Ohio State Ready For A Physical Game In First Round Of NCAA Tournament Against TCU

A few weeks ago, the Buckeyes were right where they were in the past three seasons, on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament.

But they finished off this season much stronger than in the past, something senior guard Bruce Thornton — who has been on the roster for each of those seasons — credited to everyone on the team.

“This year as a team, we bonded when we needed to,” Thornton said. “When times got hard and crucial and we needed big-time wins, we came through as a team. Nobody did it by themselves.”

But they aren’t happy just making the NCAA Tournament. When the final buzzer sounds after the game against No. 9 seed TCU on Thursday, Ohio State is hoping it gets to stay in Greenville, S.C., for a couple more days to match up against No. 1 Duke in the second round.

That game hasn’t been on the mind of anyone in scarlet and gray. Since the selection show, they have only been focused on how to beat TCU.

The Buckeyes have known who they play against since Sunday soon after the selection show began, being the third team revealed of the 68 in the field. The three-plus days of preparation have been welcomed, but Diebler feels that they were much needed since they are playing a team they didn’t know much about beforehand.

“It’s been different, but it’s a team we’re not as familiar with, especially when you start playing teams twice (in the Big Ten schedule),” he said. “We had to make sure that we did our due diligence as a staff and there was no stone unturned to make sure that we had our guys prepared.”

The Horned Frogs have some good size with five players on the roster at 6-7 or taller, but aren’t quite as big as some of the Big Ten teams OSU has played. However, they are known as a physical team, which shows up on the defensive side of the ball, where they excel the most. Diebler knows his team can handle that because they have before.

“That’s life in the Big Ten. I think we’re absolutely ready for it,” Diebler said. “We play physical, too, something we take a great deal of pride in. They may not, on paper, look as big as some of the teams we played in the Big Ten. Their physicality, their length and athleticism in their front court… their aggressiveness makes up for that total height.”

Diebler, in his second full season as the head coach of the Buckeyes, is coaching in his first-ever NCAA Tournament game as the head man. He said he isn’t sure what the night before is going to look like, but he’s not expecting there to be much sleep.

“I would imagine not a lot of sleep, but I guess that’s the perks of the job,” he said.

Thornton, the team captain for the fourth straight season, isn’t stressing the game too much, even though it’s his first time playing in the event. He said he’s going to continue treating it like he has every other game, which has worked pretty well for the honorable mention All-American, who is averaging 20.2 points per game this year, a career high.

“It’s just basketball at the end of the day,” Thornton said.