March has not been kind to Ohio State so far this season, but the Buckeyes have the opportunity to flip the script Friday.
Despite a 1-3 record in March — including an upset loss to Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament — the Buckeyes (19-11, 12-9 Big Ten) earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Ohio State’s opponent, No. 10 Loyola Chicago (25-7, 13-5 Missouri Valley Conference), heads into March Madness trending upward after winning the MVC Tournament behind first-year head coach Drew Valentine.
Although Ohio State struggled down the stretch of the regular season and in the Big Ten Tournament, junior forward E.J. Liddell said the Buckeyes have turned the page from that difficult run of games.
“Rough couple weeks, but we had to all buy in. We made it to March Madness, and now we have to prove ourselves, honestly. We have to have that underdog mentality because I feel like a lot of people have been counting us out recently,” Liddell said. “I feel like people forgot about how we play when we’re fully healthy and we’re all locked into everything. Come tomorrow y’all will see a different team.”
As the Buckeyes trudged through late February and early March, the Ramblers soared. Despite dropping its regular season finale to Northern Iowa in double overtime, Loyola Chicago ripped off three-consecutive wins to earn its second conference title in as many years.
The Ramblers are led into battle by the youngest head coach in the NCAA, as the 30-year-old Valentine took over for former coach Porter Moser — who helped lead Loyola Chicago to the Final Four in 2018 and the Sweet Sixteen last season before taking the job at Oklahoma.
With Loyola Chicago’s continued success in recent years, Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann pointed to the culture that Moser cultivated and Valentine’s coaching prowess for the Ramblers’ solid 2021-22 campaign.
“Older teams, really tough guys, tremendous culture. They’re as good as any team in the country. I think we understand that now. I don’t think they have a label,” Holtmann said. “They’re a really, really good program that has had a ton of NCAA Tournament success. It’s one of those really elite programs in the country, and they’ve earned that.”
The Ramblers are led by a pair of dynamic guards, who each average double-digit scoring outputs. Graduate Lucas Williamson, a member of Loyola Chicago’s Final Four run in 2018, produces a team-high 14 points while dishing out three assists per game.
Williamson also anchors the Ramblers’ perimeter defense, swiping a team-best 1.3 steals per game.
Supporting Williamson is junior guard Braden Norris, who hails from Hilliard, Ohio. Norris drops 10.3 points per game and leads the Ramblers with 3.9 assists per game.
Although Williamson and Norris lead the way offensively, Liddell said the Ramblers’ strength comes from their team-oriented style of play.
“It’s a group effort. I feel like they aren’t selfish at all, they share the ball and they play to win,” Liddell said. “Small-school mentality, they have that underdog mentality, and they’ve come out and shown it for the past couple years.”
The Ramblers excel defensively, allowing just 61.7 points per game — ranking second in the MVC. Loyola Chicago’s 93.0 adjusted defensive efficiency ranks 22nd in the nation, according to KenPom.
“We know also they hang their hat on the defensive end, so just knowing it’s going to be a grind-it-out game through the whole 40 minutes of it,” graduate guard Jamari Wheeler said. “Just be ready to win every possession because every possession is going to matter.”
The Buckeyes finally had time to get their legs back after they played 12 games in a 32-day stretch. The week-long break also allowed forwards graduate Kyle Young and sophomore Zed Key time to nurse their respective injuries as Holtmann said “they’re getting healthier” heading into Friday’s game.
As Ohio State hopes to get back to full strength going into Friday’s contest, Holtmann said the Buckeyes need to embrace whatever lineup they’ll be able to sport against the Ramblers.
“It’s a challenge in front of us to play well whatever the case is regarding our injury situation,” Holtmann said.
Ohio State is not only looking to avenge its difficult end to the Big Ten slate, but is also seeking to put its historic first-round loss to 15th-seeded Oral Roberts in last season’s NCAA Tournament behind it.
That loss marked Liddell’s only NCAA Tournament game in his illustrious Ohio State career. As he prepares to make his final postseason run with the Buckeyes, Liddell said he’s taking things moment to moment.
“I’ve truly, honestly, just been living in the moment. I have fun every single second I’m with these guys,” Liddell said. “Right now I’m just enjoying life and enjoying the moment and living in it.”
The Buckeyes and Ramblers tip off at 12:15 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The game will be televised on CBS.
