What To Predict When You're Predicting: #8 Ohio State Buckeyes
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How's the first-round matchup look?
MaximumSam: I only watched TCU once, when they played Michigan pretty tough. That was before we knew Michigan to be Ajax the Destroyer. They are kind of a weird team - they have wins over Florida and Iowa State and losses to Notre Dame and New Orleans. They want to get after screens and force turnovers - don't pass to the wrong team, Bruce!
BoilerUp89: I don't know. TCU is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Anyone telling you they know what type of performance the Horned Frogs are going to give any given night is lying to themselves. The Buckeyes have played well of late so they should focus on playing their ball and if TCU is bizarro good TCU then you just tip your cap.
AlmaOtter: If TCU is a Chaos Team, and if Wisconsin was the Big Ten's Chaos Team, then how did OSU do against the Badgers? 1-1? Ok. Flip a damn coin. This one is a true tossup.
How's the overall draw?
MaximumSam: Well if they beat TCU they get #1 overall seed and #1 on KenPom and #1 on Torvik Duke. So that's great.
BoilerUp89: Michigan played Duke close. OSU just played Michigan close. Duke has lost their PG. Anytime you get an 8 or a 9 seed the draw isn't going to look great, but I think there is a real chance OSU pulls off a massive upset and reaches the Sweet 16. I'm not dumb enough to pick it on my bracket, but it could happen.
AlmaOtter: I despise an 8/9 seed draw. "Congrats, you beat a fairly evenly matched team! You get to take on a destroyer of worlds in 40 hours." And OSU got the worst end of that stick with the #1 overall seed. The draw's not great.
What's the best case for this team?
MaximumSam: Probably a first round win and being competitive with Duke. We just want some indication that life post-Thornton isn't Rutgers.
AlmaOtter: Win in R64, don't get blown out in R32. But to pull the upset against Duke feels like way too much to ask.
What's the worst that could happen?
MaximumSam: They turn the ball over 30 times and lose in humiliating fashion to a bunch of frogs. Then because they play the first game, I am miserable for the rest of the weekend.
BoilerUp89: Unused to the bright lights of March Madness, Diebler and Co panic. The Buckeyes play uncharacteristically sloppy and TCU wins by 30. People question whether Ohio State really belonged in the field and their current 5 star commit decommits to go play for Michigan. Hey - you said worst case.
AlmaOtter: No one wants a plague of frogs.
Are there any fun storylines, weird esoterica, or strange historical sidebars to add here?
MaximumSam: TCU coach Jamie Dixon once ruptured his pancreas while playing basketball. How does that even happen?
AlmaOtter: Jamie Dixon also (prior to pancreatic rupture) played for the La Cross, WI Catbirds in the Continental Basketball Association for $400 a week. Real reporters: please ask for stories from his days in La Crosse in the late 1980s!
