Ohio State Cliffs Notes game plan
The template is set on the way to beat Minnesota. You have to put significant on-ball pressure on star guard Marcus Carr and look to help out if he breaks down his defender off the dribble. Teams that have been able to guard out on the perimeter have been able to throw Carr off his game and disrupt the Gopher offense. There has to be a real effort on the ball with guys rotating in and out to be fresh on him with man-to-man, in-your-face defense.
On offense, Ohio State has to take better shots coming down the stretch. Everything has been fine with the inside-outside game, with the guards and wings looking to penetrate, playing through E.J. Liddell and the post, and then moving the ball to the open guy. However, when things are tight down the stretch, as long as the players with the ball in their hands make better decisions and get good shots, this one can end up in the win column with a good closing stretch.