Ohio State basketball has received all of the bulletin board material they need from TCU star ahead of NCAA Tournament matchup
Not that the Buckeyes needed extra motivation, but they’ve gotten it now from the TCU Horned Frogs.
The Ohio State Buckeyes went on a strong run down the final stretch of the season to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years.
Ohio State and head coach Jake Diebler had to make the postseason this year, or it’s fair to say change could have been on the horizon. Winning over Purdue and Iowa in the final weeks helped the Buckeyes secure the No. 8 seed where they play the TCU Horned Frogs on Thursday at 12:15.
The Buckeyes didn’t need any extra motivation heading into Thursday’s game, but they’ve now received it from the star player at TCU.
David Punch throws a little bulletin board material Ohio State’s way ahead of the March Madness matchup
Ohio State goes into the matchup as the bigger team with the Horned Frogs lacking much size past 6-foot-8. Still, Punch was straightforward with his take on the game.
“I think at the end of the day we win this nine times out of 10 because of how physically gifted we are as a team and athletically gifted,” Punch said, via The Dispatch’s Adam Jardy.
TCU is on a strong run as winners of nine of their last 11 games they’ve played. Last time out was a 78-73 loss to Kansas for the Horned Frogs. TCU’s top two players are Punch (6-foot-7) and Xavier Edmonds (6-foot-8), who average 14.3 and 12.6 points per game respectively.
Ohio State will have the height advantage as mentioned with the Horned Frogs not really going bigger than 6-foot-8 much at all. The Buckeyes will roll with centers Christoph Tilly (7-foot) and Ivan Njegovan (7-foot-2) as the tallest two players in the rotation. Freshman forward A’Mare Bynum (6-foot-8), forward Brandon Noel (6-foot-8), forward Puff Johnson (6-foot-8), and forward Devin Royal (6-foot-6) all add size inside.
Punch is clearly confident in his squad going into the game, but the Buckeyes should take it as a slight due to their physicality being questioned. Saying Ohio State would be defeated nine out of 10 times is a strong statement.
Bruce Thornton and the Buckeyes fought hard to get to this moment for the all-time leading scorer’s only NCAA Tournament bid. A little extra motivation has been given for this not to be a one and done situation for Ohio State.