Wright State @ Ohio State Basketball Preview and Gamethread

What: Wright State Raiders vs. Ohio State Buckeyes

When: Friday, November 11th; 9:00 p.m.

Where: Value City Arena

Television: Big Ten Network

Raiders' 2010-11 Record: (19-14, 10-8 Horizon)

Opposing Coverage: Dayton Daily News

Gone are Jon Diebler, David Lighty, and Dallas Lauderdale, and with them went 41.8% of Ohio State's minutes last season. The trio also accounted for 37.5% of Ohio State's points and 28.7% of the team's rebounds, substantial figures not lost upon head coach Thad Matta.

With the loss of key contributors, and star power-forward Jared Sullinger's return, Matta knew he would have to rework the offense to adjust for new personnel. Enter Chris Jent, former Buckeye player and scheme wizard, who explained the goals behind the new offense.

"It was designed to help us have a flow so that the ball doesn’t stop (moving) and to utilize a couple of different areas we felt were important to this team after looking at last year’s offenses," Jent said, "knowing that people are going to help on Jared a lot, trying to get him ‘paint catches’ and trying to use some screening actions to help our catch-and-shoot guys have some space."

Bob Baptist's excellent profile in the Columbus Dispatch details the changes. Smarter spacing. Quicker passes. More movement. With Diebler always a perimeter threat, Ohio State had a natural balance to Sullinger's inside presence, forcing defenses to defend the entire half-court. Not so this season. Without anyone who can do Diebler's job as well as he did, Ohio State must create space through body and ball movement.

Against Walsh in the annual meaningless exhibition game, Ohio State dominated, 95-49. The outcome was unexpected, but there were a few interesting tidbits revealed.

• Lenzelle Smith Jr., and not Jordan Sibert, opened the scrimmage as Ohio State's fifth starter. Matta praised Smith's energy and effort following the game, and it appears Smith will be the permanent fifth man unless he struggles.
• Shannon Scott was the first player off the bench. The true freshman point guard played poorly, and Matta had to calm him down at halftime, but Scott has impressed enough during practice to warrant the opportunity. He may not shine like sophomore Aaron Craft did as a rookie, but Matta will likely use him in the same way, giving him more time the better he plays.
• Senior guard William Buford led the scoring with 17 points. Buford has improved every season at Ohio State, and now is his time to lead. We've seen the incredible shooting streaks he can get into at times, but more will be expected from him now that he's not an ancillary player but a key cog in the machine.

Wright State should serve as a nice tune-up for the upcoming battle against Florida next Tuesday. The Raiders had a decent 2010-11 season, finishing above .500 and placing fifth in the Horizon League. They've lost quite a bit of talent, however, and head coach Billy Donlon expects a struggle this season, given what he calls "the toughest schedule in Wright State history."

The Raiders lost their exhibition game against Division II Central State, 56-50. Unlike last season, when they shot well, the Raiders shot 34-percent from the field and only hit 2-of-17 3-point attempts. Donlon was exasperated following the game, and many Wright State players admitted that their energy level was not high.

Energy level should not be a problem under the lights at Value City Arena, but talent and execution may be. It would take great improvement from Wright State and flat play from the Buckeyes for an upset. Still, this is college basketball and strange things frequently happen. If the Buckeyes view this game as a foregone victory, they may not like the outcome.