Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

Kansas vs. Ohio State : Breakdown Position by Position

Published on March 31, 2012 by Scott Shirley   ·   No Comments

Point Guard

Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas)/ Aaron Craft (Ohio State)- Taylor is one of the best points guards in the nation though he struggled in his first 3 tournament games only averaging 8.6 points per game. Last game against UNC he broke out and scored 22 points. In 4 tournament games he is averaging 5 rebounds per game not bad for a guard. Craft is the best on the ball defender in the country. He is probably the best all-around point guard in college basketball. So far in the tournament he is averaging 10.3 points, 5.8 assists, 3.3 steals and 4 steals. Not bad. This is a matchup of two of the better point guards in the nation no one gets the edge here. EDGE- Even

Shooting Guard

Elijah Johnson (Kansas)/ Lenzelle Smith Jr. (Ohio State) - Johnson has stepped us game big time for the Jayhawks. In the tournament he is averaging 13.5 points per game compared to only 9.6 in the regular season. He is making about 2 threes per game in the tourney. Smith has stepped his game up big time for the Buckeyes. During the regular season he only averaged about 6 points per game in the tournament he is averaging 11.3 points. He is averaging 17.5 points in his last two games. He is also averaging 5.5 rebounds and making 2 threes per game. Johnson was the difference in the first matchup between this two teams hitting 5 three points. Johnson gets a slight edge here. EDGE- Kansas

Small Forward

William Buford (Ohio State)/ Travis Releford (Kansas)- Buford is one of the best shooting guards in the country but right now he is struggling shooting the ball. In the tournament he is shooting 30 % (13-44) from the floor. However, Buford is capable and no afraid to take a big shot. He is bringing down 5.5 rebounds. Releford is best known for being a great defender. He gets most of his points by driving to the rim. In the NCAA tournament he is averaging 8.3 points and 4 rebounds. Even with Buford struggling he has the edge because of his ability to score the basketball. In their matchup in December Buford had 21 points. EDGE- Ohio State

Power Forward

Deshaun Thomas (Ohio State)/ Thomas Robinson (Kansas)- Thomas is on fire right now; he is the leading scorer of the NCAA tournament. In 4 games he is averaging 21.7 points per game. He can score in multiple ways he is so hard to defend. Thomas is also averaging 8.5 rebounds in the NCAA tournament. Robinson is the most dominant low post scorer in the country. He is also probably the strongest too. In the NCAA tournament he is averaging 15.6 points and 12.5 rebounds. Robinson even hit a three last game against North Carolina. It will be hard for Thomas to matchup with Robinson in the post and Robinson will have troubles guarding Thomas away from the basket. I give the edge to Robinson because of his ability to score easy baskets. In their first matchup Robinson had 21 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the field. Keep in mind though Jared Sullinger didn’t play in that first game. EDGE- Kansas

Center

Jared Sullinger (Ohio State)/ Jeff Withey (Kansas)- Sullinger is a dominant low post scorer, who also controls the glass. Sullinger was pretty good the first weekend but last weekend he was unstoppable. In the tournament he is averaging 18 points and 8.3 rebounds. In the tournament is shooting 81 % (27-33) from the free throw line. That’s pretty impressive for a post player. Withey was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and so far he has lived up to the hype in the NCAA tournament. He is averaging 5 blocks and 6 rebounds. Withey is also averaging 8.4 points per game. Withey will give Sullinger problems with his height but at the end of the day Sullinger is too talented for Withey to handle. Remember Sullinger didn’t play in the first matchup with Kansas. It will interesting to see if Sullinger and Robinson guard each other. That would be something to watch. EDGE- Ohio State

Bench

The Buckeyes get nothing out of their bench. Sometimes they get zero points off their bench. Kansas has a huge edge here with Kevin Young and Connor Teahan coming off the bench. Last game against North Carolina Young had 8 rebounds off the bench. EDGE- Kansas

 

 

 

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