Scouting Ohio State

The Ohio State Buckeyes are 29-5 for the season and won their conference (Big Ten) and conference tournament. Here is how they match up with Stanford on team statistics:

	Stanford	Ohio State
Points per game	76.3	69.1
Scoring margin	+21.5	+12.3
Field goal %	47.2	44.8
3-pointers per game	6.1	4.6
3-pointer %	33.3	33.8
Free throw %	67.7	73.2
Rebounds per game	43.9	39.1
Rebounding margin	+13.2	+5.4
Assists per game	18.8	15.2
Turnovers per game	15.2	16.7
Assist/turnover ratio	1.2	0.9
Steals per game	7.0	8.3
Blocks per game	4.8	3.9

The Buckeyes' paint crew:

• Jantel Lavender: 6' 4" sophomore center, Big Ten Player of the Year for the second straight season — averages 21.0 points per game on 54.2% shooting and 10.8 rebounds per game.
• Star Allen; 5' 11" senior forward — averages 10.9 points per game on 53.6% shooting and 7.7 rebounds per game
• Andrea Walker: 6' 5" junior center — averages 3.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game

On the wing:

• Ashlee Trebilcock: 5' 9" senior guard — averages 7.3 points per game on 46.5% shooting, 44.4% threes
• Brittany Johnson: 5' 11" junior guard — averages 6.8 points per game on 42% shooting, 36.4% threes

In the back court:

• Samantha Prahalis: 5' 7" freshman guard — averages 10.0 points per game on 33.9% shooting, 26.3% threes, 1.9 steals per game, 5.8 assists with 3.9 turnovers per game
  (Report of Prahalis' effect on the Buckeyes)
• Shavelle Little: 5" 8" junior guard, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year— averages 3.0 points per game on 39.2 % shooting, 2.5 steals per game, 1.4 assists with 1.1 turnovers per game

This is Charlie Creme's tongue-in-cheek scenario for Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament:

Best case: Samantha Prahalis' game is unveiled to the world. She and Jantel Lavender become the tournament's ultimate little/big combination on their run to St. Louis. Head coach Jim Foster can't believe he allowed Prahalis the rope he did, but it paid off, no less. Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer is so impressed by Prahalis in the regional final that she makes Foster a trade proposal.
Worst case: Lavender picks up some early fouls against Texas, removing Ohio State's biggest advantage. Prahalis and Star Allen try to do too much. Ashlee Trebilcock doesn't do enough. The Buckeyes can't rebound enough to get their break going. Foster gets criticized for yet another early tournament exit.

This is Mechelle Voepel's capsule evaluation of the Buckeyes in the Sweet Sixteen:

With flashy rookie point guard Samantha Prahalis confidently directing a team of older players, the Buckeyes won the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles. Ohio State had something to prove in the early rounds, after being upset the previous three seasons. The Buckeyes advanced, and Big Ten Player of the Year Jantel Lavender now will see how she fares against the likes of Jayne Appel inside.

Mechelle and Graham Hays both pick Stanford over Ohio State:

Graham Hays: Both teams play around outstanding mobile posts, but once you get past Jayne Appel versus Jantel Lavender, Stanford's supporting cast is too versatile, too experienced and too close to home.
Mechelle Voepel: The Pac-10 champions are looking their strongest at the best time of the season. Both teams execute well, but Stanford does it better. Plus, the Cardinal's players, having been in the NCAA title game last year, are more experienced at this level.