With what the combination of Johnathan Williams and Josh Perkins did in the first game against the Buckeyes, I see this one going in favor of Gonzaga once again, ending Ohio State's season. Will it be as lopsided? Probably not, but I do not see this one ending pretty. Gonzaga 78, Ohio State 68

Survive and advance. That’s what we did on Thursday against those mighty Jackrabbits, but now we will go up against a much tougher opponent. It’s time for another game against Gonzaga. The Zags, or the Bulldogs, or whatever their name is this week hope to beat us for a second time this year. That won’t happen. We only would allow Penn State to do that but that’s another story. We shot the ball extremely well against South Dakota State. Sure, they played defense like a Summit league team, but a win is a win is a win. Sure, Gonzaga handed our team its worst loss all year. However, times have changed and we know what a Big Ten school can do against a crappy little non-football playing conference. We need to get guys like Andre Wesson play significant minutes. Ja’Sean Tate needs to avoid foul trouble. Our guard play needs to be self-disciplined and avoid turnovers. Sure, those weenies in Boise will cheer for Gonzaga but Chris Holtmann’s team thrives on pressure and will win despite a hostile environment. Let the experts pick Gonzaga. We all know how that kind of a prediction worked last time. Ohio State 66 Gonzaga 63