March Madness 2019: Predicting the First Round upsets

11 Ohio State Buckeyes over 6 Iowa State Cyclones

People are really sleeping on the Ohio State Buckeyes entering the NCAA Tournament, though it’s not without reason. Including the Big Ten Tournament, the Buckeyes went just 3-7 over their final 10 games of the year, which included losses to Illinois and Northwestern. However, it’s important to note that, for a large portion of that stretch, Ohio State was without Kaleb Wesson.

With Wesson, the Buckeyes are a completely different team overall. He’s their leading scorer and rebounder who provides this team with a trump card when on the floor. He can score inside and out and can clean up on the glass. Without him, they are a bit lost in terms of an identity. But he returned for the Big Ten Tournament to lead OSU past Indiana and put up a strong fight against Michigan State.

This matchup with the Iowa State Cyclones is interesting because, in the simplest terms, Iowa State is far better offensively than Ohio State. Transfer guard Marial Shayok is a lightning bolt, averaging 18.6 points per game, and leads the way, but the group as a whole can put a big number on the scoreboard.

Where the Cyclones struggle, though, is on the defensive end of the floor. With that and the way that Ohio State is capable of playing lockdown defense at times, we’ve got a recipe for an upset. If the Buckeyes can keep this one lower scoring that Iowa State would like, which they’re capable of, Ohio State should have a prime opportunity to advance.