A Closer Look At The Ohio State Buckeyes

On Saturday afternoon, No. 8/9 Kansas (9-1) and No. 7 Ohio State (9-1) will clash at 3:00 p.m. (central) inside the Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.

Jayhawk Slant is here to provide you with a closer look at the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Ohio State: The Facts

Located in Columbus, Ohio, with an enrollment of 53,715, No. 7 Ohio State is 9-1 on the season after defeating Winthrop 65-55 on Dec. 18 in Columbus. The Buckeyes are coached by Thad Matta who is 230-66 in his ninth season at OSU and 332-97 in his 13th season as a head coach.

Ohio State has won five straight and averages 78.6 points per game, while its +21.4 scoring margin ranks in the top-10 nationally. Ohio State shoots 46.9 percent from the field, including 38.7 percent from three-point range. The Buckeyes have a +7.2 rebound margin and a +4.8 turnover margin forcing 10.2 turnovers per contest. Additionally, OSU averages 15.8 assists per game and ranks in the top-10 nationally with a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Junior forward Deshaun Thomas leads the team in scoring at 20.4 points per game and rebounding with a 6.9 rpg average. Thomas has made a team-high 27 three-pointers, is shooting 40.9 percent from beyond the arc and has a team-best 86.1 free throw percentage. Junior guard Lenzelle Smith, Jr., is next in scoring at 11.5 points per game. He is also second on the team with 5.2 rebounds per game and 19 three-pointers made. He leads the Buckeyes in three-point shooting at 48.7 percent.

Junior guard Aaron Craft is a starter who scores 9.1 points per game and leads OSU with 48 assists. He is second on the team with 17 steals. Rounding out the OSU starters are sophomore forward Sam Thompson and senior forward Evan Ravenel. Thompson is scoring 7.9 points per game and is second on the team with a 50.9 shooting percentage, while Ravenel leads Ohio State with a 59.1 shooting percentage to complement his 6.6 scoring average.

Ravenel is third on the team with a 4.9 rebound average. Sophomore forward LaQuinton Ross comes off the bench to score 9.6 points per game and he makes 85.7 percent of his free throws. Sophomore guard Shannon Scott (6.4 ppg) leads the team with 25 steals while sophomore center Amir Williams (4.4 ppg) leads OSU with 13 blocked shots.

Kansas vs. Ohio State: The Series

Kansas leads the all-time series with Ohio State 7-3, including two KU wins last season: 78-67 on Dec. 10, 2011, in Allen Fieldhouse and 64-62 on March 31, 2012, in the NCAA Final Four semifinals at the Mercedez-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. The attendance for the Final Four matchup was 73,361, the largest crowd to see a Kansas men's basketball game ever. The previous meeting was during the 2000-01 season, a Kansas 69-68 win in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 23, 2000.

The Jayhawks have won five straight in the series which dates back to 1965, when the Jayhawks won the first two meetings: 81-68 on Dec. 23, 1965, in Columbus and 94-70 on Dec. 5, 1966, in Lawrence. The two teams played twice in 1983 to start a three-game OSU-victory run against Kansas. The Buckeyes won 64-61 on Jan. 2, 1983, in Kansas City, Mo., and 79-74 on Dec. 22, 1983, in Columbus.

In 1986, OSU edged KU 79-78 in overtime in the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu. The two schools' next meeting was 1997 in the Rainbow Classic, a Kansas 69-56 win. Before the Kansas win in 2000, the Jayhawks defeated the Buckeyes 80-67 on Dec. 16, 1999, in Lawrence. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 5-3 all-time against Ohio State.

A closer look at the Ohio State Buckeyes

#1 Deshaun Thomas: 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward (Jr.)

#2 Andrew Goldstein: 6-foot-3, 200-pound guard (Jr.)

#3 Shannon Scott: 6-foot-1, 185-pound guard (So.)

#4 Aaron Craft: 6-foot-2, 195-pound guard (Jr.)

#10 LaQuinton Ross: 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward (So.)

#12 Sam Thompson: 6-foot-7, 200-pound forward (So.)

#14 Alex Rogers: 6-foot-2, 200pound guard (Jr.)

#23 Amir Williams: 6-foot-11, 250-pound center (So.)

#30 Evan Ravenel: 6-foot-8, 250-pound forward (Sr.)

#32 Lenzelle Smith Jr.: 6-foot-4, 210-pound guard (Jr.)

#33 Amedeo Della Valle: 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard (Fr.)

#34 Jake Lorbach: 6-foot-7, 210-pound forward (So.)

#55 Trey McDonald: 6-foot-8, 240-pound center (So.)

Ohio State Season Statistics

Record: 9-1

Home Record: 7-0

Away Record: 0-1

Neutral Record: 2-0

B1G Conference Record: 0-0

National Ranking: 7

Wins: Albany, Rhode Island (Uncasville, Conn.), Washington (Uncasville, Conn.), UMKC, Northern Kentucky, Long Beach State, Savannah State, UNC Ashville, Winthrop,

Losses: Duke (Durham, N.C.)

Upcoming games: Kansas, Chicago State, Nebraska, @ Illinois, @ Purdue, Michigan, @ Michigan State, Iowa, @ Penn State, Wisconsin, @ Nebraska, @ Michigan, Indiana, Northwestern, @ Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan State, @ Northwestern, @ Indiana, Illinois

Scoring Leaders:

Deshaun Thomas: 20.4

Lenzelle Smith, Jr.: 11.5

LaQuinton Ross: 9.6

Aaron Craft: 9.1

Sam Thompson: 7.9

Rebounding Leaders:

Deshaun Thomas: 6.9

Lenzelle Smith, Jr.: 5.2

Evan Ravenel: 4.9

LaQuinton Ross: 4.4

Sam Thompson: 4.0

Assist Leaders:

Aaron Craft: 4.8

Shannon Scott: 4.7

Lenzelle Smith, Jr.: 2.1

Field Goal Shooting Percentage Leaders:

Evan Ravenel: 26-of-44 (50.9%)

Sam Thompson: 27-of-53 (50.9%)

Lenzelle Smith, Jr.: 41-of-85 (48.2%)

LaQuinton Ross: 35-of-76 (46.1%)

Deshaun Thomas: 73-of-159 (45.9%)

Shannon Scott: 23-of-51 (45.1%)

Aaron Craft: 29-of-77 (37.7%)

3 point Field Goal Shooting Percentage Leaders

Lenzelle Smith, Jr.: 19-of-39 (48.7%)

Deshaun Thomas: 27-of-66 (40.9%)

Aaron Craft: 10-of-30 (33.3%)

LaQuinton Ross: 8-of-26 (30.8%)

Sam Thompson: 4-of-15 (26.7%)

Free-throw Percentage Leaders:

Deshaun Thomas: 31-of-36 (86.1%)

LaQuinton Ross: 18-of-21 (85.7%)

Sam Thompson: 21-of-26 (80.8%)

Aaron Craft: 23-of-29 (79.3%)

Lenzelle Smith, Jr.:14-of-20 (70.0%)

Evan Ravenel: 14-of-20 (70.0%)

Shannon Scott: 13-of-21 (61.9%)

Ohio State Offensive Averages:

Scoring: 786 (78.6 PPG)

Scoring Margin: +21.4

Field Goal %: 47 (277-of-591)

3-Point FG %: 39 (77-of-199)

3-Pont FG's Made Per Game: 7.7

Free-throw %: 71 (155-of-217)

Free-throws Made Per Game: 15.5

Rebounds: 388 (38.8 per game)

Rebound Margin: +7.2

Assists: 158 (18.8 per game)

Turnovers: 102 (10.2 per game)

Turnover Margin: +4.8

Steals: 76 (7.6 per game)

Blocks: 43 (4.3 per game)

Opponent Averages :

Scoring: 572 (57.2 PPG)

Field Goal %: 37 (197-of-530)

3-Point FG %: 31 (58-of-189)

3-Pont FG Made Per Game: 5.8

Free-throw %: 71 (120-of-169)

Free-throws Made Per Game: 12.0

Rebounds: 316 (31.6 per game)

Assists: 87 (8.7 per game)

Turnovers: 150 (15.0 per game)

Steals: 37 (3.7 per game)

Blocks: 25 (2.5 per game)