USF Faces Ohio in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament

This has been, might as well keep it going.

The USF Bulls, 22-13, continue their play into March as the NCAA tournament continues.  After beating Temple in the second round, the Bulls must now face Ohio out of the MAC conference as they try to continue this historic season.

Ohio, 28-7 (11-5) on the year and the 13 seed, are coming off of a huge win over Michigan as they continue their impressive play.  The Bobcats averaging 70 points per game and allow just 62 points per game.  They have dynamic guards that are able to make huge plays for them and they are not afraid to take their shots, USF is facing a real tough challenge in this game.  Let's see what they face in this game (game slated to start at 7:10PM).

The Bobcats are led by junior guard D.J. Cooper (5-11 165-pounds) who is averaging 14.6 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, 5.7 assists per game, and had 81 steals during the regular season.  He is a very dynamic playmaker that is aggressive on defense and will pose a real threat to Anthony Collins at the guard position.  Junior guard Walter Offutt (6-3 190-pounds) is averaging 11.7 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, and has 50 steals on the year. 

Junior forward Ivo Baltic (6-8 214-pounds) is averaging 9 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game, giving the Bobcats a strong presence in the paint.  Sophomore guard Nick Kellogg (6-3 185-pounds) is averaging 8.9 points per game and 1.9 rebounds per game.  Sophomore forward Jon Smith (6-7 190-pounds) is averaging 3.7 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, and has 44 blocks on the year, giving them a major shot blocking force inside the paint.  Junior forward Reggie Keely (6-8 235-pounds) is averaging 9.2 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game (big time bench player).  Freshman guard Stevie Taylor (5-9 150-pounds) is averaging 4.7 points per game, 1.1 rebounds per game, and has 27 steals off of the bench and sophomore forward T.J. Hall (6-6 210-pounds) is averaging 3.7 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game. 

The Bobcats are a very talented team and have plenty of depth on their bench, especially at the guard position.  They are a solid shooting club that can run the court, but also can slow their pace down.  They have solid big guys inside the paint as well, so the battle of the boards will be critical in this game. 

Outcome of the game: The Bulls were awful in the win over Temple if the first half shooting the ball, facing Ohio, they can't do that again.  USF has to make their shots, not going on long scoring droughts, and continue to play their aggressive defense that has gotten them this far.  This game is a toss up and the team that fights the hardest will win out.