2015 NCAA Tournament Preview: No. 2 Arizona Wildcats vs. No. 10 Ohio State Buckeyes

They won their second round games and advanced in different ways, but the Arizona Wildcats and Ohio State Buckeyes are set to meet in the Round of 32 on Saturday nonetheless. The West region’s No. 2 seed Arizona Wildcats trounced No. 15 Texas Southern by 21 points, while No. 10 seed Ohio State pulled out a hard-fought three-point overtime victory over No. 7 VCU.

Arizona looked every bit like one of the best teams in the country by running all over Texas Southern. The Wildcats put up 54 points in the first half and coasted in the second half en route to a 93-72 win.

Ohio State’s game with VCU was a nail biter throughout regulation and into overtime, until the Buckeyes pulled away late in the extra frame. Freshman superstar, and by far the team’s best player, point guard D’Angelo Russell carried Ohio State with 28 points to a 75-72 win.

What To Watch For

This game features two of the best players in the country, and incredibly enough, they’re both freshman. Arizona forward Stanley Johnson and Ohio State point guard D’Angelo Russell are both expected to be top five picks in the 2015 NBA Draft.

The supporting cast around Johnson is far superior to Russell’s with Ohio State. Arizona’s starting five might be the second best in the nation behind only Kentucky. There’s no style of play the Wildcats don’t excel at, mainly because the Arizona big men are as athletic as any trio of bigs in the nation.

Senior point guard T.J. McConnell is one of the best in the country at penetrating defenses and setting up his teammates for open shots. Forwards Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Brandon Ashley are 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-9 respectively, but move as fluidly as any forward pair in the tournament. Ohio State’s ability to control the defensive glass and prevent offensive rebounds from Hollis-Jefferson and Ashley will be a huge key if the Buckeyes hope to pull off the upset. Seven-foot center Kaleb Tarczewski rounds out the impressive Arizona starting five and is the anchor in the middle for the Wildcats.

Prediction

D’Angelo Russell is an incredible player and can carry the Buckeyes for long stretches, but Ohio State simply doesn’t have enough firepower to stay with Arizona for 40 minutes. Arizona’s relentless attack will wear down Ohio State and I expect the Wildcats to pull away early in the second half.

Arizona 78 Ohio State 68

Seth Lassen is a writer for RantSports. “Like” him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @Seth_Lassen.